The War

Plot synopsis:
The War tells the story about a young boy named Stu (Elijah Wood) and his father Stephen (Kevin Costner), who is a recovering war veteran. Stu, his sister Lidia Simmons (Lexi Randall), and their friends are determined to build the ultimate tree fort during their summer break. Stu's father has equally high hopes of rebuilding his life and the life of his family. Stu is constantly getting into fights with everyone who says a bad word about him or his sister. Especially a group of children, who Stu considers to be the lowest of the low, the Lipnicki's. Stephen, Stu's father realized what was worth fighting over and what wasn't, and so he tries to help Stu understand that he needs to pick his battles. Lidia, meanwhile, is off in the Lipnicki's junkyard, scavenging for the items they need to make the tree fort. She runs into Billy Lipnicki (Christopher Fennell) on one of her trips, and pays him ten cents to stay quiet. Once the tree fort is completely built, Billy spends all the money he got on ice cream. His father and brothers and sister find him with them as confront him about how he got all that ice cream. His eldest brother shaves a portion of his head and Billy tells about Lidia taking stuff from the yard. The Lipnicki's go to the tree fort and make a dare with Stu, whoever swims across the water tower while it's draining and back, gets to keep the tree fort. The Lipnicki's back out of the dare, but Stu goes through with it. The Lipnicki's promise to not take the fort, and one of the Lipnicki's throw the lock and key to the fort on top of the old water tower roof. Stu gets the lock, but couldn't reach the key. Later that day, Stu's father is in the hospital because of an accident at his work. A few days later, Stephen dies. That day, the Lipnicki's break their promise about staying away from the tree fort, and take it from Lidia and her friends. Stu finds his father's old crate of war items, face paint, smoke bombs, grenades, and his father's army tags. Stu and his friends start a war with the Lipnicki's to get the tree fort back. The tree fort gets ruined in the process, and Billy Lipnicki goes to the water tower to try and get the key, to stop the fighting. Billy falls through the roof of the water tower and Stu jumps in after him. He and Arliss (Donald Sellers) manage to free Billy from the drain and get him on solid ground. However, Billy is ice cold and isn't breathing. Stu and Lidia try everything they can to get Billy to breath again, and after a lot of slapping and yelling, finally Billy takes a breath. After that, the Lipnicki's and the Simmons stopped fighting with each other. The tree fort never got fixed, and Stu was able to come to terms about his father's sudden death.

Tags: tragedy

Review:
Costner turns out to have a very strong "supporting" role because the movie really is about Elijah Woods' character and the other kids who find out about the real war we human beings seem to fight daily.
After Costner's character was faced with killing people in the Vietnam war, he fully understood that love was the only thing fighting for.
It is a beautifully crafted film from its intricate, multi-layered story to its moving, realistic performances to its homestyle, nostalgic cinematography."The War" combines some of the best elements of "Forrest Gump" and "Fried Green Tomatoes." It captures the nostalgia of its timeframe, the innocence and naivete of youth, the situational humor of the moment, the consequences one's decisions and actions bring, and the tragedy of life.
Each narrator tells the story of her brother and her father: their growth and what has been learned from and about them."Sometimes all it takes is a split second to do something you regret the whole rest of your life." What a great and appropriate theme for a film that few went to see.
Again, the kids carry the scene with their show of pride and willingness to stand by each other in adversity.All in all, it's a good movie and good for older children to watch even though there is some strong language and violence.
"The War" is one of the few "kid" movies that takes itself seriously enough to be loved and appreciated by young and old audiences alike.
Using no great special effects and no incredible shooting technologies this movie is worth seeing namely because of the way it makes your feelings come out into the open.
Spending two hours watching a movie like this is much more worthy than spending that time thinking of all those unimportant issues we are dealing with during all our lives.
While Steven is trying to re-build his own life, Stu and Lydia are spending the summer building a tree house with the help of their friends, while trying to avoid the Lipnicki children, who take on the "local bullies" role.I won't go into anymore detail concerning plot, as it may spoil parts of the movie for some.
The length of The War, at just on 2 hours, is sufficient for the plot and all its happenings to unfold, but any longer may have proved to be a little drawn out.The performances put in by all the main actors and actresses (as well as many of the minor parts) are quite good.
With his angry outbursts, expressive face, and "naturalness" in front of the camera, Wood creates a very believable Stu. This is one of his best performances, except maybe for his portrayal of Mikey in The Ice StormKevin Costner, in what must be one of his best (yet lesser known) roles, is very understated but brilliantly cast as Steve.
After watching these two movies, his acting talent and the range of characters that he can effectively bring to life is obvious.Mare Winningham is perfectly cast as Lois, the hard-working, determined and supportive wife and mother.
I watched this movie because of Kevin Costner and loved it because of Elijah Wood's performance.
Though on the surface it might be seen as yet another movie about poverty in Mississippi (which is, by the way, the poorest State in the US) or about the impact of the Vietnam War on the family of veterans, "The War" exceeds expectations on several fronts: presentation, complexity, candidness, and good acting.
The story is narrated from the point of view of 12-year old Lidia, played excellently by Lexi Randall, with the acceptance kids usually have at that age ("we are dirt poor, like everyone else in Juliette, Mississippi" - she tells us right of the start).
The father, also played impeccably by Kevin Costner, is troubled by war nightmares and the lack of a stable job, but has the courage to eliminate violence from daily living, aiming to show it to his kids by example, against the pressure for violence from the environment they live in, and to be as good a father as he can in the given circumstances.
The War goes on at several levels: Kids fighting in the forefront, Vietnam in the background, and the inner struggles of the main characters, being this latter what truly gives depth to the story.
This is another heartfelt drama starring Elijah Wood, where he plays the son of Vietnam War vet Stephen Simmons (Kevin Costner) who must deal with his son's rivalries with other children and his own personal and employment problems.The title "The War" is a bit misleading for this movie, as it shows more how fighting in a war can affect a person.
While I do not remember much from this movie, I do recall being impressed from the acting, especially that of young Elijah Wood.
Just like an earlier film he appeared in, Paradise, this movie will make you forget your troubles and inner-demons, have courage to deal with your problems and treasure your values.Costner and Wood make a great father-son team.
However his time in Vietnam has left its scars (both physically and emotionally), and has placed strain on his relationship with wife Lois (Mare Winningham), and his children Lydia (Lexi Randall) and Stu (Elijah Wood), who are 12 year old twins.
However his time in Vietnam has left its scars (both physically and emotionally), and has placed strain on his relationship with wife Lois (Mare Winningham), and his children Lydia (Lexi Randall) and Stu (Elijah Wood), who are 12 year old twins.
Lexi Randall, as Lydia, also shines at times, although she is almost overshadowed by the wonderful performance of her best friend Elvadine, played by Latoya Chisholm This movie has a similar feel to that of Fried Green Tomatoes (both films are directed by Jon AvnetPicture The overall picture quality of this HD DVD is very good.
At times this transfer looks brilliant - almost on par with the best looking HD DVD titles out thereThere is some noticeable grain in night scenes and some sequences filmed indoors.
Sure, the discrete sound effects are not as convincing as those on well recorded and recently released action movie, but once again it is an impressive mix for a 13 year old movie The War soundtrack includes a mix of classic songs from the 1960s and 1970s (Cat Stevens, Credence, The Supremes, Aretha Franklin), and also boasts and interesting and varied score that is especially moving in some scenes.
I don't see how anybody, after seeing a movie like this, could not be moved, even enough to do something about this dumb world we live in, Second, great acting.
But this pair as well as the great performances by the other actors and actresses expresses the depth of each individual character and why people act the way they do.
With solid play acting by Kevin Costner and young Elijah Wood.
Costner gallantly gives up the screen to the precocious Elijah Wood, who proves yet again why he will go very far in movies.
Maybe he lost everything during the war, his best friend, his house, even the respects by his daughter, but he finally used his powerful love to get the most precious emotion in this world.
hi I liked this movie for the story and all the other stuff but what really made me love this movie was the performance of Elijah Wood.
The two obviously don't mix.Stu (Elijah Wood) lives in a poor, rundown little village after the Vietnam war.
Director Jon Avnet, who earlier did Fried Green Tomatoes and recently Red Corner handled it well, but brought some unneccesary melodramtic parts that nearly ruined the picture, much like Richard Donner with Radio Flyer.Elijah Wood, looking way different from his previous role in the Good Son, does unbelievably well in his part, as does the often overrated Kevin Costner.The only thing that deterred me from seeing it earlier was the box (I saw it a month ago).
Continuing my plan to watch every Kevin Costner movie in order, i come to 1994's The War. I recall my surprise at seeing KC (still Hollywoods golden boy at the time) taking a supporting role in a movie about kids.
KC's Ste Simmons could easily kick the Lipnicki dad's butt, but he knows that fighting does not solve anything, and he even gives a couple of the Lipnicki kids cotton candy, after they beat Wood up "because it don't look like nobody has done much for them in a long time." If the movie had just focused on the kids, the families, and their every day problems , I think, this would have been viewed as a small masterpiece.
All of the performances are so good (Especially Wood and Randall) you really believe you are watching the characters, not the actors.
The Movie has great and realistic performances from Costner and Elijah Woods.
A lot of people that have reviewed here say this movie is too sentimental, too much of an "ideal morals" kind of movie, that they don't like coming of age films, and so forth.I think this movie is a nice break from the typical movies that everyone likes nowadays....ones that are full of sex, sexual humor, people slicing each other's heads off, exploding buildings, etc...Is it a simple story?
I do agree with the statement that kids don't talk like grown-ups, maybe they did back in the time that this movie was set.
This is by no means a trendy mainstream type of movie, but Kevin Costner and Elijah Wood are great here.
His challenging portrayal of a complex character alone makes the movie worth watching.It's a beautifully-shot, well-acted period film (with a great soundtrack!).
Predictable and somewhat overreaching family-oriented drama shoehorns in Kevin Costner as the father of two of the central good kids; he's just back from Vietnam and still hears the choppers, but we know he's in big trouble once he puts everything on the line to take a dangerous mining job.
There are way too many unrealistic scenes featuring the kids in this movie where they philosophize about life, stand up to their teachers by reciting a monologue about their lives lasting 5 minutes, and support each other emotionally with cute quips, smiles, and longing gazes.
Even though the title and plot synopsis makes the audience think they are going into an adult drama, The War is actually about children.Kevin Costner plays a Vietnam veteran who returns home to Mississippi (cue all actors have varying degrees of accents) and struggles to reconnect with his wife and children.
If the entire movie was about his readjustment after wartime, I would have liked it much better.The kids get in a mini-war that's probably supposed to be a poignant "do as we say but not as we do" lesson for grown-ups, but it comes across as silly and annoying for viewers.
The war scenes are not believable and Kevin Costner is highly overrated as an actor Elijah Wood is far and away the star of the cast.
The head of the family was a part of the Vietnam War, his wife suffered, and their kids are warring with their fellow aged people.'The War' has a wonderful first hour, in fact the portions between Elijah Wood and Kevin Costner are memorable and highly emotional.
There are at least 3 wars represented in this film, but none of them involves screen action of the sort desired by those young men.This could have been SUCH a good movie if it had displayed the sort of integrity it advocates.
Never was Kevin Costner better than in "The War", and never have I've seen a better performance of the complete cast of a film - so I just doff my hat and say: "Perfick!" (For "Perfick!" see "The Darling Buds of May").Never heard of any of the actors before, except Kevin and Elijah Wood, of Lord of the Rings fame.This one of those rare films that suit almost any age, as long as you can read the subtitles, or understand the dialogue!Stumbled on it by chance really, and this is a true gem - yeah, I'm a 50+ guy who nearly lost my life the other day in an accident, but this shook me more!
I loved this movie, and not just for the sake of the cuter-than-cute Elijah Wood, but for the very strong message, excellent acting and wonderful charm.
Kevin Costner shows his sensitive side as the loving father of Stu (Wood) in a heartwarming story that perhaps George Bush should draw inspiration from.
This is a great movie to watch with your kids, as the message of "No Violence" is so relevant in  today's society.
I am not a big Kevin Costner fan, but in this movie he actually proves he CAN act, Elijah Wood does an incredible job in this movie, I think his performance could very well be the best performance for a young star I have ever seen.
I think this movie is extraordinary and deserves a 10 out of 10, some of the scenes do get a little "annoying" at times, but overall this is one of the best movies I have ever seen, and certainly the most UNDERRATED!!
The story is about a boy  whose father went to Viet-Nam and never came quite well, mentally speaking; and who has to confront many problems everyday, including kids fights, poverty, etc.The cast is great, Elijah Woods delivers an amazing performance as Stu, the kid who fights to achieve what he believes, and Kevin Costner plays Stephen, Stu's father, who struggles to overcome all he mental disorders that Viet-Nam left him, and tries to teach his children that this world can be changed.
:)So, if you're a fan of Elijah Wood and/or drama, SEE THIS MOVIE!!.
I admit the reason I saw this film was for Elijah Wood, I had high expectations as he had been awarded NATO's best young star of the year award for his performance in it, so I could easily have been disappointed, yet I certainly wasn't.
This is one of the few movies with Kevin costner that I actually like.
"The War' is one of the best emotional father and son films, I ever seem.
The relationship between Kevin Costner and Elijah Wood is just wonderful.
Kevin Costner plays Stephen Simmons, a returning Vietnam vet who seeks to build a better life for his wife and children in 1970's Mississippi.
Kevin Costner is brimming with positive lessons on social consciousness, but struggles to be a breadwinner for his family due to post-traumatic stress disorder from his service in the Vietnam War. While this is going on, Simmons children, Stu (Elijah Wood) and Lidia (Lexi Randall) are feuding with an even poorer family of neighbors, the Lipnickis, over access to a tree fort that Stu and Lidia built.
It gives Kevin Costner something useful to do with his propensity to take himself seriously (often too seriously), but the film belongs to the young Elijah Wood.Stu (Wood) and Lidia (Lexi Randall) are the children of Stephen (Costner) and Lois (Mare Winningham) Simmons.
Great Movie for Kids to Watch.
I think this movie has a lot of important messages in it and I would suggest it for any parent to watch it with their kid.
This was one of my favorite films when I was a kid, and although I didn't understand the post-traumatic stress disorder Kevin Costner was going through, I understood his angst and I had a better understanding of fights between children after I saw this movie.
SPOILER* at the end of the movie it has a really important message when Elijah Wood's character risked his life to save one of the bullies, the message is that when in the face of death the minor fights between the kids were all forgotten in that instant- it didn't mean anything.
How there was a war for the veterans of Vietnam when they came home and soldiers have to deal with the guilt and whether they did the right thing or not- somewhat a good starting point for other movies like Born on the Forth of July and Jacob's Ladder.
Also if you do watch this with your kid, prepare yourself, this like Fried Green Tomatoes is a sad movie.
The War - A Great Vehicle for the Young Elijah Wood.
Wowthis movie speaks volumes.The War (1994) is about a man, Stephen, (Kevin Costner) struggling to make ends meet for his family after he returns from being hospitalized because of psychological problems (among others) stemming from being in the Vietnam War. Meanwhile, his son Stu (Elijah Wood) and daughter Lydia (Lexi Randall) are building a tree house with their friends and must deal with the local family of bullies on a day-to-day basis.
Kevin Costner is wonderful as the well-to-do dad, and reminds me of why I enjoy his films so much, and both Elijah Wood and Lexi Randall turn in amazing performances.
I've seen many good films in my life, but "The War" has easily made the step to my all-time favorites!!
A great cast, a fine and beautiful soundtrack, a brilliant and entertaining story and some of the best screen performances ever in film history make this movie to an extra-ordinary masterpiece, sadly underrated and unfortunately neglected by those making the nominations for the Academy Awards.Kevin Costner portrays here the ordinary, simple and unobtrusive man from the neighbourhood, whose life changed completely through his experiences in Vietnam.
What a great emotional performance...Elijah Wood is just brilliant!!
Great...The story is also, in addition to these great character performances given by Elijah, Kevin Costner, Mare Winnigham and Lexi Randall, so brilliant and unique, and I will tell you why I think that.
What makes this film so unique is also this brilliant combination of different genres, like this movie is 1.