The Wars

Nielsen-Ferns

118 min     4     1983     Canada

Overview

Robert Ross (Brent Carver) lives a protected adolescence in a well-off Toronto suburb. Secretive and withdrawn, he shares his thoughts only with his sister Rowena (Anne-Marie MacDonald) who is mentally disabled. He feels compassion for his weak and conventional father. He avoids any confrontation with his mother (Martha Henry), a dominating woman whose despondency at having given birth to a handicapped child has turned to bitterness. Rowena occupies a central position in Robert's existence of daydreams and make-believe. When she dies, Robert clashes openly with his family, and decides to take himself in hand. It's 1914. He enrolls in the Canadian army, and, after training in Alberta and Montreal, he finds himself in England and France. The war becomes another way for him to resolve his conflicts, his dramas, his passions--his wars.

Reviews

PAbarcaCantin wrote:
Beautiful film starring some of Canada’s finest actors including William Hutt, Martha Henry, Brent Carver, novelist Anne-Marie MacDonald, Jackie Burroughs, Susan Wright, Rod Beattie, Domini Blythe and Jean Leclerc

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