G.I. Jesus

Amateurish production values and unpolished writing hinder this occasionally touching portrait of Jesus (Joe Arquette), a Hispanic Iraq war vet returning to his wife and daughter. Writer/director Carl Colpaert mixes in touches of satire under the wet expositional blanket of the ghost of an Iraqi man Jesus killed in Iraq. Jesus’ private conversations with the ghost sit against another reverie that involves a corrupt military officer offering big money for Jesus to work as a black operative. Patricia Morta brings a lived-in feeling to her role of Jesus’ wife Claudia, and is responsible for anchoring the realism of the picture.

Rated R. 90 mins. (C-) (Two Stars)