Hitting Home: Aron Gaudet on 'The Way We Get By'

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"THE WAY WE GET BY" is a bracing film documentary following three volunteer greeters who welcome soldiers returning home from war. It evolves quickly, though, into a mortality play about loss, aging and feeling forgotten. Director Aron Gaudet spoke with Express about his struggle and how he summoned the resilience to tell their story, in the midst of an unpopular war, before a politically polarized nation.

» EXPRESS: What inspired you?
» GAUDET: My mother got us interested in it. She had retired a few years before. When we started making movies, she was 70 years old. I was working in television and trying to bridge over to documentary filmmaking. But that's hard to do because news on TV is so over and done with in a matter of hours.

These great stories would come in but to do them right, you'd need days or even weeks. I was inspired back then from that. This is the opposite.

» EXPRESS: What were the challenges in taking on a subject like war?
» GAUDET: When we were making the movie, [George W.] Bush was president. And finishing it up was the end of his eight years. The country was in this spot where people weren't showing their patriotism, and they seemed down on the country in general. We were a little worried about the movie.

» EXPRESS: So you actually saw patriotism and the antiwar message resonate with audiences?
» GAUDET: Our movie is about the troops and volunteerism. We wanted this to be a tool and example in communities. This service, people greeting returning soldiers, it puts a purpose in their lives that might not otherwise have been realized.

» EXPRESS: Who is your inspiration?
» GAUDET: My mom. She's profiled in the film and is so selfless, as are all of the greeters. They talk about how much it means to do this. But that's a double-edged sword. They'll all say, "I wish the war ended yesterday, and everyone would come home." But what would they do after that?

» EXPRESS: Where do you think that selflessness comes from?
» GAUDET: For the oldest subject, Bill Knight, who is a World War II vet, I really think if this opportunity to greet didn't present itself, he probably wouldn't be here. He had given up on life. His wife had died years earlier and he was living in pretty tough circumstances.

For my mom it was the right thing that came along. Being the mother of eight kids, she's so in tune with family. She loves taking care of people; she loves talking to the troops about their own families.

» EXPRESS: What has the reception been like?
» GAUDET: A group of 20-year-olds saw it. They knew Jerry, the third subject in the film, would be returning from the premiere to Maine. They contacted us and asked what airline he was flying. And there they were when he arrived, all with signs, greeting him. That's what the movie means to people, and that's why we made it.

» AMC Loews Shirlington 7, 2772 S. Randolph St., Arlington; Oct. 2-8; 703-671- 0912.

Written by Express contributor Christopher Roy Correa
Photo courtesy TheWayWeGetByMovie.com