CommentsXp Best movie ever!

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

bkoganbing Kate Connor wrote and directed this affectionate and loving memoir of her family and the time they spent in Wisconsin at a place called Fort McCoy. Actually Camp McCoy, but I'll not quibble.Clan patriarch Eric Stoltz comes to the camp to be a barber for the GIs, he's got a heart murmur and is a 4-F. The same thing knocked with malaria knocked Errol Flynn out of war service. It grates on him constantly, both in looking at the kids going overseas and those coming back dead and alive. Even the Germans and Japanese who were captured get a bit of envy for their service.But wives and daughters also serve and the daughters form their own attachments to the soldiers, individually and collectively. Which brings me to the most poignant part of Fort McCoy. Young Gara Lonning entering puberty herself notices for the first time someone of the opposite sex. He happens to be Josh Zabel playing Heinrich who is a POW all of about 13 or so.There's a famous newsreel film of Hitler giving a pep talk to some Hitler youth now impressed into service for the Fatherland. By 1944 I'm sure many were dead and many prisoners of war. The little innocent attraction of Zabel and Lonning will wet the eyes and the ultimate tragedy reduce you to tears.Fort McCoy is a tale poignantly told and really should be seen to learn about how loss of innocence is too big a price for war.

LawLess39 What part of this is true? Camp (as it was then) McCoy was a POW camp ... that much is true. Officers were typically separated from enlisted. Nobody was allowed to where their uniforms. Where did the boy come from? Although the PW's were treated well (better that or troops were) they did not get to roam around at night. 'Frank' did nothing after the SS officer night walked in on his wife ... nope ... it was only after his daughter told him what she saw the SS officer did (yuk!!!)to the boy (Heinrich)that he manned up and went after the SS officer? True story? OK ...They go on a picnic with no food? Nobody cooked at all for this family? Certainly the mother didn't do much beside trot around being sensual? Answering the Camp switch board like it was a bordello? At the movies end ... some information on the 'real people' was given ... so ... what happened to her little brother? This movie was a waste of time to watch and a waste of time to make. People should not play with history.

prguy721 Fort McCoy is one of those smaller films that pretty much slipped through the cracks of audience exposure but was deserving of more attention. Stars Eric Stoltz and Kate Connor give very decent performances along with the entire cast. And because the film is based on a true story related to Connor, its significance is amplified. It's probably a safe bet that few people know much about WWII POW camps that operated in the U.S., and that in itself is enlightening. It's also beautifully filmed and well produced for its relatively modest budget. Even the score is well done. Connor proves to be a very competent actress we should hope to see more of. It's also nice to see Cameron Manheim in a modest role.

angeleno34 A first-rate, flawless film worth going out of your way to see. It's all there--an engaging story with believable characters and fine acting, a piece of history worth knowing about, a perfectly-detailed recreation of place and time--and it's a true story! Granddaughter Kate Connor has lovingly and unflinchingly brought her family back to life, and you and your family will thank her for it. This film deserves wide, mainscreen distribution and will make some smart person a lot of money. Americana, a happy ending, and a G rating! And this from a guy who would usually avoid a film with those parameters! (Seen at 2011 Newport Beach Filmfest)(reviewer has no personal or financial connection to the filmmakers)