The War is an amazing film. An engaging, multifaceted storyline (involving wars both inward and outward) and exquisite acting, particularly from Elijah Wood (as Stu) and Lexi Randall (as Stu's sister Lidia) combine to make this one of the best films of 1994. Kevin Costner and Mare Winningham, as the children's parents, also turn in remarkable performances, but Elijah Wood steals the show.

"The War" is an underrated film by an equally underrated director. Jon Avnet, who made this film, also made "Fried Green Tomatoes" which just happens to be my favorite movie of all-time (actually, "The War" comes in second). It is a beautiful film which provokes many thoughts in the people who watch it. The movie handles subject matter that has not been hit upon enough in Hollywood: that of the crisis between a son and his father directly following the Vietnam War, where Sr. suffers from shell-shock. The film delivers a punch in the way that the characters are faced with an inner war coupled with the physical one which the entire family is facing at the time. For the father, played by Kevin Costner, it is the loss of a friend in the War, and for the son, Stu, played wonderfully by child star Elijah Wood, it is the fight over a beloved treehouse. Others who figure into the mix, are Stu's mother, played by Mare Winningham, a woman who works two jobs just to support her family and Stu's sister, played by Lexi Randall in a performance which is well beyond it's years. One of the more humorous moments in the film occurs between Stu's sister and her friend, a little black girl named Elverdene (I believe). It begins with her teacher, played by Christine Baranski telling Elverdene to move to the back of the classroom. The rest should be experienced. The film, as I've said is beautiful. Jon Avnet excells once again, with a family tale never before seen in such light. Enjoy!

When Kevin Kostner does supra-realistic (as in Waterworld or The Postman) I can tolerate the lapses in factuality. This movie supposedly takes place in Mississippi in 1970 according to the blurb on the back cover. He plays a Viet Nam vet who has kids approaching their teens. It is an important part of the plot that he went through boot camp with a buddy that he had to decide to leave behind after a fire fight in Nam. If Kostner has almost preteen kids, he started raising a family before the war became escalated so it is highly unlikely he would have gone to Nam.

But granted that were the case, there are at least two parallel plots. One is the Kostner must struggle with having left that buddy behind. The other is that his kids are trying to build a treehouse which they must defend against a thuggy rival group. Kostner must pass on his values to his own kids. In a scene in which one is reminded of a Viet Nam fire fight, Kostner's kids and their allied defend the treehouse and incidentally save the life of one of the thuggies.

Life is a war, says one of the characters, where you forget what you were fighting for. I'll agree with that. It was a real struggle to muddle through this movie. You forget why you wanted to see this movie in the first place. Kostner's character dies trying to save a co-worker. If there is a redemption here it is only for Kostner. His family will move to a larger house, but only because of a flukish bank need to write off a bad debt for only a few hundred dollars.

Does his family learn what really is worth fighting for? I would say that the movie shows that they already knew. If the reader thinks otherwise, the reader can write down what s/he thinks the family learned and spin back to the beginning. Like I said, a real struggle.

It's a great bit of nostalgia about a low income family's struggles in the South around the time of the Vietnam War. There are many things going on. A father who returns from the war disturbed, with lingering emotional problems. White and black children playing and growing together, puzzled by the concept of racism still lingering. A feud with a trashy gang of kids from across town. The desire to move up in the world and find better living conditions. There's heartbreak, suspense, and some comedy. Breathtaking scenes of the rural south where you can almost feel the heat. Characters that seem very real. Elijah Wood is fantastic and his accent sounds authentic. My only complaint is that he was a positively GORGEOUS boy at the time, like a piece of fine art to look at, and they shouldn't have sheared all his beautiful hair off for this role. It's supposed to be 1970, not 1953! Most boys didn't have crew-cuts in 1970! If he'd had hair in this film like he'd had in 'The Adventures of Huck Finn' the camera would've exploded to bits from his physical perfection as well as his flawless performance!

I loved this movie SOOOOOOOO much! It was soooo sad when Stu's dad died, though! I am desperately trying to call him Stu because Elijah Wood is my favorite actor EVER!!!! I've taped the movie before I came here(to Amazon)but I cant help but talk bout this movie. Stu is able to cope with problems and manages to still be a kid as well. His soooooooooo adorable in this movie though I dont really know why they call it the War. It wasn't the main idea and it was the aftermath of the war but I still loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooved it!!!!!!!!!!