The Good Soldier, a new documentary film produced and directed by Lexy Lovell and Michael Uys, follows the journeys of five combat veterans from different generations of American wars. The film tracks the soldiers from the time they sign up, go into battle, deal with the reality of war and shows how it changes them, and eventually reshapes their definition about what it means to be a good solider. The film intermingles intense and revealing interview footage with documentary film of World War II, Vietnam, the Gulf War and the war in Iraq.

Helping to tell the story of The Good Soldier are songs by Alligator recording artists JJ Grey & Mofro, as well as newly written original music by Grey. Though the soldiers live all over the U.S. now, each of them grew up in the South.  Last year, when the filmmakers were looking for music that fit with their storytelling, they found Grey's Alligator Records debut album, Country Ghetto. His Southern-rooted sound and intensity were exactly the notes they had been looking for. This is the first time Grey has scored music for a film.

Renowned historian Howard Zinn called The Good Soldier "a wonderful film with great emotional power. It was a brilliant idea to hear veterans of the various wars because the net effect is to deal, not just with one odious war, but with the phenomenon of war as a universal evil."

On November 6th, an edited version of the film (to fit into the one-hour time slot) will be featured on the PBS television program, Bill Moyers' Journal. In addition, The Good Soldier is opening in a number of cities on Veterans Day, November 11^th. Dates of various openings are below.

Born and raised outside Jacksonville, Florida, JJ Grey comes from a long tradition of Southern musical storytellers and, like the best of the great Southern writers, he fills his songs with details that are at once vivid and personal, political and universal. 

His multi-textured music overflows with dynamic rhythms and thought-provoking lyrics. From raw funk to deep soul, blues and rock, JJ and his band Mofro deliver devastating live and recorded performances. Debuting in 2001 with Blackwater, following up in 2004 with Lochloosa (both albums reissued by Alligator in 2007), Grey steadily built an intensely loyal following. In 2007 and 2008 Grey released, Country Ghetto and Orange Blossoms respectively, further growing his already large audience. He will release his first-ever vinyl LP, The Choice Cuts, on November 3, 2009.

The film will show in the following cities. For more specific information regarding showtimes, go to www.thegoodsoldier.com.

NOVEMBER 6TH

CHICAGO, IL
Gene Siskel Film Center
www.siskelfilmcenter.org

NOVEMBER 10TH

BOISE, ID
The Flicks
www.theflicksboise.com

VETERANS DAY, NOVEMBER 11TH

NEW YORK PREMIERE
City Cinemas Village East
www.villageeastcinema.com

ANN ARBOR, MI
Michigan Theater
www.michtheater.org

CAMBRIDGE, MA
The Brattle
www.brattlefilm.org

CLAREMONT, CA
Laemmle's Claremont
www.laemmle.com

ENCINO, CA
Laemmle's Town Center
www.laemmle.com

GLOUCESTER, MA
Cape Ann Community Center
www.massbayfilmproject.org

HAMILTON, NY
Hamilton Theater
www.hamiltontheater.net

KANSAS CITY, MO
Tivoli Theatre
www.tivolikc.com

MADISON, WI
Sundance Cinemas Madison
www.sundancecinemas.com

NEWPORT, RI
Jane Pickens Theatre
www.janepickens.com

PASADENA, CA
Laemmle's Playhouse
www.laemmle.com

SAN FRANCISCO, CA
The Roxie Theater
www.roxie.com

SAN RAFAEL, CA
Smith Rafael Film Center
www.cafilm.org

SANTA MONICA, CA
Laemmle's Monica
www.laemmle.com

SCHENECTADY, NY
Proctor's Theatre
www.proctors.org

THREE RIVERS, MI
The Riviera Theatre
www.trriviera.com


NOVEMBER 15TH
WILMINGTON, DE
Theatre N at Nemours
www.theatren.org

LAKE WORTH, FL
Lake Worth Playhouse
www.lakeworthplayhouse.org