Violence leaves an imprint far beyond the moment it occurs, rippling through families, communities, and generations in ways we struggle to fully comprehend. The Things We Carry is a character study—an exploration of grief, loss, and how unspoken pain can transform into something unrecognizable.

In America, we are locked in opposition, unable to bridge the divide on issues that fracture us. The debate grows louder, yet we remain powerless against the human toll. This film does not aim to take a political stance but instead steps into the intimate spaces where grief and violence intersect. It asks: What happens to those left behind? How does sorrow, when unresolved, shape the choices we make?

Michael Madsen, often associated with hardened personas, delivers a performance unlike anything we’ve seen—raw, vulnerable, stripped of artifice. I wanted to re-contextualize his presence, revealing a man confronting his own fragility in a world that expects only violence.

I wanted to tell a story that doesn’t just depict the problem but immerses the audience in its emotional fallout. This is not a film about a hero or a villain—it is about the thin, fragile thread that separates one from the other.