This is one of my favorite movies. It has two of my favorite actors and is a memoir. What more could I ask for?
When 12 year old Walter is dropped off at his Uncles farm by his irresponsible Mom, played by Kyra Sedgwick, the two old men are indifferent to him. He is terrifed of them. To make things more interesting there is the implication that the two old guys have hidden away a fortune on their farm. Walter's Mom wants the boy to find this fortune. She leaves him there for the summer while she goes off on her own.
The 2 old men don't have a clue about boys and Walter knows nothing of old men. His room in the attic leads to the discovery of an old photograph and some sand in a trunk. Who is this woman and where did the sand come from?
Over the course of the summer the boy learns the story of his two Uncles in the form of some unbelievable flashbacks. Uncle Garth, played by Caine, is the more sympathetic one, and through him we learn the story of the two mens lives.
Uncle Hub, played by Duvall, is brillant as a crusty and tough old man, haunted by lost love and who has "fought in two world wars and countless smaller ones on three continents."
Walter has no father and these two Uncles become his world. He learns about life and what is important from them. And he teaches them an equally valuable lesson, that love is not just in the romance of the past or the glory of battles once fought. Love is what you do now to change the future and make a difference.
The film ends 3 times, by that I mean the film seems to come to an end and you're satisfied, but then it goes one step further and you're amazed. So, when when it goes one more step to a surprise last 3 minutes, you simply fall in love with the whole thing.
And then you realize what Uncle Hub has been saying all along- "Some things are worth believing in- and true love never dies. You believe in these things not because they are true, or not, but because they are the things worth believing in."
Superb direction by Tim McCanlies, who also wrote the screenplay, and wonderful acting by all, make this a movie to see more than once.
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