by Lydie Wisshaupt-Claudel
A young father in uniform stands with his small son in his arms and asks “do you remember me?” After their deployment in Afghanistan, the soldiers of the US Marines return to Twentynine Palms in California. And this peculiar desert town close to America’s largest military base suddenly springs back to life. Filmmaker Lydie Wisshaupt-Claudel accompanied 12 US marines during a stopover in their homeland. She follows the young men at home, to the tattoo studio, hairdressers, bar and even the local bible group. They can pass their time with anything they like, but what they can’t do is fill their inner emptiness or suppress the knowledge that the next deployment is just around the corner.