Rating: 
Summary: Probably as true as a movie can be
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Probably as true as a movie can be
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Top Notch
Review: Moving drama about 18 year old daughter(Emily Lloyd) of father who was killed in Vietnam. Outstanding performances with solid cast especially Willis. Film is a living testament also to the geographical differences during Vietnam War as there was more political support for the troops and the cause in the south and midwest as opposed to the East and West coasts. Final scene takes place on location at actual Vietnam Wall in Washington.
Rating:
Summary: I liked it!!...
Review: small budget movies are quite nice and Bruce breaks away from his David Addison and John McClane roles w/ this movie.
Rating:
Summary: I liked it!!...
Review: small budget movies are quite nice and Bruce breaks away from his David Addison and John McClane roles w/ this movie.
Rating:
Summary: the best movie about vietman that has been made
Review: 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
Rating: 
Summary: Good movie, lackluster DVD
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: worst movie about vietnam ever
Review: this movie is so full of horrible acting, idiotic writing, and pathetic southern accents that I forgot I was watching a movie about vietnam veterans. the movie bastardizes what should be a solemn moment- when the hillbilly family visits The Wall while discussing barbeque for lunch. I am from Kentucky and I do not know anyone who speaks the ways these idiots do; i noticed in the credits that they had a dialect coach whom I hope is out of a job! Samantha is so full of annoying energy you don't even get the feeling that she is affected by her dad's death- she speaks about it at the dinner table with her grandparents while smiling and passing the mashed potatoes and gravy! did this actress have any clue what the movie was about? the battle scenes look like they took place at someone's lake house, not the in the jungle. to say the movie is oversentimental and trite is an understatement. bruce willis serves no purpose in this movie except to remind you it's about a veteran, not just about his hick niece who jogs all over town and dreams about going to the mall someday. to sum it all up, this movie is not about the pain left from the vietnam war. it is about who can do the worst accent, yell "woo hoo" the most times, and make the most obvious stereotypical references to southern culture. this movie is an utter joke. i threw it in the trash after i saw it, and have resumed my pledge to never watch another bruce willis movie again- or any movie with the other actors/writers/directors. I would recommend this movie to anyone who wants to watch and make fun of one of the most hideous movies ever made, if it were not for the fact that it is about supposed to be about such a serious topic-vietnam.
Rating:
Summary: Textbook case of what not to do
Review: While almost no adaptation is page-for-page from the novel, most follow the original story, removing sequences that can be removed. Some cinematic versions of original works, though, require a different story altogether. "In Country" is one of those, but we never see that other story.
The novel concerns Sam, who lives with her Vietnam vet uncle, is finishing high school and wondering about the next sixty years of her life. The action takes place in their small town, until Sam, Uncle and her maternal grandmother travel many hundreds of miles in a VW bug convertible to see The Wall in D.C., on which is inscribed the name of Sam's father and, of course, her grandmother's son.
In my opinion that journey is the cinematic story, but we never see it. At the end, which is quite beautiful, Grandma reaches out to touch the engraved letters of her son's name, but we really know nothing about her. Up until that point we see her only as a caricature of a farm wife. Had she been a main character we might have seen the further ripples of Vietnam, or any war, which is to say the ones that tend to be invisible.
This is not a bad movie, and is technically impressive. It would have been easier HAD it been bad, though, since watching a real clinker is less irritating than watching what could have been really something.
Rating: 
Summary: Tough for Viet Nam Vets
Review: 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.
| 
