Taglines: What’s worth fighting for?
The War movie storyline. Stephen (Kevin Costner), a shell-shocked Vietnam veteran, returns from a mental hospital, which he entered voluntarily because he was suffering from nightmares about the war and had in consequence lost three jobs in a row.
After having been treated and finally coming home again, he gets a new job as custodial engineer at a grammar school, but loses it again within less than one week because of a law forbidding people who spent time in a mental hospital to work within the vicinity of children. However, the Simmons family desperately needs money, so Stephen continues looking for work, and finds a job picking potatoes. There he makes friends with a man called Moe Henry, with whose help he succeeds in obtaining a job working in a mine – his best one yet.
In the meantime, the twins Lidia and Stu try to get away from the dreary reality of their lives. They find a tree in a forest close to their house and decide to build a tree house there. At first they and their friends argue over who has to construct it and who is allowed to use it; the three boys – Stu, Chet and Marsh – want it all to themselves, while the girls – Lidia, Elvadine and Amber – want them to work on it and share it afterwards.
After several deals, they agree to build the tree house together. The girls get everything they need from the garbage heap belonging to the Lipnickis, a neighboring family with a reputation for bullying, who have a grudge against the Simmons and their friends. Unfortunately Billy, the youngest of the Lipnicki kids, discovers Lidia, Elvadine and Amber on his father’s territory, so the girls have to pay him to keep quiet, but later after he falls under a candy coma his brothers force him to betray Lidia’s secret.
The War is a 1994 drama film directed by Jon Avnet and starring Elijah Wood, Kevin Costner, Mare Winningham, Leon Sills, Lexi Randall, LaToya Chisholm, Christopher Fennell, Donald Sellers, Charlette Julius and Brennan Gallagher. It is a coming of age tale set in Mississippi in the 1970s. The film gained Wood a young actor’s award.
The War (1994)
Directed by: Jon Avnet
Starring: Elijah Wood, Kevin Costner, Mare Winningham, Leon Sills, Lexi Randall, LaToya Chisholm, Christopher Fennell, Donald Sellers, Charlette Julius, Brennan Gallagher
Screenplay by: Kathy McWorter
Production Design by: Kristi Zea
Cinematography by: Geoffrey Simpson
Film Editing by: Debra Neil-Fisher
Costume Design by: Molly Maginnis
Set Decoration by: Karen O’Hara
Art Direction by: Jeremy Conway
Music by: Thomas Newman
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for the intense depiction of human struggle and conflict.Jeremy Conway
Distributed by: Universal Pictures
Release Date: November 4, 1994
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