Coming Home

Hal Ashby's 1978 Coming Home starring the young Jon Voight and Jane Fonda was particularly refreshing. Refreshing in the sense that this film was entirely about the effects of the Vietnam war, and yet the audience never once saw violence or gore. I found this approach more captivating and relatable than the material we so often see is war films-violence and gore.

So often war films explore what life was like on the field of battle, and seldom do we see what life is like AFTER all the death and destruction. Jon Voight's character Luke portrays the youth of the day- the tough, athletic, well respected high school honcho. He has seen life as a soldier and is not only mentally effected when he comes home, but also physically.

It was brought to my attention the correlation between Vietnam and its role in this film, and Iraq/Afghanistan and its effect on todays younger generation. Perhaps this film could be applied to any major war and its youth, but this decades war seems all too fitting. More than ever soldiers are returning home injured from battle. I believe this film could relate to many people today on a multitude of levels.

Coming Home was one that I thoroughly enjoyed for its uniqueness, yet captivating content and its uncanny correlation to todays war.