Beautiful Goddamn Day at Sand Castle

When Private Ocre (Nicholas Hoult) slammed his hand with Humvee door, got a cast and a bottle of painkillers, I still thought Sand Castle could be just a story of an addict in war, but I was wrong, badly.  It's nothing like that, but a joining-military-paying-college boy trying to get out without getting killed.

We all know the typical American invading Iraq matters, the WMD, the oil, the money, this film has nothing of those, it focuses on the development of Ocre, characters and relationships.

Ocre joined for college money, but when he got involved in the fixing the pump station, establishing fragile connections with locals, working on the issues, it's almost if he is finding where he belongs.

His grandfather and father both were in military -- a reason he claimed why he joined -- but his father went AWOL on him when he was only six, that must be affecting him.

His brothers, first was killed in front of him when they were pinned down, then two were injured as they working on the actionable intel.  Just as the fix for station was about to be finished, an IED blew everything he worked to nothing.

Harper (Logan Marshall-Green) got a vacation and Ocre got to be home, out of the war, the war he didn't ask to get, but he got it, really did.  Didn't want out, but that's not his choice and no need to slam anything.

He got a beautiful goddamn day.