CASCO, Wis. (SPECTRUM NEWS) -- A Casco, Wisconsin man and his family are featured in a newly released Netflix documentary. "Father Soldier Son" chronicles 10 years in the life of a military family. Brian Eisch admits his story doesn’t have a fairytale ending.
“We call the documentary our upside-down roller coaster. Most roller coasters you go up and then the fun’s coming down. With ours, it’s down and then we try to get back up,” says Brian.
A New York Times film crew followed Eisch’s army battalion while he was in Afghanistan in 2010. When they found out he was a single father of two boys, they began to focus on his story.
"In the course of 10 years, there were just certain events that transpired that just kept it going. It turned into something much bigger than we ever thought,” says Brian.
The film covers war, patriotism, amputation and two families coming together when Brian married Maria.
“That was our lives. Nothing was scripted. There’s a lot of emotions and a lot of ups and downs. I think wow, we’ve lived this. Brian’s lived this,” says Maria.
There are many low points in the film but none lower than the death of a family member.
“The first time we watched it, we were balling the whole time,” says Brian.
Maria’s son Jordan is a private person. His friends learned a lot about his past by watching the film.
“It’s usually something harder for me to talk about. It’s very painful. It’s hard to talk about him and I don’t,” says Jordan.
It takes a lot of trust to turn your life story over to strangers. Brian’s son Isaac grew up in front of the cameras. He thinks the filmmakers got it right.
“They did an amazing job on that. It’s almost like I’m not watching my own story. It’s just like a sad movie,” says Isaac.
Since it’s release, this Casco family has gotten quite the response.
“My Instagram is constantly blowing up with requests from people I do not know,” says Isaac.
“I can’t set my phone down. I have eighty messages coming in every five minutes,” says Brian.
“I like hearing what people have to say and what they have taken from it,” says Maria.
One response stood out to Brian.
“He said, 'Thanks for showing the other side. Most of the time all you see is the glamour of the military. The guns shooting and stuff like that. You don’t see the aftermath.”'