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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review
Kevin Costner is the big name in The War, but the film belongs squarely to Elijah Wood, who plays his son. The film deals with the children of a Vietnam veteran in 1970 Mississippi; as their dad (Costner) tries to cope with post-traumatic stress disorder after serving in the war, the kids build a mammoth tree house in the woods--then must defend it against the local white-trash bullies. The film includes a particularly harrowing contest involving a swim across the reservoir of a decrepit water tower; still, director Jon Avnet can't avoid a certain "can't we all just get along" didactic message. That doesn't put a damper on the youthfully natural quality of the child actors, and Costner is actually quite winning as a sensitive, troubled soul. --Marshall Fine, Amazon.com
A beautiful, thought-provoking film
Review date: 2001-03-15 Rating: 10 out of 10
"The War," a film by director Jon Avnet, paints a beautiful picture of family life in rural Mississipi, shortly after the Vietnam war. Steven Simmons (Kevin Kostner) has returned from Vietnam and is suffering from post-traumatic stress. He cannot find work, his family has been evicted and their house destroyed. His children, Stu (Elijah Wood) and Lidia (Lexi Randall) have problems of their own. Seen through the eyes of 12-year-old Lidia, the film centres round a tree-house that the children build, a possession of theirs that they will defend against local children - at all costs. "This is our house," says Lidia. "Maybe the only one we are ever going to have. Don't you think we should fight for it?" Meanwhile their father tries to teach them the importance of learning how NOT to fight - before it is too late. Drawing a parallel between a childhood battle and Vietnam, "The War" is a film about learning to create, not destroy, and how to believe that love conquers all. Beautifully shot, and superbly acted, "The War" tells us that human beings can do anything they want to - if they just believe they can.