The War at Home (1996)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Emilio Estevez

Writers (WGA):

James Duff (play)
James Duff (screenplay)

Release Date:

20 November 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

There Is A Secret About To Explode.

Plot:

Jeremy Collier is a Vietnam veteran who has returned home and is struggling to cope with the war experiences that haunt him...

Plot Keywords:

Thanksgiving | Vietnam | Veteran | Thanksgiving Day | 1970s

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Emilio Estevez	...	Jeremy Collier
Kathy Bates	...	Maurine Collier
Martin Sheen	...	Bob Collier
Kimberly Williams-Paisley	...	Karen Collier (as Kimberly Williams)
Corin Nemec	...	Donald
Ann Hearn	...	Prof. Tracey
Carla Gugino	...	Melissa
Marcus H. Nelson	...	Pvt. Poe
Michael Wiseman	...	Lieutenant
Jena Kraus	...	Coffee House Singer
Chad Morgan	...	Bus Station Clerk
Penelope Allen	...	Marjoree (as Penny Allen)
Geoffrey Blake	...	David
Renée Estevez	...	Brenda
Tuan Tran	...	Viet Cong

MPAA:

Rated R for a war-related shooting, an intense sequence of violent threat, and for language.

Runtime:

119 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:16 | USA:R | Singapore:PG | Argentina:16

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

Motion Picture Corporation of America (MPCA)

Trivia:

Director Emilio Estevez cast three generations of his family in the project. He cast his father Martin Sheen, his sister 'Renee Estevez', and his daughter Paloma Estevez.

Quotes:

Jeremy Collier: D'you ship to Gnome, Alaska?

Movie Connections:

References Cactus Flower (1969)

Soundtrack:

The Old Rugged Cross

Great Movie

Not being a movie aficionado, I am not familiar with the names of leading Directors, Scriptwriters, Producers and the like, but I can tell an outstanding movie when I see one.

The makers of this fine movie could well be now at the top of their fields, or may well get there pretty soon. I know that the actors are already there.

It takes talent closer to genius to show with such realism how a national tragedy like Vietnam has impacted the everyday life of a typically average American family, and make us see at close range why there are so many homeless Vietnam veterans.

Without getting into gratuitous scenes of gore and bloodshed, it makes us understand why so many youg men had flashbacks of what they had been thru.

The dialog is particularly gripping, and gives us an idea of what went on in so many families in the aftermath of Vietnam.

I wish there were more good movies like this one, not just about Vietnam, but about other social conditions as well.