A great film standing timeless

Rating: 9/10 (25 April 2013)

I could use all the movie clichés to describe this heartwarming and bittersweet film, but only the most vivid ones will do. The direction and the camera in the opening scenes, in the plane and in the taxi are held not too close, but just far away enough to get the scene, as if we are reading a book, or eavesdropping, which is the way it should be, so smart not to take close-ups of such gut-wrenching emotional interplay. I can never forget how Homer arrives home, and how he is greeted, so bravely and so American in spirit. Even thinking about it makes my eyes water.
This is a film about bravery, about how to deal with tragedy smartly and with courage. It has humor, it has love, and as I said all the clichés that go with it. And it is timeless, for no matter what war or period of time, people will react the same, wanting to help but not knowing how, wanting to give but not knowing what to give.
A masterpiece of direction and cinema, it should be seen by young and old as a lesson both in great filmmaking and about life.