I recently had the honor of screening The Tillman Story at the Tallgrass Film Festival in Wichita, Kansas. The movie, for many who haven't followed up the history of this story, may be shocking, eye opening, and far more political than they imagined.

Pat Tillman was an all-pro NFL player who gave up a multimillion-dollar contract in order to join the Army Rangers shortly after the terrorist attacks on 9/11/2001. Tillman joined the Rangers alongside his brother Kevin. Pat Tillman was reluctant to speak about why he joined the service, only alluding to his desire to give back to America for all she had given him.

We see a private man who loved his country and didn't want all of the accolades that came his way. In the aftermath of his death in Afghanistan, much transpired, with much of it inaccurate and manipulated by the government. The Tillman Story is a retelling of the truth of the events that led to his death told largely by his family. In that search, many viewers will discover a side of war, and politics they will be challenged with, including the intent to manipulate truth in order to garner support for a cause that isn't as clear as it may appear on the surface.

The Tillman Story is a documentary, driven by story, archival footage, and thought-provoking challenges to the reality of political propaganda. One of the highlights of the film is the direction of Amir Bar-Lev. Bar-Lev gives direction to a film that many consider snubbed by the nominations for this year's Academy Award for Best Documentary. While I'm not certain if it should have been nominated, as I haven't seen all of the films in this category, I will say it was certainly deserving of consideration, and quite possibly nomination. The Tillman Story certainly falls within the top two documentaries I have seen this year.

Bar-Lev does a terrific job at weaving the story of Pat Tillman and his family's search for truth. At the center of that search he not only includes those who were there, but archival footage of Tillman in the military and the scene where his death occurred. The movie does not play out as a documentary; it is intriguing, and flows as a narrative story more than I expected.

In the story we see the attempts to propagandize the war by many at the Pentagon. Where that propaganda starts and ends is one of the issues of debate—such as with coverage of the situation surrounding Jessica Lynch, where the nation tuned in live to watch her rescue. We see how the Pentagon, in many ways, staged the rescue of Lynch. We even hear that Tillman, who helped provide support in this rescue, commented how it appeared that much of what was going on was staged. This was later verified as Lynch herself disputed many of the claims and events surrounding her rescue as were reported via the Pentagon.

From here, we see the irony of how the eventual death of Tillman is also manipulated and used for propaganda by many in the military, including The Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, and even the President of the United States, George W. Bush. While there is no clear evidence of the involvement by President Bush, the evidence is presented rather clearly that not only did Rumsfeld know, but that he in fact used the Tillman episode to popularize the war. Unknowingly he chose the wrong family for this propaganda event, as Mary Tillman and her former husband, Patrick Tillman, began a crusade for truth after discrepancies became apparent.

One of the amazing things about this film is that a family with little spiritual values (much has been made of their atheism) has the ability to teach spiritual lessons; among them is the reality and importance of truth, and the search for truth. While one may appreciate that this family had their son, brother, husband, and friend put up on a pedestal as a hero, the family is clear: while he may have been a hero, the truth behind his death, the truth behind the war he fought, and those who sought to manipulate the truth, do not, nor should not, take away from his heroism.

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