Documentary Review: ‘From Shock To Awe’

Review by James Lindorf

From Shock to Awe wants to know, ‘how do we heal our deepest wounds?’ In response, it offers an intimate look at the journey of two combat veterans suffering from severe PTSD. Matt Kahl and Mike Cooley’s wartime experiences have left them struggling with anxiety, fear, depression, anger, and an overall inability to adjust in society and connect with their families. Directed by Luc Côté (Four Days Inside Guantanamo) From Shock to Awe will be available digitally on October 22nd, 2019.

From Shock to Awe, offers plenty to process, including the legal and medical implications of what they are doing, and advocating for. That comes on top of a brutal look at the trials of war and the mental toll it takes on soldiers. It affects each of them differently, but it leaves 1 in 5 with PTSD, and on average, 22 veterans a day commit suicide. Statistics can be cold and hard to connect with, but watching these two men struggle to regain their former selves and what their trauma has done to their families is both eye-opening and heartbreaking. The film is about their journey, and they do not hold back. Tears are shed continuously, and genuine smiles or laughter are few and far between. After years of struggling in the system with dozens of prescriptions and countless therapy sessions, they are growing desperate. In hopes of making a drastic change, they turn to Chris Young and Orlando’s Soul Quest Ayahuasca Church of Mother Earth. Young and his followers revere the South American psychoactive brew because it is known for giving its users spiritual insights.

By choosing to focus so intently on Mike and Matt, Côté gives From Shock to Awe a great deal of heart and personality. What it doesn’t deliver are facts or anything beyond anecdotal evidence that ayahuasca or MDMA are quality treatments for PTSD. Côté chose not to show how they learned of the drugs and how it may be a tool to help guide them to recovery or even possibly a cure. There are ramblings against the government for making these drugs illegal but no mention as to why they are illegal or the fact that MDMA is currently in clinical trials as a treatment for PTSD.

From Shock to Awe appears to be more interested in showcasing ayahuasca than providing an argument that is both compelling and well researched. Which makes it confusing that, after 60 minutes about the greatness of ayahuasca, the film takes a sharp turn to highlight MDMA, whose usage is given even less reasoning. Mike’s wife Brooke, a fellow veteran, doesn’t like the purging that often accompanies the usage of ayahuasca, so she decides to take MDMA, which is never referred to as ecstasy or any of its other street names.

From Shock to Awe is an affecting film, but it lacks the refinement and structure required to make a widespread impact. It is great for Mike and Matt to have found a potential path to freedom from the demons they have carried for years. Maybe watching a group of people having an acid trip in the woods will encourage others to look for alternative treatments, but From Shock to Awe seems more interested in the drugs than helping.