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I was just lucky I found this movie. I've been taking advantage of Walmart's $5.50 DVDs, because I watch a lot of movies (and very seldom watch television). I graduated from high school in 1968 - so I have family and many friends who served in Vietnam. This movie really illustrates the pain I've seen in my friends in dealing with what happened to them over there. I wish more people would see this movie - I think maybe more people could understand what happened to our Vietnam vets by watching these excellent actors in the portrayal of one family damaged by that war. The story felt realistic - it isn't mushy, but made me feel what they were going through. I think it helped that Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez were playing father and son - it made their relationship more believable,

"The War at Home" was a labor of love for director/star Emilio Estevez, and the care he took with this story is evident on screen.

Adapted for the screen by original playwright James Duff, the film focuses on Jeremy Collier (Emilio Estevez), a veteran of the Vietnam War who is deeply scarred by his experiences. Jeremy's family can't understand his pain or deal with his erratic behavior. On Thanksgiving Day, each family member reaches their breaking point.

The cast is just about perfect. They look, sound, and act, like a family; albeit one that is struggling mightily. Real-life father and son Estevez and Martin Sheen are great opposite one another (look for Estevez's sister Renee and daughter Paloma in small roles). Kimberly Williams also does quite well as Jeremy's sister Karen, and the amazing Kathy Bates virtually inhabits Jeremy's mother Maurine.

One of the most striking things about "The War at Home" is the domesticity of it all - a real sense of a family trying to keep up appearances - which is so well-established that the film's explosive finale is all the more shocking. This is a different and very effective presentation of a Vietnam veteran's experiences. Don't hesitate to check out this movie, which should have received more attention back when it was released.

The one thing that struck me most about this simple movie was how the characters could not relate to the feelings that the principal character Jeremy felt. An isolation, a feeling of despair, a sudden irrational fear of circumstances, a guilt feeling of "Why me?" This movie was not a financial success and could not be. It gives an all too true expression of the mixed psychological emotions felt by those who know the Nam experience.

My one thought for you is to watch this movie and try to understand these feelings that too many of us experience in life and our dreams continually. Perhaps this can help heal us all.

The cast is beautiful and I was quite shocked to learn that Martin Sheen's son had directed it. The biggest shock to watching this movie is to learn that it is not entertaining. That is not a condemnation but rather a description.

The only unreal part were the scenes of war.

The most intense and powerful film I have seen in years. There have been other films before that delved into the Vietnam Vet but nothing compared to this emotionally heartwrenching film, as a typical American suburban family, circa 1972, comes apart at the seams, revealing the scars that Vietnam has left on our all of our collective souls. The cast is A++++ fantastic with all four actors(with Kathy Bates a stand-out) giving riveting performances. What is wonderful about this film is that you take no sides, but understand all four characters and empathize with them, even though all four have divergent viewpoints and needs. There are scenes in here that are so powerful as family secrets and feelings are revealed(such as the confrontation between son and mother) that will have you emotionally drained and in tears of anguish. I actually cried in this film, something I rarely do. The shocking end is a stunner! A much overlooked film that should be seen. I rate this 1996 film a 10/10 a superlative piece. Highly recommended especially in this day and age with again, our country embroiled in a hideous war, our headlines shouting of atrocities and again, our young men and women returning with deep psychological scars, with their deep pain of deeds done in the line of honor. A must see film.

The connection with James Dean?In a short plan ,we see Emilio Estevez toying with a teddy bear(remember the first scene of Ray's "rebel without a cause").Moreover,the main conflict is Estevez versus Sheen,father against son,as in "East of Eden".The soldier has come home,and nobody has been able to communicate with him, even his sister (a psychology student,what a derision).The mother,a crude matron (a superb Kathy Bates),gets bogged down in nougatine ,she 's not able to understand that her values (religion,family) have become a thing of the past,specially for someone like his son whose innocence was betrayed. The father ,an irresolute man ,under his wife's thumb,although he tries hard to play the macho,wanted to make up for the mediocrity of his life .So he saved his "honor" by forcing his son to do his duty.The scene in which Estevez's hatred for his father explodes is very intense.The actor-director gives a restrained performance,interiorized,as Lee Strasberg's students used to do,and his final burst of anger is increased tenfold so.