British Special Air Service (S.A.S.), the British special forces training. Becoming the elite is easier said than done, and I Am Soldier demonstrates that quite well. The transition is not just about physical strength and ability; as it turns out the mental aspect is more essential than that, for it takes great willpower and resilience to battle the trials and tribulations, the ability to push on while the rest of you is begging to stop. Inside this film, possibly for first time, we are treated to the training that goes into becoming S.A.S.

Sgt. Mickey Tomlinson (Tom Hughes, The Game) is a chef in the British Army; haunted by a tragedy that resulted in the lost of a comrade, Mickey volunteers more the most difficult training the Army has to offer: selection for the Special Air Service. From the moment of arrival, he finds himself challenged by superior officer Staff Sgt. Carter (Noel Clarke, Star Trek: Into the Darkness) as well as his fellow recruits, questioning why a chef of all people would volunteer for elite training that possesses the lowest success rate. Despite everyone’s doubts, Mickey proves himself capable among the recruits, succeeding where many fail or quit.

"Every year a parade is held at the Virginia Military Institute to honor cadets who gave their lives at a turning point during the American Civil War. On May 15, 1864 seven friends marched into the Battle of New Market. Only four came out."

There have been many films made about the Civil War, from the classic Gone With The Wind to the docudrama Gettysburg. It's a story that deserves being told and thereby remaining in our memory now that none of the principals are alive to tell the story. Field Of Lost Shoes doesn't really fit the classic or docudrama categories. The film feels very much like a stage production and concentrates its story not so much on the fighting but the characters who found themselves thrust into the very jaws of history. Many of the characters we know well in our collective memory. There is, of course Abraham Lincoln (Krebs). Both sides of the conflict are represented by Ulysses S. Grant (Skerritt) from the Union Army and Col. John C. Breckinridge (Isaacs) from the Confederate Army. They play a pivotal role in the war and perhaps in this story, but Field Of Lost Shoes is not about them. It's about the seven cadets who suddenly found themselves in combat for causes they did not necessarily even believe in. What they did believe in was duty and honor, and that is the repeating set of themes you'll find here.