Best movie of this year hands down!

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

The War Zone: a Masterpiece (the movie and the book). This movie is a Must see... especially if you lived similar situations... Movie made from Alexander Stuart's novel (check the 20th anniversary edition of the book...bonus: diary of the making of + afterword by TR). The last image of the movie represents perfectly the abuses in the society... like the bunker in the landscape..if we turn a bit the head/eyes we see them... Abuses can happen in any family, rich or poor or middle class, and to any gender girls but also boys... http://tinyurl.com/c8jw95The WZ is a precious brick in our (Survivors) rebuilding. it can be very hard to watch for many people but the movie and the novel describe what some live daily behind the walls. My life wont have been the same without The War Zone. Grateful daily and forever to and for The WZ.To discuss about The War Zone: The War Zone Message Board ( more than 10 years of existence) https://www.voy.com/243297/

As I progressed through this movie I was caught off guard by some very ugly scenes . I knew the subject of incest could be awkward and harrowing but this movie seemed to celebrate and languish in the acts . The bleak landscape was only matched by the not so great murmurings of Mr Winstone . The movie did not touch on the perpetrators reasons or history ,etc for doing such things but rather made victims of its viewers ; forcing us to participate/ witness these horrific acts . It wasn't a " deep " movie with complicated , captivating characters or story lines , It was an irresponsible , irrelevant piece of movie making that limped on to find a story to tell. Next time Tim Roth feels like producing something like this , he should remember he's in the " entertainment " industry . A horrible movie that should never have been made .

Like Gary Oldman, actor Tim Roth has made his first feature, and again, it's doesn't fail to disappoint. Who would of thought in his directing debut, the subject would set around incest. This is a tight solid drama, some of impossible situations. Winstone is having it off with the daughter, but she's not the only one. On their private trips to London another older woman joins them, hence making a threesome. One night the son spots the two in the bath from outside. He threatens to tell the mother if they do it again, which of course they will. This brings the violent streak out in the son. While rummaging through the sister's drawers he finds some naked photos. See, the son is too scared to confront the dad but when he does, it's WAR. Winstone brings a much lighter character to his one in Nil By Mouth, but near the end when he's spouting a string a f words, this kind of resembles him in that movies with virtually some of the same lines. Tilda Swinton (always fantastic) the mother character who has fallen pregnant, of course is oblivious to this. When she has the baby, Winstone already started on it. See, Winstone's got a real problem. The War Zone treads dangerous waters, going places a lot of other movie don't want to go, one scene has the father leant over the daughter, in their private hideaway, the daughter telling him, "Why do you always have to do it like that?". I guess Winstone is courteous, and almost human in that sense, but the real reason is, he can't, is he so's guilt stricken inside, where he would see the mother's face instead. That's my analogy anyhow. I felt sorry for the son who suffers the most in the movie. He so wants to tell the mother, but this is about the worst time. He disclose it near the end which causes the explosive confrontation scene between father and son near the end, a heavy scene with Winstone heavily denying it, and again, the son saying only very few words. Both teen actors in this weren't previously trained and works better for them in the natural performances they give. The War Zone is not for all tastes, but for the others, it's compulsive viewing. performances the give.

For movie buffs, "The War Zone" is one of the more notorious films made. It's a deeply disturbing film, so much so that at one film festival, a man viewing it screamed "I can't take it anymore," and ran out of the theater, intending to pull the fire alarm. Tim Roth was there, and it took him 20 minutes to calm him down.The film is about a British family who has just moved from London to Devon, England. They seem to be the perfect family: the genial Dad (Ray Winstone), the Mum who has just given birth to a child (Tilda Swinton), and the teenage children, Tom (Freddie Cunliffe) and Jessie (Lara Belmont). But beneath the exterior lies an unspeakable secret.Incest is one of the most unspeakable crimes. It is abuse in every sense of the word: sexually, physically, emotionally, psychologically. However, most victims stay silent, and the abuse continues. With "The War Zone," Tim Roth brings the issue out into the open."The War Zone" is a well-made film, but I found it somewhat uninvolving (then again, with a story like this, how involved would I want to be?). Part of the reason is that Roth uses a lot of emphasis on non-verbal communication. We know what the characters are feeling, but it doesn't translate to the audience. This is because our guide in this story, Tom, is not well-acted by Freddie Cunliffe. Tom is a sullen, brooding character, but Cunliffe's portrayal is flat and not very interesting. He is not adept at non-verbal communication, which is why many of the scenes are not as effective as they could be.Fortunately, the same cannot be said about Cunliffe's co-stars. Lara Belmont is stunning as Jessie. She is remarkably good at portraying Jessie's storm of feelings. Guilt, shame, fear are all evident in her performance. Ray Winstone shines as the likable Dad, and it is easy why no one would suspect him of doing something so evil. Tilda Swinton is great as well, although she doesn't have much to do except look after her newborn baby and appear oblivious to the horror going on around her. But that is important; incest is such a secretive crime that most people don't know is happening unless they are told.Tim Roth is one of the best character actors out there. But like Sean Penn, he's also a good director. He takes chances, and wants this story told in the best way possible. However, the film could have used a little more dialogue and a little less subtlety.I've heard people say that this film is not for everyone. While it's true that this film is intense and disturbing, I think that it IS for everyone. If people don't know about these crimes and their affect on the victims, then it won't stop. The DVD has a lot of information about incest, including helplines for victims, which is good. Don't let that fool you into thinking this is a preachy docudrama. This is a film that simply tells the story, and that is what makes it effective.