I wept throughout Taking Chance. This powerful film starring Kevin Bacon as a stoic Marine competed at the Sundance Film Festival last month. It premieres on HBO this Saturday night. Many of my students indicated they had never cried so much in one movie.  What made this requiem for an American soldier killed in Iraq so powerful?

Director Ross Katz collaborated with retired Lt. Colonel Michael Strobl on the simple story. It is about a Marine who chooses to escort a fallen soldier back to his hometown for a funeral. We never see even a photo of the dead soldier, 19 year-old Private First Class Chance Phelps. Taking Chance focuses instead upon the respect extended toward the casket by limo drivers, airline attendants and pilots. It is about people pausing to pay their respects to the departed. Taking Chance is an invitation to grieve.