Charles Figley, Ph.D.

I watched this film on a flight from LA to NOLA (as the Saints football team was winning). I thought about writing this quick review as I watched it. Here is my review: I liked the message it was portraying. I must admit I loved the revenge --and that the avenger was a strong woman. What I did not like was the graphic violence and its wake of blood and guts. Much of it unnecessary (to me). The message was: Put yourself in the shoes of a mother who witnessed the murder of her family (husband and daughter). And ask yourself: Would I have the motivation to systematically kill all those responsible murder of my children? Most of us would but wouldn't. She did. In Peppermint, right-overcomes-wrong message is represented in several characters. But sometimes, you need to scare other wannabes that there are costs. The wrath of horrific violence in recent years is due, in part, to a saturation of stories but without the consequences; not just the stories of the victims who lost their lives and left their families grieving. All people would seek justice who have been wronged if it is considered a human right. Unfortunately the city portrayed in the film had considerable corruption. Crooked judges are the worst. So, when the price is high (e.g. murder of her family), acquiring a sense of justice is paramount. I liked the production, acting, but mostly I liked an additional message: Violence begets violence and loss that causes much more. But being exposed to so, so many victims and their stories, I have grown accustomed to tragedy and never seeing victims transform themselves, somehow into restoring justice. So it's satisfying to me to see, at times, the victims rise up to cause perpetrators to suffer. I can not comment on the merits as a piece of art, but Pepperment was not just entertaining, though forcing me to look away at times, but the film is a statement about the power of cartels and their tentacle of crime and brutal control. We need an educational film with the same message with a different story line.

Painful to watch at times, Marines, Amry soldiers, and sailors arriving from war participate in a new mental health screening and treatment program. The film, completed in 1946 but never officially released to the public, remained embargoed until 1980, with this new release. I knew of this film since studying Vietnam war veterans since 1972 prior to the end of that war.