Customer Reviews

In Country [VHS]

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

In the almost 30 years since returning from my second tour of duty in Vietnam, I've consciously avoided "Vietnam flicks." Time and again, I was told by others that these were either hopelessly superficial or hopelessly biased -- and usually both.

Based on a tip, I bought "In Country" some time again and have finally gotten around to watching it. My reaction is that, among films of the "post-Vietnam" genre, "In Country" is probably as good and true as anything that's likely to come out of Hollywood. Both the sentimentalism and the GI-bashing are admirably minimized. The plot is a little thin but still a good one, and the characters are likeable and reasonably credible.

Bruce Willis is superb. As the Big Name, he could almost be forgiven for stealing every scene. And yet, perhaps because of an empathy for Vets of the type he represents, he seems to understand that "stealing scenes" is the very last thing a troubled Vietnam veteran would typically do.

The casting of the English girl Emily Lloyd as Samantha was a stoke of genius. I'm not sure if there are many real girls like "Sam"; but if there are, they must be very like the Emily Lloyd character. Lloyd convinced me that Sam cares deeply. Moreover, I think that young Emily must be one of the prettiest girls ever to star in a film.

If you're a vet from 'Nam, convinced that Hollywood has nothing good to say about you, please give "In Country" a chance. If you're not a vet, try the film anyway (and what a shame the movie isn't available on DVD!). You'll see two fine actors at the top of their form. Also, you just might learn something.

This is one of those movies best seen on a lazy Sunday afternoon with nothing else to do. It is a thoughtful character study that creeps up on you and really gets under the skin.

Bruce Willis wisely downplays all of his usual acting schtick (much like he did in Terry Gilliam's Twelve Monkeys). He delivers a truly heartfelt performance as an emotionally damaged Vietnam veteran. Pay close attention to what he does in this movie -- he uses his very expressive face to convey a wide spectrum of emotions that brings across the inner turmoil that is going on in his character.

In Country is told from the perspective of Emily Lloyd's character. She is a naive, young girl who wants to know more about the war that took her father away from her and can't understand why her father's friends are so unwilling to talk about their experiences. This is her best performance of her, so-far, short career.

But, let's be honest, this film belongs to Willis and deservedly so. He's the kind of actor who needs a strong director to reign him in and Norman Jewison is that kind of a filmmaker. He really gets a wonderful performance out of Willis that is wrenching, funny, sad and everything in between.

This an excellent character-driven film set in small-town America much like the equally underappreciated Robert De Niro-Ed Harris drama, Jacknife. In Country examines how war not only effects those who fought in it but also the people around them after they return home.

Sadly, the DVD has nothing in the way of extras (a commentary track by Jewison or the book's author, Bobbie Ann Mason, would have been nice) and is also presented in pan and scanned mode. Too bad.

...the overall effect of the film overcomes its faults. To be blunt, you need a heart of stone not to be touched by it. Bruce Willis can be a devastating actor when he wants to, and here, he clearly wants to. You would think there would be a surplus of films about war orphans, but this is one of the few. The fact that it is a young girl adds to the poignancy and multi-layered dimensions. Got lumped in with the other Vietnam films of the time like Platoon, Full Metal Jacket and Hamburger Hill, when in fact it has only a few wartime scenes, and is in fact more like the brilliant Coming Home.

In Country is one of my all-time favorite movies. The plot to the movie is simple enough--a teenage girl who's just graduated from high school is wanting to find out more about the Vietnam War and about her father who died in the war before she was born. The movie quickly becomes so much more. You find yourself truly caring about these characters and what they went through in Vietnam. Bruce Willis does an exceptional job playing the young girl's "mentally alienated" uncle. The movie is really about the importance of family and the bonds that last beyond the grave. The ending is so powerful that it leaves me in tears every time.

This highly underrated movie is a treasure. I have watched it at least a dozen times. Emily Lloyd is unforgettable as the daughter of a soldier who was killed in Vietnam before she was born. Her post-high school search for a post-death relationship with him makes this film is unbearably moving and powerful. It is inexplicable why it is so unknown. Bruce Willis is at his best as a subtly and irreparably damaged Viet vet. The closing scene with the Vietnam Memorial tears me apart every time. This movie is the other anthem to our Viet vets.

David W. Lee Edmond, OK

While I agree with other reviewers that this movie has some serious structural and dramatic defects, Willis' performance and character effectively capture much of the discomfort, ambiguity, sadness and displacement of returning Viet Nam veterans. I am one, and this movie is one of the few which accurately captures those feelings without apology, caraciture or political agenda. If only for this, it's an important movie, although not really "enjoyable" to watch or comfortable for Viet vets.

In Country was the most spectacular movie I have ever seen. Bruce Willis was wonderful(as always)as a disturbed Vietnam vet. All I can say is that how Willis didn't get an Oscar for his portrayal is beyond me. I loved this film and highly recommend it to everyone, especially for Bruce Willis fans(like me).

A surprisingly good film. I expected the usual "Vietnam Vet is crazy, and nobody understands him" film, but this was actually quite a pleasant surprise. Remarkably well acted by Bruce Willis (a surprise there as well) In Country is about a girl searching for information about her father who died in Nam. Her veteran Uncle Emmit (Willis) is unwilling to help, but she continues searching, eventually talking to Emmit and his other veteran friends. Truly a well crafted film, not hokey or overdramatized, with good to great acting all around. Based on an equally excellent book of the same name.

Amazon suggested I write a review on this beautifully done movie, one for which I think Bruce Willis and Emily Lloyd deserved Emmies for their performances. That recent reviews have panned the movie are a testament to the failure of history--forget it, and you will repeat it. And that is what is happening with America's new crop of discouraged veterans lost in the sea of a society that does not understand or care, and a federal institution (Veteran's Affairs) flooded with workers still trying to rid themselves of Viet Nam vets and fearful of the new vets.

Buy the movie, watch it with family and friends, read the book (which is a totally wonderful read), and try to find empathy for those struggling with the unseen losses of the wars.

Forget the reviews that pan the movie or the book; and most of all, remember it is fiction not history you are watching. If you want to know the plot, read the other longer reviews; I am writing this to rebut the negative reviews only.

Again, this movie is too good to miss.

Update--1 July 2008: If this review was not helpful to you, I would appreciate learning the reason(s) so I can improve my reviews. My goal is to provide help to potential buyers, not get into any arguments. So, if you only disagree with my opinion, could you please say so in the comments and not indicate that the review was not helpful. Thanks.

I have viewed the film,"In Country," and have read the book by Bobbie Ann Mason on which it is based. The film is an accurate and moving adaptation of the novel. The period of the Vietnamese War comes alive on screen as it was lived by the soldiers and as it affected the families on the homefront. Bruce Willis and Emily Lloyd are agonizingly effective as two Kentuckians caught up the war. The final episode at the Viet Nam Memorial in Washington is one of the most powerful and breath-taking scenes I have ever seen in a film.