Not an easy film to watch, covering the ordeal of tortured men over in Vietnam, flying into enemy territory and instantly captured. The film is seen through the perspective of army colonel Hal Holbrook and his worried wife Eva Marie Saint. She's not worried in the perspective of occasional flashbacks or calls from the army, but ultra important to the story, out there dealing with the military, government and the press, striving for other war wives and their families to get both answers and results. The role of women at home in wartime wasn't just reserved for factory work on the swing shift during World War II or raising money for relief or raising the kids and keeping the house prepared. It was confronting the establishment, being assertive in getting to the truth, and in some cases, getting out there to get their hands dirty by going to the front lines.
As for Holbrook, his situation is painful both physically and emotionally, and watching him mistreated, harassed and left in solitude really gives perspective to the barbaric nature of war. His communicating with other army soldiers and officers who are in similar situations shows how they learn to secretly communicate with each other and plan how to survive no matter what. Saint reaches out to other women and creates a support group, and that makes her as much of a hero as he is. As heartwrenching as this is to watch, it's also inspiring. A TV movie classic that gives Holbrook the chance to emote emotionally while altering his physical look, and Saint to be like Colbert and Loy in those WWII classics and become one of the top movie war wives ever written.
As for Holbrook, his situation is painful both physically and emotionally, and watching him mistreated, harassed and left in solitude really gives perspective to the barbaric nature of war. His communicating with other army soldiers and officers who are in similar situations shows how they learn to secretly communicate with each other and plan how to survive no matter what. Saint reaches out to other women and creates a support group, and that makes her as much of a hero as he is. As heartwrenching as this is to watch, it's also inspiring. A TV movie classic that gives Holbrook the chance to emote emotionally while altering his physical look, and Saint to be like Colbert and Loy in those WWII classics and become one of the top movie war wives ever written.