Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #42845 in DVD
• Released on: 2002-03-25
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 121 minutes

DVD Description
DVD Special Features:

Theatrical Trailer
Languages in Dolby Digital Surround: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish
Subtitles: Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish
2.35:1 Aspect Ratio enhanced for 16:9 Widescreen TVs

Synopsis
Inspired by the song "Highway Patrolman" by rock legend Bruce Springsteen, this is a provocative story about two brothers in 1968. One is a cop with a family, the other lives his life breaking the laws. A story that enriches the senses and touches the heart.

From the Back Cover
Smalltown Nebraska. 1968.

After a stint in Vietnam and a spell in jail, chronic bad boy and classic black sheep Frank Roberts (Viggo Mortensen) is back in Nebraska with a record of wanton violence and a pregnant girlfriend Dorothy (Patricia Arquette).

Frank's brother, state sheriff, Joe Roberts (David Morse) is a man committed to life's better values - to his wife (Valeria Golino) and son and to helping Frank become a responsible citizen.

United by brother's blood but torn apart by mistrust and miscommunication, Frank and Joe begin a bitter and bloody battle for dominance in the cruel contest of life.

Customer Reviews

Is there any hope for our guilt?
It is a marvelous film for many reasons and it has many meaningful interpretations. The first we can think of is of course the effect of the Vietnam War on a normal man. It made him someone whose desire to kill, whose need to kill could never be controlled and dominated. Nothing could keep him within the limits of normalcy, that is to say a violence that is purely symbolical or superficial. His desire was not to punch a few noses and be done with it, but it was to kill, and I repeat that was a need for him to be satisfied in order to survive. The second line is that of the two brothers. One chose to be a cop and he killed legally. That's not in anyway easy, but at least you can come to terms with it: you saved your life from someone who wanted to kill you, and that was legal. You can wonder why he shot to kill, right in the heart, but he was entirely justified to shoot, so why not to kill? The other chose to go to Vietnam and there he killed but it was never to really save his life, never really justified because it was not self defense on his own turf but aggression in a foreign country, and the killing was not exactly shooting at combatants, but more often at women and children. This seems to prove that the desire to kill is in any man, good or bad, and that the only choice you have is to do it legally and morally or not. Vietnam produced twisted, distorted and completely warped personalities for whom killing had become a need, just like alcohol or smoking for others. This leads to a confrontation between the two brothers and the dilemma for the cop who has to arrest or shoot his own brother. He chose differently. The third line is metaphorical. The guilt the cop had built in himself after killing the young chap who was running away and then started to shoot at him can only come out, be retrieved and rehabilitated if in a way or another the need to kill is projected into someone else and that someone else is forced to go away. The guilt has to be entrusted to some Indian runner who will take it away as if it were a message he has to go dump in the ocean or the infinite. But this meaning is metaphorically symbolical of us all. We all have to get rid of this death instinct, and here comes the ending of the film. It is a dream society will let us go without making us pay for that death instinct. And the price is called guilt because we have to repress it and then it will go on lurking in our minds forever. There is no Indian runner for our death instinct, just a repressed guilt that may come out one day, but when and how no one knows.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne & University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines

Very good
I was browsing through channels in my sofa, when suddenly a movie was starting, saw the name Viggo Mortensen in the credits and gave it a shot.

I was very surprised with this movie. A simple story, but done in a way that touches you inside. It's one of those movies with a simple plot, small scenery that brings so much more to it.

Viggo is at his best here, in fact i think this is his best performance ever. He really is a great actor and i hope he gets more attention in the future (specially after the LOTR trilogy and Hidalgo).

Patricia Arquette has one of her best performances and David Morse is perfect as the "good brother". I dont know if this movie came out in cinemas, at least in my country it didnt, but you have some oscar winning performances here.

Sean Penn directs it and shows he's so much talented in the screen as behind the cameras. A wonderful movie, not to be missed, i highly recomend it.

a really excellent film
The film was consistant in its excellent acting, with a very interesting and poigiant story line, which although quite a familiar idea of bad brother versus good brother, was still a pleasure to watch.
As can be seen by the certificate it is obviously not a family film and may not appeal to all. However, the superb acting, dramatic and at times rather beautiful storyline, certainly compels the audience to watch on. The film seems to have been directed with sensitivity, and good understanding of the issues raised concerning the plot line. In summary, it starts well has a good plot line throughout with an equally good ending. I urge you to watch on.