You won't be disappointed!

one of my absolute favorites!

From my favorite movies..

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

War films I like okay, and too I'm a fan of anti-war pictures and with this 1978 film from the outspoken and to the point director Hal Ashby I must say that "Coming Home" is a strong drama that shows how war can affect the lives of many involved and those involved learn it probably wasn't for the best. Certainly many might say that this was one film that was very outspoken that displays the post and ever lasting impact of the Vietnam War.As anyone who remembers the Vietnam War and it's after period of the late 1970's most will agree that it was one trying period in our nation's history. The story is pretty plain and simple Marine Captain Bob Hyde(the very strong Bruce Dern in probably his best performance ever)leaves for Vietnam left behind is his wife Sally(Jane Fonda)who finally volunteers at a local hospital. At this veterans hospital she meets Luke Martin(Jon Voight)who's a smart, likable yet desperate man who while as a former sergeant suffered a war injury that left him a paraplegic. Now battered with rage and filled with anger and never ending frustration, slowly yet surely Luke finds comfort and new hope in the arms of Sally as it even leads to passion and intimate romance.This whole new change for both transforms the film and all those involved into a new direction, as the feeling of life and love blend full circle with the horrors and impact of war. To intersect and complicate matters when Bob finally returns home the trio all now are faced with the brutal impact of war, life, and change. In the end a different direction of thought and life is taken for all. Clearly this film displayed a loud and clear message about the impact of war and that military service is not all what it seems as the impact and damage done to one's life is forever as when one watches they should consider and take to heart the message of the film proving that war and military life is brutal and ever lasting. "Coming Home" is one outspoken truth revealing drama not to be missed.

Luke Martin (Jon Voight) returns as a wheelchair bound cripple from Vietnam. Capt. Bob Hyde (Bruce Dern) is sent over leaving behind his wife Sally (Jane Fonda). She's lonely and volunteers at a local VA hospital. Luke is angry but eventually they find comfort in each other. He is released and starts protesting the war. They begin an affair which is further complicated when her husband returns also suffering from his own war experiences.This has the documentary meandering style of the 70s from Hal Ashby. It's a bit prodding. I wish the movie concentrated on either Luke or Sally. It's a lot of personal struggle for both characters. Jon Voight is terrific but Jane Fonda seems a bit too old for the part. She's around 40 at the time. It seems she's playing a naive young person at times. I would rather she play a mother in the movie. It would add to her conflict.

Hal Ashby's Coming Home is another film that tries to tell us how horrible and stupid the Vietnam war really was quoting what Oliver Stone who said in his first best director acceptance speech that "we learned nothing from the Vietnam war." thanks to other films that try to prove that to us such as Platoon and The Deer Hunter. The movie stars Jane Fonda as Sally Hyde a woman whose husband (Bruce Dern)leaves for the Vietnam war. Then she volunteers at a hospital where she meets a former high school classmate named Luke Martin (played by Jon Voight) when they try to make love with each other while at first talking about memories back in high school then Martin flipping out about not getting the immediate care he needs. The problem that I had with this movie was that why Jane Fonda got the lead part when she got a lot of soldiers killed 7 years back in 1971, but still she gives a good performance, along with Voight and Dern. Director Hal Ashby has made the feelings of the soldiers who fought in that war come to life in this film. And I really thought that the ending was unnecessary to conclude the movie.

For those who have consciously witnessed the American war in Vietnam, at least three films are more or less obligatory: "The deer hunter" (riddle: what hops through the woods with a machine gun? Rambi), "Apocalypse now", and "coming home". So it was high time to finally engage in the latter. On the surface it is a story about disabled soldiers, who try to recover in an American hospital. As a bonus the plot contains a love story. In general this combination leads to the typical bitter-sweet vicissitudes like in "A farewell to arms". But Coming home is different. Let me explain. Apparently the battle in Vietnam has something special. It is the extremely cruel and gruesome behavior on both sides, which logically results if you are unable to see anything humane in the other combatant. The right to bear arms is slightly less ludicrous than the right to arm bears (Chris Addison). In general soldiers will only tolerate waging war as long as they dispose of a credible justification. In the case of Vietnam such a motive was lacking, because obviously there was never a Maoist threat. In our times South-east Asia has even become one of our valuable business friends. Wars only solve the problems of politicians (Jan Vanspauwen). It is not surprising that some the war veterans can not cope with their experiences, and become mentally ill. The combination of incomprehension and feelings of guilt paves a sure way into a depression. The love-making is shallow and in fact looks like seeking comfort. Actually the characters seem to have a rather immature and unstable nature. They are naive clodhoppers. They fail to understand - as is expressed at the end of the film - that there is a choice to be made. That it is cold out there. That you should ponder. They go with the flow ("it just happened"), and evidently, without a tried conviction, experience some problems with loyalty. I find the disclosure of human weakness in the film appealing and moving. In particular I recognized the scene, where in despair the crippled Luke enchains his wheel-chair to the gate of the military recruiting center. Suppose they want to start a war, and nobody turns up (Arlo Guthrie)? In the late seventies we felt that the war in Vietnam had been purifying. In the eighties and nineties we believed that imperialistic wars had been abolished. But again we were fooled. See my review of "Rethink Afghanistan" (and Iraq was even more brutal). Invasions and occupations will probably be with us, Europeans and Americans, for centuries to come. In short "Coming home" is a shocking illustration of naivety, thoughtlessness, and horror. The accompanying music (Beatles, Rolling Stones, Steppenwulf and many more) has sentimental value. It is better to win peace and lose the war (Bob Marley). In addition I am somewhat fond of Jane Fonda, who also played sympathetic roles in "Tout va bien" and "Stanley and Iris" (together with Robert DeNiro!). Old memories about Henry Fonda ("My name is nobody"!) may also bias my preference. You could do worse than watching Coming home (me).