A lovely film, featuring marvelous performances by Ross, Kalember, Delate and young Castellarin as the heroine. With humor and tenderness, "Home Before Dark" shows the struggles of a family living in the shadow of personal and national tragedy. Has a great period look (pre-Beatles/hippie 1960s...check out the aunt's Danish moderne furniture and pastel party food). I loved the Catholic school details, too...uniforms, furtive sixth-grade flirting, the strict nun who turns out to have a heart of gold. Those things were all recreated just the way I remember them. The writing and directing is sharp, and the music's great too, especially in the scene where the girl's alone in her mother's room. Seek this one out, it's a gem!
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