In Country (1989)

Samantha Hughes, a teenaged Kentucky girl, never knew her father, who died in Vietnam before her birth. Samantha lives with her uncle Emmett, who also served in Vietnam. Emmett hangs around... See full summary »

Director:

Norman Jewison

Writers:

Bobbie Ann Mason (novel), Frank Pierson (screenplay),

Stars:

Bruce Willis, Emily Lloyd, Joan Allen

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bruce Willis	...	Emmett Smith
Emily Lloyd	...	Samantha Hughes
Joan Allen	...	Irene
Kevin Anderson	...	Lonnie
John Terry	...	Tom
Peggy Rea	...	Mamaw
Judith Ivey	...	Anita
Daniel Jenkins	...	Dwayne
Stephen Tobolowsky	...	Pete
Jim Beaver	...	Earl Smith
Richard Hamilton	...	Grampaw
Heidi Swedberg	...	Dawn
Ken Jenkins	...	Jim Holly
Jonathan Hogan	...	Larry
Patricia Richardson	...	Cindy

Storyline

Samantha Hughes, a teenaged Kentucky girl, never knew her father, who died in Vietnam before her birth. Samantha lives with her uncle Emmett, who also served in Vietnam. Emmett hangs around with Tom, Earl, and Pete, three other Vietnam vets who, like Emmett, all have problems of one kind or another that relate to their war experiences. Sam, as Samantha is known, becomes obsessed with finding out about her father and his experiences, but Emmett and the other vets don't want to talk about the war. Sam pushes everyone to attend a dance honoring the town's veterans, but Pete and Earl get into a fight, Emmett disappears, and Tom takes Sam home for an unsuccessful tryst. When Sam reads her father's diary, she begins to understand what his life and death meant, and she and Emmett, with a trip to the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial, come at least temporarily to terms with the war in their lives.

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Plot Keywords:

vietnam | vietnam veteran | memorial | southern u.s. | farm | 

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Taglines:

The story of an American family.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance | War

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 September 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Un héros comme tant d'autres

Filming Locations:

Lexington, Kentucky, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$18,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$3,531,971 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Yorktown Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Did You Know?

Trivia

The veterans in the dance sequence are all actual Vietnam veterans, and their real family members accompany them.

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Connections

Features The Green Berets (1968)

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Soundtracks

"Dancing in the Street"
Written by William Stevenson, Marvin Gaye, Ivy Jo Hunter
Performed by Martha & The Vandellas

User Reviews

Dramatic events are highlighted by being shown in common

This film introduces familiar characters and develops them as examples of how losing someone to Vietnam (even if they came home) changed the lives of much of our country. The characters are not "important" figures and the film's impact is greater for displaying how common were those experiences. Bruce Willis' acting is superb and John Terry's character may be the most haunting.