Even though the title and plot synopsis makes the audience think they are going into an adult drama, The War is actually about children.Kevin Costner plays a Vietnam veteran who returns home to Mississippi (cue all actors have varying degrees of accents) and struggles to reconnect with his wife and children. This part of the story is much more interesting than the main storyline. If the entire movie was about his readjustment after wartime, I would have liked it much better.The kids get in a mini-war that's probably supposed to be a poignant "do as we say but not as we do" lesson for grown-ups, but it comes across as silly and annoying for viewers. I wouldn't even classify it as a coming-of-age story, even though it's probably trying to be. I'll leave you with one last fact, one that will probably steer you towards or away from the film: Jon Avnet is the director, and he directed Fried Green Tomatoes.

Lidia Joanne Simmons recalls her family's tough times in Juliette, Mississippi. Her shell-shocked Vietnam-vet father Stephen Simmons (Kevin Costner) is struggling to keep any job while her mother Lois (Mare Winningham) keeps the family together. Lidia and her twin brother Stu (Elijah Wood) make peace between the girls and boys to build a tree house together. They are always bullied by the junkyard Lipnicki kids. Stephen befriends Moe Henry who helps him get a job in the mine.There is a lot of mannered southern accents especially from the kids. LaToya Chisholm is the broadest character of them all and it's somewhat bothersome. She plays the sassy black friend to its tilt. The kids have varying success and that's the problem. The movie relies on mostly amateur child actors and not all of them work well. Kevin Costner gives his wise lessons that border on preaching. This is dripping in sincerity and suffers from its heavy-handedness. The combination of Vietnam war action with a kids' coming-of-age fable creates an uneasy mix. If one's willing to buy into it, the film could be a sincere watch.

The War is a low-key period and mood piece, with some depth. It gives Kevin Costner something useful to do with his propensity to take himself seriously (often too seriously), but the film belongs to the young Elijah Wood.Stu (Wood) and Lidia (Lexi Randall) are the children of Stephen (Costner) and Lois (Mare Winningham) Simmons. They are a poor family, aspiring to better themselves, but their ambitions have been obstructed by the baggage Stephen has brought back from Vietnam. The two children take themselves off to build a treehouse. In the course of this, they end up in conflict with the poor white trash Lipnicki children from the neighbouring scrapyard.This slight premise actually generates a story which is gripping, constantly holds the attention, and which draws parallels between the war Stephen has returned from, the war which develops between the Simmonds and Lipnicki children, and which subtly poses the question of what is worth fighting for.All the actors here give wonderful performances, without exception, but the children are particularly good across the board. And, having said that, it is not unfair to single out Elijah Wood. At the age of 13, he does not show the promise which led to later high profile roles: rather, that promise is already fully realised here. He is magnificent.

this is just me but.........quite frankly it is the best movie i have ever seen. the setting, the soundtrack, the message the movie portrays is so noble. i was the age of those kids in the movie in the early 70's as well and grew up in a small southern town so i can relate. if i could be any character in any movie i would strive to be half the man mr simmons is in this movie. i just happened upon this movie in a discount bin and most of my friends have never heard of it. perhaps they could have come up with a better title name for the movie, maybe "the treehouse", but it is a true diamond in the rough for my values. seems every character in this movie was genuine, which in turn makes you so caring for them all.