Austin Film Festival Movie Review: ‘Young King’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Vince Washington and Kirby Griffin as Diondre Howell and Fatimah Danel in Bryant T. Griffin’s YOUNG KING. (Photo Courtesy of Young Kings Studio.)

One particular truth that we don’t acknowledge enough in the United States of America, is that as a whole, Americans love to romanticize war, and it makes sense as to why. After all, it was war that liberated the colonies from King George and helped give rise to this powerful nation, and it was war that allowed for it to finally unify as one. Not to mention, it was war that made us a superpower when we joined in to help the world destroy the Nazi war machine. So, those wars, and our desire to maintain dominance has indeed allowed for us to romanticize war as a ‘classy' end to a means and that same love of it translates into popular media as well. After all, we’ve all seen noble and heroic stories about those very wars, and even the ones we’ve come to lament have a beautiful label to them.
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That they were fought to stop the rise of communism, to liberate oppressed nations and end the scourge of terrorism for all time, and even our heroes that return home from war are seen in a cinematic light and well… let’s just cut to it. This is all problematic. Because war is hell, and it costs lives and it is ugly and devastating, and while it may be necessary now and again… it is not something to be celebrated or fawned over. Especially when it comes to the soldiers that come home from combat. Who were tasked with some tough and devastating acts that had an incredible impact up on them. One that we are just now starting to understand. Thankfully though, we are finally starting to see films that don’t show us a soldier standing tall and proud as the flag waves behind them before fading to black. They’re showing us what happens to these brave soldiers when they return home from that proud moment.  

If anything, what really happens after the ‘wondrous’ war is won is top of mind today, simply because a stunning film that recently debuted at the Austin Film Festival, showcases the real price of freedom, and Young King accomplishes that… by taking us into the life of a veteran. For we meet Diondre Howell shortly after he’s come home from the Iraq War, and while he is happy to be home and ready to start a new life, potentially with a lovely woman he’s met, named Fatimah, he is not himself. For in the back of his mind, are the horrors and intensity of that brutal war and the echoes of the past, and the trauma and PTSD he clearly harbors, begin to bring forth real struggles in his life. The kind that only get worse when he realizes that the Veterans Affairs office won’t help him in the slightest, and of course… he cannot afford the incredible prices of health care in America, so he drifts into the darkness. Putting his new relationship in serious jeopardy and scaring his family to no end. Prompting his family to race against time and find Diondre help before that darkness consumes him.

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Vince Washington as Diondre Howell in Bryant T. Griffin’s YOUNG KING. (Photo Courtesy of Young Kings Studio.)

Which is the perfect way in which to explore how we romanticize war and forget about our veterans in the process. Courtesy of a film that is based on a true story, that also holds nothing back in showcasing the truth. Since it showcases how we just give our soldiers a pat on the back, a reminder of the hero they are, and their discharge papers and let their story fade to black. But that’s just it, life goes on for these soldiers, and they are now tasked with relaxing and enjoying life… when they spent years surrounded by a fear of death and images and acts that aren’t commonplace to human beings. For they saw death everywhere, and they took part in taking lives and that is a lot to process, a lot to remove from a person’s psyche, and this is what comes out of war. Broken men. Broken women. Who are lost and hurting, and that is what make this film so brutal and so devastating.
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Because truly, these soldiers have no programs to turn to, and the average person won’t hear what they have to say because they cannot comprehend what it means to gun down a person in the name of a cause, and it just heartbreaking to watch Diondre cry out in this film and beg for help, beg for someone, anyone to listen. Because it should not be like this. Not in America. And if we are that ready to send baby faced adults to war, we need to be ready to care for them when they come home, and well, the reality of how life goes for our veterans leads to some shocking moments in this story. Wherein we see the impact of unfettered PTSD and trauma, and how it truly transforms a person when they lose hope and cannot cope and that makes this… a commanding feature. One that will rattle you to your core with the truth it puts on display, and it will in fact stay with you for a very, very long time.

Because as mentioned before, nothing is held back in this story, and it is filmed and presented in a manner that feels authentic and feels real, paying tribute to the true story its based upon while making it emotionally accessible to the audience, and it needs to be. Because Diondre is someone we know. He’s a cousin, a brother, a father… an American. Drowning in a sea of sorrow as we light fireworks and toast beers to another war won, but at what cost? And this film deserves a round of applause for being so brave and for being so moving so we can finally well, care about veterans. Which is a testament to the work of Writer/Director Bryant T. Griffin, and the work of his talented cast, with Vince Washington leading the charge and taking us on a journey that is heartbreaking but necessary to sit through. Because it is high time, we stop celebrating wars and start celebrating the people who chose to fight them, by caring for them the right way.

To watch ‘Young King’ visit the Austin Film Festival website. Stay tuned for more coverage from this film, courtesy of our interview with Writer/Director Bryant T. Griffin, Producer Selena Leoni, and Composer Karam Salem.

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