I'd seen this movie a couple of times, the first time in the theater when it came out.

At that time, it seemed we'd learned a lesson about war. Viet Nam was over.

So watching it again last night was even more poignant - did we really learn anything, back then? I don't think this is a heavily politicized movie, although it doesn't really show any positive effects of war, doesn't say anything positive about fighting in Viet Nam. How could it, really? They had the recruiter speaking at the high school, about duty and honor and serving the country, all true. But could he say, about Viet Nam, that we "won" or "freed" anyone?

So showing an unflinching catalog of the aftermath of battle becomes anti-war, simply because war is horrible. Very little dialog is devoted to telling us war is wrong. We can decide for ourselves based on what we see.

Another comment says this: "One could actually describe the film as the 1970s' answer to William Wyler's The Best Years of Our Lives (1946). " That's an excellent point. Nothing was said in "Best Years" (one of my favorite movies) that was anti-war. In fact, there is a scene in that film where the lead characters get in a fist fight with a man who says the war was a mistake. But we still saw the aftermath, the horrible wounds inflicted, the PTSD that they called "shell shock" back then, the disruption in home life, the difficulty resuming life at home. The film manages to tell the truth about war (up to a point) without being "anti-war".

Fonda's character does not become politicized. She wakes up to a certain extent but never takes a side on the issue. She supports her husband and hurts when he hurts. She supports Voight's character and hurts when he hurts. She's compassionate with the soldiers she encounters at her job. She never comments on whether Viet Nam was right or wrong. She only reacts to the pain she sees around her. Taking off her bra and letting her hair curl again, dressing like a hippy, aren't political statements about war. That was just the end of the 50's/early 60's mentality she'd been living under.

Dern's character doesn't have a lot of screen time but what he does have is riveting. He's tormented. He has no opinion about whether "the" war is right or wrong, only that "war" is awful.

People can say what they want about Fonda, but she plays this one pretty close to the vest. Her character never says "Gee, we shouldn't have gone to Viet Nam." She reacts with compassion, not judgment or recrimination.

I don't necessarily like Fonda in most films, but her turn in this one is excellent. Voight and Dern are likewise excellent, making us feel the confusion, anger and pain of their characters.

A classic movie that everyone should see.

I know that "Coming Home" won several Oscars and is considered a classic, but I have one major gripe with this film. While I liked the film overall, I truly hated the film's soundtrack. Instead of incidental music, the film is FILLED with nothing but late 60s rock and roll in scene after scene after scene. This sort of thing started in the 1970s and a ton of films were just jam-packed full of pop or rock songs. But, it's very distracting to me--and I hate that there aren't enough quiet moments in the film and it feels, at times, like I'm watching MTV and not a serious drama. And, compared to other films that shove song after song into them (like "American Graffiti"),"Coming Home" is much, much more invasive in its use of music. The bottom line is that I HATED the soundtrack!

The film is about a woman (Jane Fonda) who is home waiting for her husband (Bruce Dern) to return from his tour of duty in Vietnam. To fill her time, she volunteers to work with disabled men at the local VA hospital. Soon, she develops a relationship with a bitter paraplegic (Jon Voight). Over time, he lets go of much of his anger and he and Fonda have an affair. The impact of this on their marriage and Voight's subsequent anti-war crusade make up much of the rest of the film.

The acting was pretty good--particularly Voight. As for Fonda, I thought she was just okay and wonder if her receiving the Oscar (along with Voight) was more of an anti-war statement or a show of support for her behaviors during the war. Or, possibly it was just a slow year. All I know is that I expected something more for a prize-winning performance. As for the story, it's very much anti-war--and emphasizes the emotional and physical toll on the men who fight. This is something applicable to all wars--not just Vietnam. This universality is heightened by having no footage of the war. Without the terrible music, I'd give this one a 9--with it, 7. Yes, the music was THAT annoying.

By the way, this is a very adult film. It contains nudity and lots of harsh language. So, this is probably not a film to show your mother-in-law or a pre-school class.

When all is said and done despite the Vietnam War and its aftermath for those who went and survived, Coming Home is your romantic triangle movie. Jane Fonda is married to Marine captain Bruce Dern who has been sent over to Vietnam in 1968 at the height of the hostilities. Wanting to do something to show she's behind her husband's endeavors, Fonda volunteers in a veteran's hospital and there meets paralyzed sergeant Jon Voight who is having trouble adjusting. She certainly helps him adjust.

A lot of Coming Home with the veteran scenes is taken from The Men, the film about a VA hospital where in his cinematic debut Marlon Brando played a paralyzed veteran of Korea. That too was a war where we had no defined objectives in fact Harry Truman called it a 'police action'. Voight is a paraplegic just as Brando was, but as we find out at least there is one part of his anatomy that he and Fonda are grateful still functions.

Which brings another movie comparison that of The Sun Also Rises where hero Jake Barnes is rendered impotent by his injuries. In the film adaption of that Hemingway novel Tyrone Power can only sit on the side as the woman he loves goes from man to man. Impotence is a subject even now most are reluctant to treat in film.

But Voight helped by Fonda adjusts to his reduced life and in the end finds meaning and purpose. Dern who returns a medal winner cannot adjust and is inspired by Norman Maine.

Both Voight and Fonda won Oscars for their roles, the best in leading categories. It is a pity Bruce Dern was not given a nomination as Best Supporting Actor. In many ways he outclasses both the leads in Coming Home.

Coming Home could be remade today with the survivors of Afghanistan and Iraq. Just change those Sixties fashions.