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SXSW capsule review: ‘The Way We Get By’

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By John DeFore | Thursday, March 12, 2009, 12:36 PM

Aron Gaudet’s heartstring-tugging documentary hovers around a small airport in Bangor, Maine, at which a group of elderly men and women gather religiously: Whether it’s midnight or noon, they trek out whenever a flight is scheduled to carry U.S. troops into or out of Afghanistan and Iraq.

The film explores the motivations of a few greeters (some are vets of World War II, some have grandkids in the service, others are simply patriotic) and spends much time tying the clouds of mortality and loss in their own lives to the dangers being faced by American troops. (The film has no political agenda to speak of.)

But its most affecting scenes are those of direct interaction between generations, as soldiers who were sent out with hugs and encouragement are amazed to see the same supporters waiting months or years later to applaud their return.

Screenings: 11:30 a.m. Sunday, Austin Convention Center; noon Monday, Alamo South; 7 p.m. Thursday, Austin Convention Center.

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