Two Soldiers (2003)

Mississippi, just before Pearl Harbor. Two brothers, Pete, about 19 and Willie, about 10 years younger. They are clearly close friends. The news arrives, and Pete goes to enlist. Willie ... See full summary »

Director:

Aaron Schneider

Writers:

William Faulkner (short story), Aaron Schneider

Stars:

Jonathan Furr, Ben Allison, Ron Perlman

Won 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jonathan Furr	...	Willie Grier (as Jonathan 'Furrball' Furr)
Ben Allison	...	Pete Grier
Ron Perlman	...	Colonel McKellog
David Andrews	...	Lieutenant Hogenbeck
Mike Pniewski	...	Sheriff Foote
Deacon Dawson	...	Mr. Grossnickel
Joanne Pankow	...	Mrs. Habersham
Danny Vinson	...	Pap Grier
Suellen Yates	...	Maw Grier
David Hall	...	Private
D.H. Johnson	...	Colonel's Driver
Al Wiggins	...	Man on the Bus
Allan Hamilton	...	Bus Driver
Warren Hendon	...	Old Man Killegrew (as Warren Jack Hendon)
Nancy Saunders	...	Old Lady Killegrew

Storyline

Mississippi, just before Pearl Harbor. Two brothers, Pete, about 19 and Willie, about 10 years younger. They are clearly close friends. The news arrives, and Pete goes to enlist. Willie wants to come along, but is told he cannot. After his brother leaves, the boy walks 30 miles to the nearest town, where the sheriff eventually puts him on a bus to Memphis where his brother is. At the recruiting office, Willie proves even more determined to see his brother; eventually, sympathetic Col. McKellogg takes care of him.

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Plot Keywords:

sheriff | bus | perseverance | tearjerker | whispering | 

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Genres:

Short | Drama | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 August 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

William Faulkner's Two Soldiers

Filming Locations:

East Bend, North Carolina, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Shoe Clerk Picture Co. Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

40 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At 24:16 in the third commentary track on the DVD, director 'Aaron Schneider' mentions that Christmas wreaths were hung on various windows of the recruitment processing center to conceal anachronisms outside.

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Goofs

At 12:49 on the DVD as Willie Grier is walking down the road in the moonlight, he seems to be walking on a path in the middle of the road. At 10:23 in the 3rd (director and cinematographer) commentary Aaron Schneider mentions that Bill Eaton, who owned the farm where location shots were made, assisted by spreading quarry gravel (granite dust at 08:44 in the documentary "Behind the Scenes") over the yellow lines to conceal them and avoid an anachronism.

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Quotes

Colonel McKellog: So what the hell is this about?
Lieutenant Hogenbeck: I have no idea, sir. You'll have to ask that little pissant there.
Colonel McKellog: I was, Lieutenant.

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Connections

Featured in The 76th Annual Academy Awards (2004)

User Reviews

Profoundly Disturbing

This is not the sort of movie you can describe as enjoyable. I'm not sure it should be moniker-ed as entertaining either.

I've tried watching it a couple of times since but couldn't do it. I do listen to the soundtrack (donated to the director by Alan Silvestri) often.

The beautiful yet seemingly unavoidable tragic relationship between the brothers left me breathless with sadness and stirred emotion for weeks.

What a gift to watch a movie that felt real. I admired Ron Perlman and David Andrews all the more for taking the back seats while the lesser know main actors drove the story.

Bravo William Faulkner for writing the story and standing ovation to Aaron Schneider for making the movie a reality.