Let There Be Light (1946)

Plot

As the concluding chapter in John Huston's trilogy for the U.S. government, this poignant 1946 documentary sheds light on the invisible wounds of returning veterans. Focusing on the experiences of patients and medical staff, it explores the psychological scars of war, then labeled as psychoneurosis or shell-shock, which we now recognize as PTSD. Despite its critical subject matter, government officials at the time considered the film detrimental to postwar morale, preventing its public release until 1981. The film remains a powerful examination of the long-lasting effects of combat on the human psyche.