The Painting (2001)
Heath Freeman (Tru Calling, ER) heads an all-star cast including Clifton Davis (Any Given Sunday) Ben Vereen (Roots), Stacey Dash (Renaissance Man) and Debbie Allen (Fame) in the period drama Soldier of Change, which resurrects the turmoil and confusion of the late sixties. Travel back in time to visit a young man, Randy (Freeman) who finds himself immersed in the impassioned civil rights cause in the States, and struggles valiantly to adjust to the changing social fabric around him. But this is only the first of two worlds that Randy encounters. When he is drafted and shipped off to Asia - and the nightmare that called itself Vietnam - this inexperienced soldier must fight for his life and his convictions as he attempts to survive amid the turmoil of a war whose real nature is alien even to the country fighting it.
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Very best movie i ever watch
A waste of 90 minutes of my life
It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.
It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.
Also a.k.a SOLDIERS of CHANGE. Black is black and white is white. Randy Barrignton(Heath Freeman) is a young man that finds himself in the midst of the 1960's riots and revolution. Being part of the front lines of the struggle for civil rights; he is summoned into the Viet Nam War. Randy's most heroic struggle though is with his wealthy father(Charles Shaughnessy), when he falls in love with Hallie(Stacey Dash). Hallie is black and her family too is divided over her choice of endearment. It is after all the 60's and the world is hardly easing into change of attitude toward war, personal rights, personal freedoms and the mixing of the races. Other notable cast members include: Clifton Davis, Ben Vereen and William R. Moses.
I had the pleasure to watch the movie with my family in a private cinema. While the acting is not the best, the movie does make up for it because it is a really good wholesome family movie.The era that the movie was set in must have been very turbulent yet the movie avoided the blood, gore and hatred but instead show the courage of the human spirit and the goodness in man kind. The human spirit is a wonderful thing and the sacrifice made by individuals are usually swept under the carpet for the sake of sensationalism. This movie reminds us of the sacrifice made by the different characters like the Jewish boy who died in the bomb, the main actor for the girl and others. There were also many caring characters which are real in my world.It will be good if families go out together to watch this movie so that apart from their bonding, they can stir up each other's spirit and be encouraged by values that is good.Love it. Oliver
A marvelous testament to the human spirit. The story of a young man whose search for what matters most to him, and the lives that he touches along the way. Vivid performance all around. Clifton Davis and Heath Freeman stand out. Highly recommended.
I was so grateful to be present at the Premiere of this movie in Kansas City. I went, thinking the worst that could happen was being bored for a couple of hours. Well, just the opposite happened. This movie was so outstanding, I was taken by surprise. It was so well done. This movie is both a chick flick and a guy flick, very rare now days. It pulls you into the movie, gently, sweetly inviting you into the character's lives. I fell so in love with the people in the movie, they were real, it showed them for the good and the weaknesses, but you cared for them as you would a dear friend or a relative. What happened to each of them deeply affected me as I came to care more and more deeply for them.The camera work was stunning too. It was like the camera was having a love affair with the actors, the sets and the surroundings. The movie would especially be powerful to those who were born in the late 1940's or early 1950's, so many events that were shown were events, I myself had lived through, which made them even more personal in nature. If anyone has been to Vietnam, I definitely recommend this movie. It is one of the few movies where Vietnam vets were really honored. I could not recommend this movie highly enough. I hope and pray everyone will get to see this movie. It is very real, very thought provoking, very deep, very good....