‘The Long Road Home’: Faith Under Fire

On set of The Long Road Home at U.S. Military post, Fort Hood, Killeen, Texas. (Photo: National GeographicVan Redin)

The story takes us to Iraq’s Sadr city on April 4, 2004, when the desperately poor but relatively peaceful community suddenly exploded in violence. Before the smoke clears that day, eight Americans and countless Iraqis will lose their lives—just the beginning of a years-long fight for the city.

The miniseries—though bloody and profane—succeeds because of its multilayered, thoughtfully sketched characters. I’m particularly impressed with the nuanced work of Bonilla (who plays Aguero) and Darius Homayoun, who plays Army translator and go-between Jassim Al-Lani, in whom we see the conflicted loyalties and double-sided peril of working closely with the Americans (whom many Iraqis consider invaders). When Aguero’s unit is ambushed, some immediately suspect Jassim of being a double-agent, but is he? That’s still very much in question.

But Jassim’s just one compelling character in a show full of them—folks who go well beyond easy characterizations to find the sometimes conflicted hearts and souls underneath. And that extends to what seems an honest portrayal of faith under fire.

“There are no atheists in foxholes,” goes the old cliché, and I believe that to be true. But you wouldn’t necessarily know that from many of our movies and television shows. Despite all the life-or-death situations we see in our entertainment we rarely see characters praying or crying out to or even blaming God. That, frankly, just isn’t very realistic: Even as our nation grows more secular, 70% of real Americans say that religion is important to them. But most fictional Americans, it seems, couldn’t care less, even in the most dire of circumstances.

The Long Road Home acknowledges that 70% of us lean on God to some extent, and that helps make this miniseries feel so honest. And it recognizes that in times of stress, even a portion of that 30% can feel a tug toward faith, a turn toward the God. Aguero admits that he can’t even remember the last time he went to Mass. And yet, when faced with the death of a friend and comrade, he kneels. He prays.

But The Long Road Home is no spiritual apologetic. Some of its characters may find comfort and strength in their beliefs, but I think they’ll find their faith challenged, as well.