A must see historical perspective of the war that ensured the Independence of the 13 US colonies

Rating: 9/10 (10 September 2009)

During our 4th of July, 2007 celebration, we decided to see this movie to put the birth of our nation into perspective. We just completed a vacation tour of the South Eastern United States, visiting our home State Florida, and then driving through Alabama, staying for a few days with family in Fayetteville, Georgia, then onto to Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Washington, DC, South Carolina and back through Georgia, finally arriving safe at home in Miami Lakes, Florida. Throughout our trip, we visited war memorials, monuments, and historical places that inspired taking the time to delve into the patriots that forged our way of life. This movie takes place in South Carolina back in the 1776 struggle to free ourselves from British rule. The hero, Benjamin Martin is the consolidation of many patriots, and it surfaces the tremendous sacrifice endured by our ancestors, who survived through the destruction of their homes and the trauma of losing family members to the cruelty displayed by many a British soldier. Benjamin Martin, masterfully played by Mel Gibson, is a hero of the French-Indian war, who witnessed such cruelty during the many battles he survived that he has decided to live by peaceful means and not get involved in what he augurs to be a rather brutal fight that shall not take place in a remote location, but that will take its toll in every backyard of the residents of the town where he lives with his six children. His wife has died and he is therefore, solely responsible for the upbringing of the children, thus he explains, he does not have the "luxury to fight" for he has the responsibility to parent his children 100% of the time. But his eldest son enlists, and as Gabriel goes off to war, events start taking a rather menacing turn which in the end compels this father to become integral part on our fight for Independence. As we watched the movie... Don and Virginia McDonald, Alex, Katya and Nadya Ariano... and myself... we were left with the realization that our nation was formed by men willing and able to sacrifice all for a new way of life... for the gift that it represents to live our lives guided by the precious document represented by our Constitution, and with the awesome responsibility of doing whatever it takes to ensure that the USA remain... free from tyranny! A must see film!!!