In the Valley of Elah is a tautly paced detective thriller set among American war vets from Iraq — so it’s no surprise that the press conference for Paul Haggis’ new feature dived passionately into politics. What was surprising was the degree to which Haggis and star Tommy Lee Jones sparred with CBC broadcaster Evan Solomon.

Jones flat out refused to talk about the motivations behind his memorable performance as Hank Deerfield, a former military inspector who obsessively investigates the death of his serviceman son, recently returned from Iraq.

Eventually relenting, Jones snapped at Solomon, ‘It’s acting… conveying an impersonation of emotion.’

Haggis, who also seemed slightly at odds with the personable-but-slick Solomon, pointed out that Jones had helped him to ‘pare down to the truth’ in his own writing and editing. The Canadian-born writer/director praised Jones for his portrayal of a proud man decaying in the face of personal tragedy. ‘His [Jones’] descent into hell was slow and accurate,’ said Haggis.

Haggis called the U.S. ‘a country in crisis,’ due to the Iraq war, and said he wanted to ‘ask questions’ by making Elah, the major one being ‘Who are we as Americans?’

When Solomon asked Haggis whether his roots in Ontario affected the film, the veteran CBC journalist was firmly put in his place: ‘Who are we as Canadians would be less interesting, don’t you think?’

Haggis’ entourage at the conference included Wes Chatham, Jake McLaughlin and Sean Huze, three young actors who had served time in Iraq. Admitting that he was ‘mesmerized’ by these recently returned veterans’ authentic performances, Haggis talked movingly about post-traumatic stress disorder, a condition that affects many soldiers who have served in Iraq. When he screened the film privately last week in the U.S., three women came up to Haggis afterward to tell him about loved ones who had come back from Iraq only to commit suicide within a week of their return.

‘Many come back with scars they don’t know they have,’ Haggis told the room.

Echoing his words, McLaughlin said that the government gave him ‘no support’ even though he suffered a bad back and had to endure surgery due to injuries sustained in the war. Huze, who has developed a theatrical troupe of Iraq veterans as a way of dealing with the effects of the war, hopes that In the Valley of Elah ‘drives U.S. consciousness to support the troops.’

TIFF is screening at least three films about Iraq — Brian De Palma’s Redacted, Nick Broomfield’s Battle for Haditha and Elah — but Haggis remarked, ‘There should be 30 films, not three.’

His was made because, ‘Clint Eastwood championed it. The war was popular when the project was started. Bush’s approval rating was 80%. Warner Bros. was still scared [a year after it had committed to a development deal] when it was time to shoot,’ he said.

‘Artists have a responsibility to speak out’ when they see injustices in the world, he concluded.