Miranda Richardson

Jeff Bauman is a well-intentioned but underachieving Boston native who works at the deli counter of a Costco and lives in a small two-bedroom apartment with his alcoholic mother Patty. One day at the local bar, Jeff runs into his ex-girlfriend Erin, who is attracted to his kindness and charm, but finds herself constantly frustrated by his lack of commitment. After learning that Erin is running in the 2013 Boston Marathon to raise money for the hospital she works at, Jeff asks every patron in the bar to donate and then promises Erin he'll wait at the finish line for her with a big sign. The day of the Marathon, Jeff scrambles to make it to the finish line on time, but reaches it before Erin does. As she approaches the finish line, a bomb goes off right where Jeff is standing. After being rushed to a hospital, both of Jeff's legs are amputated above the knee. When he regains consciousness, Jeff tells his brother that he saw the bomber before the explosion. Patty calls the FBI, where Jeff is able to give them a description of Tamerlan Tsarnaev. Local authorities capture Dzhokhar Tsarnaev days later, and Jeff is hailed as a hero. Jeff struggles to adjust to his condition, as well as his newfound fame. Patty books several interviews and constantly surrounds Jeff with news reporters during his rehab sessions, to which Erin, who has since rekindled her relationship with Jeff, objects. Jeff and his family are invited by the Boston Bruins to Game 2 of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Chicago Blackhawks. The Bruins organization asks Jeff to wave the flag during the game's opening ceremony. The crowd at TD Garden triggers traumatic flashbacks for Jeff, and he breaks down in the elevator. Erin comforts him and insists he talk to his family about the fragility of his mental state and the impact his newfound exposure is having on it. Later that night, they make love for the first time since his injury. Patty books Jeff an interview with Oprah Winfrey without telling him, causing Erin to speak up and tell Patty that the constant media attention is intensifying Jeff's PTSD. After an argument between Patty and Erin, Jeff finally admits that he doesn't want to do any more interviews. A disheartened Patty tells him that she only wishes for the world to see how amazing her son is. She soon begins enabling Jeff's worst tendencies, including his laziness and affinity for drinking. He begins missing physical therapy appointments, due to long nights of drinking usually with Patty. Erin, who has since moved in, finds Patty blacked out on the couch and an unconscious Jeff in a bathtub, covered in feces. The next day, she snaps at Patty for her selfishness and negligence before calling Jeff out for his self-pity and refusal to stand up to his mother. Erin storms off, leaving Jeff and Patty to drive home alone. That night, Jeff blows off Erin to drink with his brothers at a bar. Two patrons at the bar begin asking Jeff questions about the bombing, insinuating that the event was a government conspiracy to start a war in Iran and Jeff was paid to look like a victim. Insulted, Jeff and his brothers initiate a bar fight with the patrons. Erin picks him up later that night and tells him that she's pregnant. Agitated and enraged, Jeff panics and rants at her that he isn't ready to be a father, causing Erin to accuse him of constantly running away from his problems. Heartbroken, she leaves him in the car without removing his wheelchair from the trunk, enters their apartment, and packs her things. Jeff crawls to the apartment door and has a PTSD flashback of the bombing in its entirety. Jeff meets with Carlos, a man who cared for him in the immediate aftermath of the bombing saving his life. Carlos tells him about his son, a Marine who died in the Iraq War. After attempting suicide, Carlos was forced to attend his son's funeral on a stretcher. His younger son, unable to cope with the death of his older brother and the constant state of pain his father was in, killed himself. Carlos confides that saving Jeff helped him make peace with the death of his sons and the blame he placed upon himself because of them. Jeff begins to understand that his will to live in the face of adversity is what both comforts and inspires people. He stops drinking and begins to take his rehab more seriously. He leaves Erin a voicemail apologizing for his behavior, finally taking full responsibility for his immaturity and fear of commitment. A few days later, he and Carlos throw out the first pitch for a Boston Red Sox game at Fenway Park, where he meets Pedro Martinez. Erin watches at home and smiles. After the game, dozens of people come up to Jeff and tell him how and why he has so heavily impacted their lives. Patty drops off Jeff for an eating date with Erin at a diner where he walks with his prosthetics for the first time without assistance. He tells Erin he loves her, to which she replies, "Good." He grabs her hand and smiles.

It is not easy being the brother of a benevolent and beloved saint, and no one knows that better than Fred Claus (Vince Vaughn). After struggling for years to live up to the example set by his younger sibling Nicholas (Paul Giamatti), Fred has finally given up.Fred is working as a repo man taken to stealing the items he repossesses. His shady tactics land him in jail. While Mrs. Claus vehemently insists that Fred fend for himself, Nicholas refuses to sit idly by as his brother rots in jail and agrees to set bail if Fred will repay the debt by coming to the North Pole and help make toys for the upcoming Christmas season. But Fred isn`t nearly as productive as your average elf, and he`s got quite an attitude to boot. This makes for a humorous disaster wherein Fred tries hard to find out just how far the patience of a saint can be pushed before jolly old Santa reaches his breaking point.

May 9th, 1989, London. Kiranjit is accused of intentionally setting fire to her husband Deepak. Deepak ran down the stairs and ended up in the front lawn, where somebody noticed him and called the ambulance. In the hospital, Deepak states that Kiranjit tried to kill him. The police constable O'Connell (Nicholas Irons) arrests Kiranjit based on evidence & send her to prison. Deepak's room had a vat of oil which was poured on him before setting him on fire. During interrogation, Kiranjit admits that she only wanted to hurt Deepak as he had hurt her previously. In prison, Kiranjit has to deal with the trauma of giving up all her jewelry including her Kada and her Mangalsutra. She is then forced to strip naked in front of a prison female guard to change into prison clothes. Before trial the UK court assign Kiranjit a lawyer Miriam Taylor (Rebecca Pidgeon) who wants to understand the motivation behind Kiran's actions. Kiranjit Ahluwalia (Aishwarya Rai), a Punjabi woman, marries Deepak Ahluwalia (Naveen Andrews) in an arranged marriage and moves to South Hall, UK with him to be closer to his family. Initially he seems caring and affectionate towards her but soon enough the true colors of her husband begin to show as Deepak gradually reveals a darker, threatening, and even Sociopathic side of himself. Deepak won't allow Kiran to wear western clothes and would beat for dancing with his friend Ravi (Ray Panthaki) at weddings, which Deepak himself insisted. Charged with attempted murder, her case comes to the notice of a group of South Asian social workers running an underfunded organization called the Southall Black Sisters. Radha Dalal (Nandita Das) from the Black Sisters visits Kiran in prison to understand her case. Jamila (Shaheen Khan) and Asha (Karen David) are Radha's colleagues. Deepak dies from his injuries in the hospital, turning it into a murder case. Kiran tells Radha that she feels freer in prison that she ever did in 10 years of marriage to Deepak. After enduring ten years of abuse and having two children with him, Kiranjit, unable to bear the brutality and repeated sexual assaults at the hands of her husband any longer, sets fire to his feet while he is sleeping, unintentionally killing him. Deepak's mother testifies against Kiran in court & refuses to give any witness to allegations of sexual assault & torture that Kiran has made against Deepak. O'Connell is asked to testify on Kiran's mental state when she was arrested. The detective in charge pressurizes O'Connell to testify that Kiran was fully mentally alert and in her senses. The defense lawyer presents a doctor from an emergency room who treated Kiran several times for signs of domestic abuse. But Kiran herself refuses to testify against Deepak as she deems it too shameful. Kiranjit is sentenced to life imprisonment with possibility of parole in 12 years. She befriends her cellmate, a Caucasian woman named Veronica Scott (Miranda Richardson), who teaches her English. Veronica is also friends with several girls in the prison and stands up for Kiranjit against the local prison bully. Veronica introduces Kiran to her friends Jackie (Deborah Moore), Lula (Maxine Finch), and Galdys. Radha manages to bring Kiran's kids to prison by making her mother-in-law believe that it is a court order. Radha also connects with Miriam to get work started on Kiran's appeal. Miriam says that she worked very hard on the case, and didn't charge Kiran for it. She says that the ruling was right as per the law, and refuses to file an appeal, even though she sympathizes with Kiran. One night, Veronica sees Kiran waking up from a nightmare and crying uncontrollably. Kiran tells her life's story to Veronica. Soon, its over a year since Kiran was jailed. Radha tells Kiran that the is court is not giving a date for the hearing of her appeals. Veronica realizes that Kiran needs a good barrister, and they don't have one as they don't have any money. Veronica enlists her brother, Lord Edward Foster QC (Robbie Coltrane), a highly respected Queen's Counsel, to aide in Kiranjit's appeal. Edward, in turn, realizes Kiranjit's importance to his sister and the importance of her case. His sister's request has additional meaning given that Veronica would not let him help her with her own appeal due to their on-off relationship since childhood. Before Kiranjit's appeal hearing the South Hall Black Sisters bring her plight to the attention of the media by organizing rallies to gather public support for her freedom. O'Connell comes forward and admits that he lied on stand, the night he arrested Kiran she was stunned and not in her senses. Her case goes for appeals in July 1992. Kiran is ultimately freed by the judicial system in a landmark case called "R vs Ahluwalia", redefining provocation in cases of battered women in the UK. The term provocation was restricted to a specific event of violence but is now changed to include the systematic torture and repression over a prolonged period of time which leads to a sudden burst of anger and frustration over an unexpected event. She was re-convicted from murder to manslaughter; but released with time served. Kiranjit is reunited with her children and subsequently given an award by Cherie Blair, for her crusade against domestic violence. At last, she leads a happy life with her children in UK.

The movie opens with med-student bound Paige Morgan receiving a birthday cake from her teachers and colleagues. She suddenly realizes she is late and hurries out to drive home. She has no time to talk to her mother as she goes to her room, grabs a dress from her closet, and hops in her truck. Meanwhile, in the country of Denmark we see the young and rebellious Prince Edvard and his servant, Soren, meeting up with a young man for what turns out to be a street race. In the USA, Paige is driving to a friend's wedding; she arrives in her father's pick up and nearly runs over half of the wedding party. At the reception, she and a friend discuss the subject of romance and marriage, neither of which Paige has time for because of her focus on her career. The bouquet is tossed, and Paige's friend catches it, who just told Paige that she got engaged. In Denmark, the race is about to start; the cars speed down the open road and Edvard wins the race because his competitor lifts his foot from the gas pedal just before the finish, where he is greeted by two girls being photographed by the gossip magazines. He then realizes that, like Paige, he is also late for something very important. At the castle, 12-year-old Princess Arabella is playing a Gameboy as Edvard's parents, King Haraald and Queen Rosalind, wait anxiously for their eldest child to arrive before they are shown in public. Edvard arrives and is greeted with a hug by his sister Arabella, though his parents don't seem so happy. He turns serious, takes Arabella's arm and they step out onto the balcony. Later, Edvard and King Haraald are to meet with some members of the board; Haraald warns his son to behave himself, and Edvard glumly agrees. As they enter the room to sit down Haraald gets a bit dizzy, but when asked if he is all right he insists that he is fine. The meeting goes on. Edvard could not care less about business and politics and he intentionally flirts with one of the women present. Soren and Edvard leave the meeting and Edvard, after doing a bit of fencing to release his stress and watching a show about college girls gone wild, is told that his parents are ready to see him. King Haraald and Queen Rosalind are disgusted by their son's recent behavior. Edvard blames Rosalind for keeping him on a tight leash and tells them he wants to go to college in Wisconsin without his parents' help. After Edvard storms out, Haraald agrees that his son should go off to college, since they cannot stop him, however with Soren there to protect him from harm. Paige is at a bar with her friends, discussing how she is failing miserably at Shakespeare and needs a good grade to get into medical school. Later that day, Paige is crossing the street when she is nearly run over by Edvard's limousine. Unable to get a good glimpse of him because of the tinted windows, she ignores him and continues on her way; but Edvard can see her clearly and has an instant attraction to Paige. Soren is not pleased with the college life that Edvard desires, but Edvard orders him to enjoy himself and to call him Eddie instead of Prince Edvard. They get up to their dorm, which is not exactly clean and rather small. When their roommate, heavyweight Xbox geek Steven, comes in and tells them to keep their hands off his stuff, Edvard shrugs his shoulders and climbs onto the top bunk. Later that night, Soren and Eddie go to the bar and meet Paige, who teases Eddie a bit; after a few beers, Eddie musters up the courage to talk to Paige. After introducing himself, he asks her out for a drink, and then asks her to take off her shirt, which angers her and gets him squirted with water, at which a tough at the bar picks a fight with Eddie, who is miraculously saved by Soren, and the two are escorted out of the bar. In chemistry class later, Eddie asks Soren to leave because he is not allowed in the class, and to enjoy himself outside after an argument, Soren gives in and leaves. Eddie and Paige are teamed up for chemistry, much to Paige's dismay. After class, she tells him that she needs to do well in this class to get into medical school, and that he had better not mess up. As Paige is walking away, Eddie randomly quotes Shakespeare; Paige lashes out and calls him a phony and leaves. Later, Eddie wakes up to reality when he realizes he cut himself off from his parent's money, so he gets a job at the bar where Paige works. Paige comes in and asks Eddie instantly how he, of all people, managed to get a job at the bar, and Eddie says that he just used her name as a reference and he had the job. However, Eddie is working at the deli and not doing a very good job; Paige is forced to help him on his first day. He promises Paige that if he is really bad then he will quit. After a busy night at the bar, Soren is drunk and passed out as Eddie cleans up. He can't help but watch Paige privately dancing to the sounds of the song she chose from the jukebox. As Eddie cleans outside at night, he sees Paige and asks her to go a party with him; Paige rejects him because she is busy, and Soren offers him some advice. A few days later, Eddie doesn't show up to chemistry class, which angers Paige to whole new level, because her assignment fails having to execute it alone. Afterwards she storms up to his dorm as Soren is making breakfast for Eddie, who is still in bed even though it is after morning class. Paige blows her top at him, Eddie apologizes, and she leaves. Paige then discovers that her grade in her Shakespeare class is a bit below average, which is simply not enough to get into medical school. Later in class, Paige remembers that Eddie quoted Shakespeare and asks for his help. He agrees, only if she will help him with his laundry. As they do laundry together, Paige mocks Prince Hamlet; although Eddie can relate to him, he jokes right alongside her. Paige asks Eddie about a sonnet in Romeo and Juliet which Paige doesn't understand and Eddie explains several possible meanings of the passionate dialogue. In Denmark, Arabella is walking down the hall when she hears and sees nurses; growing worried, she listens in on a conversation between King Haraald and the doctor. She rushes in and asks: "Are you feeling ill, Daddy?", and crawls into his lap, and her parents assure her that it's nothing. A maid convinces Arabella go horse riding, and she leaves her parents, who continue with their regular business. The paparazzi who enjoy pestering the royal family are determined to find Edvard and find out what he is doing since nothing gossip worthy seems to be happening with the royals at the present. Paige is ecstatic when she receives an A- on her Shakespeare paper and goes to thank Eddie, who is repairing an oil fixture. They apologize to each other at the end of the conversation and oil spills all over the floor. Paige's friend observes their interaction and tells Paige she should have asked him home for Thanksgiving, and if Paige does not, she will ask Eddie to come home with her for Thanksgiving. Instantly Paige changes her mind, beats her to it and asks him first, and he accepts. Soren is scared to be left alone in the dorm by himself, but Eddie says he has everything he needs and that he'll be fine. Eddie and Paige go to her parent's Wisconsin dairy farm, where he meets Paige's mother, father, and two younger brothers. Paige shows Eddie her room. He is curious about the giant map on her wall; she tells him that the places marked with green pins are where she wants to visit someday to work with Doctors Without Borders. At lunch, Paige's brothers pick on Eddie about how there aren't any known people from Denmark; Paige is about to make a retort, but she can't think of anyone herself. Eddie names people like Kierkegaard, Niels Bohr, and Hans Christian Andersen. Paige is pleasantly surprised to learn that Andersen came from Denmark; her brothers are still not amused, but when he goes on to say that Lars Ulrich from Metallica is from Denmark as well, they become enthralled and almost ecstatic when they hear Helena Christensen is from Denmark; Paige nods at him in approval. The family loves him. Mr. Morgan invites Eddie to help with some of the farm chores, and Eddie says he will be happy to help. Little does he know that farm chores are not easy; by the end of the day, Eddie is rather tired, until he spots the lawn mowers, which Paige's brothers tell him they race every year. The big race is coming up, and Eddie says he can speed up the lawn mower. At the race, Mrs. Morgan notices that Paige's behavior changes around Eddie. The race starts and all is going well until the boys' ultimate rival gets angry. He tries to push Eddie off the road, but fails and goes off instead. Eddie wins the race and is congratulated by the boys, but when he tries to shake their rival's hand, he ends up in a fist fight. Back at home at the barn, Paige cleans Eddie's wounds. Paige tells him that they don't have a relationship, which ends with a long goodnight kiss. When they go back to the university, Eddie finds Soren in a pitiful state; unshaven, not showered, and his eyes glued to a video game screen. Steven says that he has been like this since he got back and tries to take the Xbox away only to have his head nearly bitten off by a power-crazed Soren. In the library, Eddie and Paige begin making suggestive movements, much to the notice of Paige's friend. Wanting to go somewhere private, they go off to the back of the library and start kissing and undressing when they are discovered by the paparazzi from Denmark. Still recovering from the shock of the moment, Paige asks Eddie what was going on and why they were calling him: "Prince Edvard." When Eddie explains to her that he is the crown prince of Denmark, she is upset. Eddie tries to convince her that his feeling were genuine, but Paige walks away in tears, because her feelings were genuine and she is convinced his were not. The next morning, Eddie splashes Soren with cold water and brings him out of his video game trance. Paige is unhappy. Soon the papers reach Denmark and King Haraald and Queen Rosalind are upset to see Paige and Edvard's shocked faces all over the tabloids. Later in chemistry class, Soren and Edvard have to fight past photographers to get into the classroom. Edvard is dismayed to find that Paige is no longer his chemistry class partner and is still angry and disappointed with him. After a long day, Soren receives a phone call from Queen Rosalind; he hands the phone to Edvard, who can hear strong concern in his mother's voice as she tells him that he must return home because his father is ill. Edvard is very concerned for his father and rushes back to Denmark to be with him. Meanwhile, Paige is giving a speech in her Shakespeare class when she realizes that like Romeo and Juliet, she and Edvard may have been meant to be together. Paige goes up to his dorm and is told by Steven that he and Soren left in the morning. Paige can't believe this and her fears are confirmed when she finds a note left by Edvard. She goes to her dorm and does not see a letter of acceptance to a medical college, while packing her bags for the first plane to Denmark. As she takes a cab from the airport, she is excited to see the historical landmarks that the cab driver points out, but she is more concerned with finding Edvard. They discover that the royal family is out in public moving through the city, and the traffic is blocked, so it is difficult to get through. Paige thanks the cab driver and gets out to try spotting Edvard, and after a bit of searching, she finds him on his horse, riding alongside his family's carriage in the parade. Paige tries to call out to him, but he can't hear her. When some people recognize Paige and start shouting her name, Edvard turns and sees her. With his horse he rides to her, helps her up, and they ride off towards the castle together, much to his parent's dismay and the crowd's pleasure. Paige and Edvard arrive at the castle and Soren meets them. Paige hops off the horse and embraces Soren, whom Edvard orders to show Paige around while he talks with his parents. Queen Rosalind feels that Edvard has betrayed his country by being seen with a common girl like Paige, but King Haraald is silent. Edvard tells his mother that he will still accept the crown when his father dies, on the condition that he be allowed to marry Paige, but Rosalind disagrees. Edvard lists off the people who are next in line for the throne, trying to make a point that they need him. Rosalind tells him not to threaten them; Edvard ignores her, but stops when Haraald demands for him to be quiet. Haraald tells him that no matter what happens he WILL be the next king of Denmark, and Edvard says he understands. Haraald then gives Edvard permission to marry Paige (ignoring his wife's protestations). Edvard finds Paige with Soren on a tour of the gardens. He dismisses Soren, and takes the opportunity to propose to Paige, who almost instantly accepts it. Paige awakes the next morning and receives a warm embrace from her future sister-in-law Arabella. When Soren comes in and tells Paige about her schedule, Paige start realizing that she is about to become royalty and what that will entail. Arabella introduces Paige to Marguerite, who will be designing Paige's gown for Edvard's ball. Marguerite examines Paige's figure and posture, and tells her that she doesn't work with hunchbacks. A montage ensues showing Paige meeting in public places with Rosalind and Edvard and getting her dress prepared for the ball. At the hospital, the paparazzi are curious as to where Paige is; they find her playing with sick children in the playroom, where they snatch a picture of them. Queen Rosalind is less than amused and tells Paige what the consequences are, and how this could be dangerous to her reputation. Soren and Paige leave Rosalind to find Edvard; they find him sitting at Haraald's bedside and Soren says that it's time for him to leave for a meeting. Edvard thanks him and kisses his father's forehead before leaving. At the meeting, Edvard points out to the members of the board that he has learned a thing or two about negotiation on the Morgan farm, and also says that the new Denmark will be about negotiations. Paige is trying her dress on when Soren tells her that Queen Rosalind wishes to see her, and they leave to meet her together. Soren tells Paige that he won't leave her side, but Rosalind sends him away and he obeys. Rosalind tells Paige straight out that she has always stayed close to tradition, but that maybe it is indeed time for change if this means that her son is starting to act like a responsible adult man. She leads Paige down into a vault where all the jewels are stored and lets Paige have her pick of the finest. Later that week during the ball, Edvard asks Paige to dance; it takes her a few minutes to realize that the song that is being played is the song that she chose on the jukebox back in Wisconsin. They dance for awhile, then go off into the study. After only a few minutes of privacy, Soren comes to tell Edvard that the prime minister of Norway is here to see him. Edvard sighs and tells Paige that he will come back with a surprise. Paige watches as Edvard helps Haraald sit down, only to be surprised when Soren closes and locks the door. Paige walks around the dark study and notices a globe which reminds her of all the places she wanted to see and work with the Doctors Without Borders, before she fell in love with Edvard. He returns again and shows her a meat slicer to make the perfect sandwich for her. Though Paige is happy, she tells Edvard that she cannot be his queen. She explains to him that she cannot give up her dreams and stop being herself, but that Edvard has to stay, for his father and for his country. They hug, knowing that their relationship is over. Edvard is crowned king and Paige goes to see him when he gives his speech to the Danish people, right before she returns to Wisconsin to graduate from college. At graduation day, she suddenly hears Edvard quoting Shakespeare to her. She runs up to him, hugs and kisses him. Edvard tells Paige he still loves her and wants to marry her, whatever plans she has and needs to do. She warns him that Denmark is not ready for a queen like her; he says that they will have to be because he is. They kiss and the movie ends.

The film begins with British writer Virginia Woolf (Nicole Kidman) putting stones inside her pockets before drowning herself (in real life, she walked in to the River Ouse on 28th March 1941). Laura Brown (Julianne Moore) lives in 1951 in a wealthy Los Angeles suburb. Her husband, Dan Brown (John C. Reilly) is having a birthday. While he's at work, she makes a chocolate cake for him. Their son, Richie (Jack Rovello), asks if he can help her with it. As he sifts the flour, he wants to know why they are making the cake. "So Daddy will know we love him?" he asks. She answers yes and then he asks, "He won't know it, if we don't?" She answers him, "no". She is heavily pregnant with their second child. She is also reading a hardback copy of Mrs Dalloway, which is considered Virginia Woolf's best novel. Clarissa Vaughan (Meryl Streep) lives in modern 2001 New York and is planning a party for her prize-winning poet and close friend, Richard Brown (Ed Harris). Rich has been suffering AIDS for many years. He's a celebrated poet, and Clarissa is his editor. Clarissa worries about Richard a lot, and takes care of him as if she were his mother. Back at home, when she is preparing the party almost on her own, she has trouble with her girlfriend Sally Lester (Allison Janney), who has been unfaithful to her for some time. Several people appear for the party: Clarissa's daughter Julia (Claire Danes) and the most cherished of Richard's ex-boyfriends, Louis (Jeff Daniels), who has another relationship with a younger man but who is still a bit sad and melancholic. Back to the UK, where Virginia has just started to write a novel. She and her husband Leonard Woolf (Stephen Dillane) have moved to a village outside London, because London's hectic and frenzy life has affected Virginia's psychological health. She had tried to commit suicide twice, and used to hear voices. Leonard is busy with his printing press business, but he watches over her tenderly. One sunny day they are visited by Vanessa (Miranda Richardson), Viriginia's sister, and her two sons Quentin and Julian (George Loftus and Charley Ramm) and daughter Angelica (Sophie Wyburd). They are talkative and full of life, but their visit causes some anxiety to Virginia. To have lunch and tea prepared as she wants, having to force the cook and main maid Nelly Boxall (Linda Bassett) to travel to London to buy some things and then travel back is an ordeal to the lady of the house. Virginia has problems to make herself obeyed by their servants, especially by pushy Nelly. In real life, many pages on Woolf's diary were about Nelly, a person she used to fear so much that she wouldn't even dare to give the sack. This time Virginia had to be obeyed. Angelica finds a dead bird recently deceased at the Woolfs' garden. They bury it with much pomp, and this puts a bigger strain on Virginia's damaged emotions. At the end of the day, the four visitors go back to London merrily and Virginia and Leonard stay at home. Back in LA, Laura's friend, Kitty (Toni Collette) stops by. Laura complains about the cake not turning out right for her husband's birthday. Kitty says she doesn't understand why and that baking is easy to do. Kitty then says that it's ok, that everyone has different things that they're good at. Kitty is dressed perfectly and seems to have the perfect life. Laura learns that Kitty is about to have surgery performed, as she is seriously ill, and that's why she couldn't have any children. Kitty starts to let her guard down and seems to get emotional over her problem. Laura and Kitty kiss each other. However, Kitty behaves and talks as though nothing had happened. After Kitty leaves, Laura throws the first cake away and then makes a perfect one. Meanwhile, Richie is sitting quietly while he watches his mother. She stops, looks at him and asks, "What?" while he looks on. She then takes him to a neighbor's (Margo Martindale) while she goes out, which Richie highly protests to. She proceeds to drive around. She sees the sign for a hotel and decides to book in. There, she takes out all the medicines that she took from the cabinet in the bathroom from her home and puts them on the bedside table next to her. She puts herself on top of the perfectly-made bed and reads Mrs Dalloway but falls asleep whilst reading her book. For her, death is like a flood, a river overgrown which will drown her from under the hotel bed. Suddenly she wakes up. She has just decided that she will wait for her second child to be born and then she will leave her family. When she comes back home as though nothing special had happened, Richie knows that she's lying. That night, Laura's husband dines with his family and eats the cake. He is a contented quiet men and says that the cake is delicious, and appreciates the fact that Laura has done it. He talks of how perfect his birthday was thanks to his family. In New York, Richard Brown (Laura's older son, now a grown-up man) wants to skip the party. He tells Clarissa that she has been the only reason he had to live, but that now, she has to let him go. Clarissa is a lesbian, but she wonders if she is still in love with Richard. However Clarissa cannot prevent Richard from jumping from the window. Instead of a party, she has to prepare Richard's funeral. Richard's mother, Laura Brown appears. She has become -according to Julia- a sweet old lady, not the monster as late Richard Brown used to describe her. Laura tells how she moved to Canada to lead an independent life as a librarian in Canada, but she won't apologize for the hurt she has caused to her family because her pain doesn't make any difference now to her late husband (who died of cancer) and children (her younger daughter had also died). In the UK, Virginia has changed her mind: her character Mrs Dalloway won't die, another character in her novel, a rambling poet married to his lonely Italian nurse, will do so. When Leonard asks her why somebody must die in her novels, she tells him "so that we all appreciate life." Anyway, Virginia tries to run away to London, but Leonard catches her while she is waiting at the train station. Virginia talks to him, and Leonard can't put up with her anymore: he promises they will be back to London soon. As the audience knows, Virginia will end up committing suicide there. And that's how the film ends: as it has begun, with Virginia Woolf committing suicide. In real life, she wrote some other novels after Mrs Dalloway and before committing suicide.

In the countryside of Yorkshire, the Tweedys, a middle-aged couple, run their chicken farm in Yorkshire, England. Mrs. Tweedy (Miranda Richardson) serves as the brains and temper, while Mr. Tweedy (Tony Haygarth) is rather slow but handles the manual work. The coop is run in the style of a World War II POW camp, with the chickens accountable for the number of eggs they lay daily. They kill and eat any chicken that is no longer able to lay eggs. The coop is like a prison with fences on all sides and locked gates. The dogs patrol the coop constantly. One chicken, Ginger (Julia Sawalha), has attempted numerous plans to flee the coop, aided by contraband smuggled into the coop by two rats, Nick (Timothy Spall) and Fetcher (Phil Daniels), but is always caught by Mr. Tweedy and his dogs, and is thrown into the solitary confinement numerous times. Ginger's plans include digging under the fence, or even digging a whole tunnel from the coop to the outside jungle, or even using a combination of chickens to create a human shaped object dressed like a human. Mr Tweedy suspects the chickens are organized and plotting resistance, but his wife dismisses his theories while being frustrated with making minuscule profits. The other chicken on the farm include Babs (Jane Horrocks) a chubby chicken who loves knitting, Bunty (Imelda Staunton) the champion egg-layer and Mac (Lynn Ferguson) Ginger's Scottish second in command. Meanwhile, Mrs. Tweedy realizes that her farm is failing and reads a catalog on an ambiguous method of increasing profits at her farm. Ginger, realizing something is wrong, attempts to convince the other hens to speed up their efforts to escape. However, she soon comes to the conclusion that the only escape route is to go over the fence, something chickens cannot do. Later the same night, as a depressed Ginger sits outside, a Rhode Island Red rooster named Rocky (Mel Gibson) seemingly flies over the fence and accidentally crashes into the coop. The hens fawn over the new arrival, who introduces himself as Rocky. The chickens put his sprained wing in a cast and hide him from the Tweedys, who have been promised a handsome reward by Rocky's owner for his return. Ginger is initially suspicious, til she finds the first half of a poster with Rocky on it. Showing it to the other hens and explaining how he came in, she claims that he can fly and attempts to convince Rocky to help her and the other hens escape by teaching them how to fly. However, Rocky's wing was injured, and he cannot show them immediately. Instead, Rocky puts them through a set of exercises that seem to have no purpose while assuring them that all the chickens are making progress. Meanwhile, a large machine arrives, and Mr. Tweedy begins assembling it. The crate contained the parts for a chicken pie machine that Mrs Tweedy has ordered as part of a plan to convert the farm into a profitable pie-making factory. At the same time, Tweedys increase the chickens' food rations and ignore the decline in egg production. Ginger unwisely proclaims that her intent is to fatten them up for something, causing a panic. After Ginger and Rocky get into an argument, Rocky holds a morale-boosting dance party during which it is revealed that his wing is healed. Ginger talks Rocky into agreeing to give a flying demonstration the next day. However, the machine is now complete, and Mr. Tweedy kidnaps Ginger for its first test. Rocky follows Ginger into the machine and rescues her, sabotaging the machine and giving them more time to work on their escape. Fowler (Benjamin Whitrow), an older rooster, gives Rocky his respect for rescuing Ginger and his old Royal Air Force (RAF) badge in tribute. Rocky decides to flee the farm the next day, leaving behind Fowler's medal and the second half of the poster, showing that he was a stunt rooster, only "flying" by being shot out of a cannon. This revelation outrages the other chickens, and a fight soon breaks out as morale falls. When Fowler arrives to restore order, he begins talking of his days in the RAF, leading Ginger to realize that she and the other chickens can build a plane made from Fowler's pictures and personal recollections. The chickens race against time to assemble their plane as Mr. Tweedy works to repair the pie machine. Meanwhile, Rocky comes across a billboard advertising Mrs Tweedy's chicken pies and returns to the farm out of guilt. The chickens finally finish their plane just as Mr. Tweedy completes the repairs of the pie machine and enters the coop to grab all the chickens. The chickens launch an open revolt, tying up and gagging Mr. Tweedy and readying the "crate", which Ginger persuades Fowler to pilot. As the chickens start to take off, Mr. Tweedy gets free and knocks down the ramp. Ginger jumps down while Fowler turns the plane around, knocking Mr. Tweedy unconscious. As Ginger struggles to lift the ramp, Mrs. Tweedy arrives with an ax and attacks Ginger. However, Rocky, having had a change of heart, flies over the fence and hits Mrs. Tweedy in her face aboard a tricycle. Rocky and Ginger grab onto a string of lights caught on the plane's landing gear. Mrs. Tweedy awakens, and grabs onto the lights, weighing down the crate. Ginger heads down the string to cut it, but loses the scissors. Realizing the only way to cut the lights, Ginger tricks Mrs. Tweedy by using the hatchet to sever the string. Mrs. Tweedy falls, crashing into the pie machine and plugging her into the safety valve. This causes the machine to explode, destroying the barn and covering most of the farm with a cloud of mushroom gravy. The chickens celebrate their victory after defeating the Tweedys while Ginger and Rocky kiss, and they fly to an island bird sanctuary where they make their home. Sometime later, the chickens have settled into their new home, and Rocky and Ginger have started a romantic relationship. Nick and Fetcher, two rats that have been helping the chickens throughout the escape, decide to set up their own egg farm, but they fall into a circular debate over whether they must use a chicken or egg to start it.

In 1799 America, Peter Van Garrett writes and seals a series of documents, before fleeing the small Dutch hamlet of Sleepy Hollow with his son, Dirk. On the road, their carriage is overtaken by a lone rider who beheads Dirk, and follows Peter into a cornfield, where he is slain as well. Elsewhere in New York City, mild-mannered constable Ichabod Crane (Johnny Depp) comes at odds with his superiors due to his persistent arguments in favor of integrating modern scientific procedures into the American justice system. Crane, who suffers from severe religious trauma (caused by the torture and murder of his mother, a practitioner of benign witchcraft, at the hands of his father, a sadistic religious fanatic) abhors the torturous methods used to solve crimes, and advocates for early forensic science in its stead. To this end, the Burgomaster (Christopher Lee) dispatches him to Sleepy Hollow to investigate the Van Garretts' murders, as well as the murder of the local widow Emily Winship, who was also found beheaded. Arriving in Sleepy Hollow, Crane meets Katrina Van Tassel (Christina Ricci) and her suitor Brom (Christopher Van Dien), and is welcomed by Katrina's father, Baltus (Michael Gambon), and stepmother, Mary (Miranda Richardson). Upstairs, Crane discusses the murders with Baltus and the other town elders: Reverend Steenwyck (Jeffrey Jones), Doctor Lancaster (Ian McDiarmid), Magistrate Samuel Philipse (Richard Griffiths), and Notary James Hardenbrook. The town believes that the murders are the work of Sleepy Hollow's local ghost story, the Headless Horseman. Baltus explains that the Horseman was once a bloodthirsty Hessian mercenary (Christopher Walken) who fought in the American revolutionary war, riding a great black steed and beheading his victims with a sword. When the Horseman was finally beaten, he was beheaded with his own sword and buried in the Hollow's western woods. The town believes the Horseman to have returned from the grave to slaughter its inhabitants, but Crane remains confident that the murderer is a mortal. The next morning, a fourth victim is found: Van Garrett's servant, Jonathan Masbath. Investigating the scene of the crime, Crane discovers that the wound was instantly cauterized, which the elders believe to be a sign of demonic force. At Masbath's funeral, Crane accepts his son, Young Masbath, into his service, and exhume the bodies of the Horseman's victims on a tip from Magistrate Philipse. Discovering a stab wound on Winship's body, Crane performs an autopsy on the widow and discovers that she was pregnant. That night, Crane is attacked by a headless rider in black, who turns out to be Brom playing a prank on him. Katrina takes Crane to the ruins of her family's old cottage, where the two begin to bond, and gives him a small spell-book for protection. Magistrate Philipse tries to flee, but is confronted by Crane, who interrogates him regarding his knowledge of Winship's pregnancy. The Headless Horseman suddenly appears and kills Philipse in front of Crane, riding into the woods with his head. Despite his initial terror, Crane volunteers to lead an expedition to the western woods, with Young Masbath the only one volunteering to accompany him. In the woods, Masbath mentions an argument that his father overheard between Peter Van Garrett and his son, and the two stumble upon the home of an old crone, who directs them to find the Headless Horseman's grave beneath the Tree of the Dead. Encountering Katrina along the way, the three reach the tree, which Crane deduces to be a gateway between the worlds of the living and the dead. Finding the Horseman's grave disturbed, Crane exhumes the body to find the skull missing. At that moment, the Horseman bursts from the base of the tree and rides for Sleepy Hollow, where he kills midwife Beth Killian (Claire Skinner) and her family. Unable to kill the Horseman, Brom is killed and Crane is stabbed. Recovering at the Van Tassels' house, Crane deduces that someone is using the Horseman's skull to summon and control him, and opens up to Katrina about his religious trauma. Suspecting a conspiracy, he confronts Notary Hardenbrook, and discovers that Peter Van Garrett secretly married Emily Winship, and made a new will that named the widow and her unborn child his sole beneficiaries. Realizing that Baltus stands the most to gain from the murders, Crane names him the prime suspect, as all those beheaded are either witnesses or beneficiaries to Van Garrett's will. That evening, Crane discovers the sign of the Evil Eye under his bed, and follows a hooded figure into the woods, who he discovers to be Lady Van Tassel in the middle of a sexual rendezvous in which she ritualistically cuts open her hand. The next day, Katrina burns the evidence against her father, and spurns Crane when he confronts her. Crane learns that Notary Hardenbrook has taken his own life. Reverend Steenwyck holds a meeting to discredit Crane, when Baltus rushes in declaring that the Horseman has killed Lady Van Tassel. The townsfolk shelter in the church, as the Horseman cannot enter. Steenwyck kills Doctor Lancaster when the latter confesses their conspiracy to Baltus, who shoots and kills Steenwyck in self-defense. The Horseman impales Baltus with a makeshift harpoon and drags him out of the church, beheading him. Crane finds that Katrina has drawn a large Evil Eye sigil on the church floor. Believing her to be in control of the Horseman, and unable to bring himself to accuse her, Crane leaves Sleepy Hollow. Crane discovers that the Evil Eye is actually a sigil of protection, and discovers the wound on "Lady Van Tassel's" body to have been inflicted post-mortem: the real Lady Van Tassel, having faked her death, abducts Katrina. At the town's old windmill, she reveals her true heritage as the daughter of an impoverished family who had been evicted by the Van Garrets. Making a pact with Satan, she summoned the Headless Horseman to kill those who had wronged her, and manipulated her way into the Van Tassel family while coercing the other elders into her plot. Having killed all beneficiaries and witnesses - as well as her sister, the crone who aided Crane and Masbath - Lady Van Tassel summons the Horseman to kill Katrina, the final obstacle between her and both the Van Garrett and Van Tassel estates. Crane arrives in the nick of time to save Katrina and Young Masbath, and the three destroy the windmill in an attempt to kill the Horseman. Fleeing to the Tree of the Dead, they are intercepted by Lady Van Tassel, who shoots Crane. Crane survives thanks to Katrina's spell-book taking the bullet, and manages to retrieve the Horseman's skull from Lady Van Tassel's possession. He returns it to the horseman just as Katrina is about to be killed, freeing him from his curse. The Horseman's head is restored, and he rides back to Hell, taking Lady Van Tassel with her. With the Headless Horseman's rampage ended, Crane, Katrina, and Young Masbath return to New York City.

After the death of her daughter, Aurora struggled to keep her family together, but she has a grandson in jail, a rebellious granddaughter and another grandson living almost on the poverty line. Continuing the story of Aurora Greenway in her latter years. After the death of her daughter, Aurora struggled to keep her family together, but has one grandson in jail, a rebellious granddaughter, and another grandson living just above the poverty line. —R. John Berggren <jberg@nina.pagesz.net> She's back-and as delightfully feisty as ever! The generations grow, but life still spins around Aurora like a cyclone: her rebellious granddaughter wants to run off with Mr. Wrong; a snooty rival has come up with new ways to meddle in Aurora's life; her longtime spinster housekeeper is ready to ditch domestic work for the domestic bliss of matrimony; her great-grandson is like a poison pill; and her shrink is more than eager to cross the line separating client relationships and romantic entanglement. Welcome back Aurora. We've missed you. —Anonymous Determined to keep the promise she made to her late daughter, Aurora Greenway does her best to raise three grandchildren with constant opposition from Emma's best friend Patsy. She visits eldest grandson Tommy in prison, who awaits the possibility of parole, and struggles to break through the hate he harbors since the death of his mother. She also watches younger grandson Teddy struggle to make a living and provide for his budding family. Aurora focuses her hope for a better future towards her youngest Melanie who becomes a rebellious college student whose taste in men is unacceptable by her standards. Aurora comes to terms with the sacrifices she's made for others and ultimately embraces the thought of finding her own happiness. She begins to chronicle her life in an effort to recollect and organize the events that shaped who she is. Through exploring love, experiencing loss, and endearing efforts to bring her family back together, she changes over the years. With help of an old friend, she lays a loved one to rest and finally allows herself to age gracefully into her twilight years. The Evening Star is a touching continuation of a story that shines brightly along with Terms of Endearment. —Keith M. Johnson

The story opens in 1941, just prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Jamie Graham is a precocious and privileged boy living with his parents in Shanghai. His father is a rich British businessman and the family lives in a mansion on the outskirts of the city and Jamie attends an exclusive prep school. Much has been done to shelter Jamie from the Chinese culture that surrounds him and he is quite spoiled, treating the family's servants with utmost disrespect. Very interested in aviation, Jamie harbors an interest in one day joining the Japanese air force, a dream that his father finds disturbing. The family attends a costume ball thrown by one of the father's business associates, Mr. Maxton. While there, Jamie runs off to fly his wooden glider. He finds the wrecked fuselage of a fighter plane near an abandoned airfield. While he plays with the controls, his glider slips out of sight behind a mound. He scrambles up the mound and finds an encampment of Japanese soldiers. While he stares at them, his father and Maxton appear and call him down, specifically telling Jamie not to run. As they walk away and the Japanese soldiers return to their camp, Jamie remarks that they "seem to be waiting for something to happen". Maxton suggests that Graham take his family to their apartment in the city and seek an exit from Shanghai, most likely by sea. The family returns to their Shanghai apartment. Early the next morning, Jamie spots a Japanese warship in the harbor communicating with land forces using flashing lights. Jamie begins using his own flashlight from his room when an explosion throws him back from his window. The Japanese move into the city in full force. Jamie's family is able to make it to their limousine but are unable to get very far due to the crowds of people filling the streets. They exit the limo and find themselves crushed and separated among the crowd. Jamie's mother manages to hold on to Jamie when separated from her husband but Jamie lets go of her hand when he drops his toy plane. He sees his mother being helplessly pushed away and she bids him to return to their mansion. Shortly after Jamie witnesses fighting between the Chinese resistance and the Japanese army, seeing a man die in front of him for the first time. The resistance fighters are quickly found and killed. Jamie arrives home to find the house empty. He sees signs of a struggle in his parents bedroom, perhaps indicating that his mother was taken from the house by force. He hears noise downstairs and finds the maid of the house with the other Chinese servant, stealing furniture. When Jamie demands to know what they're doing, the servant, whom Jim had treated badly over the years, calmly walks over and slaps his face and leaves. Jamie stays in the house several months (indicated by the falling level of water in the swimming pool), eating whatever food he can find. When his food and water run out, he rides his bike back to Shanghai to find that the Japanese have long since cemented their control of the city. Jamie tries to surrender to a passing battalion of marching soldiers but they ignore him and his bike is stolen. A homeless Chinese boy notices Jamie and tries to call him over. Jamie refuses and runs through the streets and back alleys, people ignoring his cries for help. The Chinese boy catches and beats him, taking whatever Jamie has on him. Jamie manages to break free and runs into the street, nearly being hit by a truck. The truck's driver, Frank, scares Jamie's tormentor off and takes Jamie with him to an abandoned freighter where Frank's friend, Basie, is cooking rice. Basie deftly searches Jamie for anything of value, taking Jamie's aviator sunglasses and a British crown coin he'd found in the swimming pool. He also gives Jamie a new name, "Jim" and coldly serves Jamie Frank's share of the rice he'd made. The next day Frank and Basie set about trying to "sell" Jim to anyone who needs a manual laborer. When they're unable to sell Jim they decide to leave him to the streets as an orphan. Jim pleads with them to let him stay, even offering them the pickings of rich houses in his old neighborhood outside the city. The three travel to Jim's old house where the lights are on and music, Jim's mother's favorite tune, can be heard. However, the house has been seized by the Japanese, who march out immediately and capture all three. As Jim is held back, Basie is severely beaten. Basie and Jim find themselves in a holding center for foreign prisoners in Shanghai. They spend a significant amount of time there; Jim discovers that the other kids there will steal openly from him to survive, a tactic he also learns from Basie. One day, when the Japanese come to select prisoners for transport to an official camp, Basie is chosen, who boards the truck and ignores Jim's pleas to take him along. Jim begs the driver to take him along and finds that the driver is unsure of the route to the camp. Jim assures the driver that he can guide them to the camp, which is near his parents' old country club. The truck driver throws the annoying Jim into the truck and they leave. The truck arrives at Soochow Creek Interment camp, which is situated right next to an airbase construction site. As the prisoners get off the truck they are ordered to carry white stones up to the spot where a runway is being laid. Jim breaks off from the group, seeing a work area for Japanese Zero airplanes. As he touches one of them, a guard, Nagata, prepares to shoot him. A group of three Japanese pilots approaches and Jamie salutes them; Nagata lowers his rifle when the pilots return Jamie's salute. The story jumps ahead to the Summer of 1945, near the end of the war. Jim has etched out a considerably active life for himself involving an intricate trade network among the other British prisoners and even Nagata himself, who has since been invested as the commanding officer of the camp. While dropping off Nagata's freshly polished boots, Jim slyly steals a bar of soap. Jim's last stop is at the camp infirmary, where he aides the camp doctor, Rawlins, in performing CPR on a dying patient. The woman moves her eyes slightly, seemingly looking at Jim, who now believes he's brought her back to life. Jim appears to lose control, frantically pumping the woman's chest until Rawlins is forced to throw Jim off the dead woman. Rawlins has been schooling Jim in Latin and classical poetry, but is unable to teach Jim to recognize when his efforts go too far. Jim leaves the hospital and goes to the American prisoners barracks, delivering the soap to Basie. Basie shows Jim his latest project which involves laying snares in the marsh next to his barracks, hoping to catch pheasants for next Thanksgiving. Basie also makes a deal with Jim: if Jim lays the snares, Basie will let Jim move into the American dorm and take him along if he finds a way to escape the camp. That night the airbase is bombed by American pilots, who drop a bomb very close to the prison camp. In retaliation, Nagata and a few of his officers begin breaking windows in the British and American barracks. When Nagata moves on the infirmary, Rawlins tries to stop him. The sergeant begins to violently and mercilessly beat the doctor. Jim steps in, smashing two windows and begging Nagata in Japanese to cease his punishment, which he does. Rawlins, in gratitude for Jim's actions, gives Jim a pair of two tone golf shoes that belonged to a recently deceased patient. The next day, Jim steals away from the camp to the marsh near the American dorm. Waiting for the tower guard to sit down and leaving his golf spikes behind, he crawls into the marsh to place Basie's snares. However, Basie has another motive for planting the traps: he is using Jim to test the marsh for mines. Moments later, Nagata appears and yells at the guard to take up his post. Nagata finds Jim's shoes and wades into the marsh after him. He is just about to find Jim when a Japanese boy from the airbase calls the sergeant over; the boy has lost his toy glider in the marsh and Nagata retrieves it for him. As the two walk away, the boy salutes Jim, whom he'd seen all along. Jim is given his own space in the American dorm, much to Frank's chagrin, who has to give up some of his own personal space for the young upstart. One day, Basie and another American prisoner, Dainty, are going over potential escape plans using a cork and needle as a compass (provided them by Jim & his pilfering network). Nagata shows up unexpectedly and sees how comfortably Basie has been living. He also finds the bar of soap stolen by Jim and becomes instantly furious, beating Basie severely. Basie leaves Jim in charge of his possessions, knowing he'll be sent to the infirmary. Jim visits him there after seeing through his binoculars that Basie has been given the mosquito net usually reserved for dying patients. (Basie tells him that he merely bribed Dr. Rawlins for it.) During their conversation, Basie suddenly asks Jim why he isn't back at the dorm minding Basie's things; Jim says that the older and larger men in the dorm took everything, Jim being fairly helpless to stop them. Ashamed, Jim leaves the American dorm shortly after Basie returns from the hospital. Now essentially homeless, Jim awakes one morning after falling asleep on the grounds of the camp and sees a kamikaze ritual taking place at the airbase. Moved by the ceremony, he begins to sing "Suo Gân" a Welsh folk song from his childhood days of singing in the choir. As the planes take off one suddenly explodes in midair; a squadron of American P-51 Mustang fighters have arrived and begin to destroy the airbase. Exhilarated, Jim climbs to the top of a bombed-out building to watch the battle and sees one of the American pilots waving at him. Jim begins to scream in joy. As the battle continues, Rawlins, fearing for Jim's safety, yells for the boy to come down. Jim doesn't listen and Rawlins climbs after him, finally catching him as the battle winds down. He yells at Jim to return to reality and Jim breaks down, saying he can't recall what his parents looked like. Rawlins carries him down, Jim blankly reciting the poem that Rawlins had been teaching him. The next day, the camp is evacuated by Nagata. The prisoners are told that there will be food waiting for them further inland and a march is quickly started. As they leave, Jim sees the young Japanese boy he'd befriended through the camp wire taking the ceremonial drink of the kamikaze pilots. The boy jumps into his plane but cannot take off because the plane refuses to fire up. The group reaches Nantao Stadium, many miles away, where the Japanese spoils from Shanghai are stored. Among the automobiles there, Jim finds his father's old limo. After being told that there's no food or water there, Jim stays behind with Mrs. Victor, a woman who acted as a guardian to Jim back in Soochow. Jim tells her to act dead so they can stay, however, Mrs. Victor actually dies. As a devastated Jim sits with her body, he sees a gigantic flash of light to the east, one of the atomic bombs dropped by the United States on Japan. Jim believes it is Mrs. Victor's ascending soul, however, he hears a radio broadcast later that reports about the new weapon and the surrender of the Japanese Empire, ending the war. As the starving and weakened Jim staggers back to Soochow he notices large canisters falling from the sky on parachutes. They are from the Red Cross and contain food and other supplies. Jim gathers what he can and returns to the prison camp. There he finds the young Japanese boy from the airbase, who is angrily slashing at the marsh with his katana sword. Recognizing Jim, he stumbles away crying. Jim hears an engine revving and sees a car break through a wall of fire. In the car are Basie and a couple of other men he'd joined up with who are looting the relief containers. The Japanese boy offers Jim a mango and is about to help Jim cut it with his katana when he is shot by one of Basie's companions. As the man rushes over Jim flips him into the marsh and leaps on him, punching him wildly. Basie pulls Jim off, who turns his attention to the Japanese boy. He tries to revive him using CPR but the boy is clearly dead and Basie again pulls Jim off. As he tries to soothe Jim, Jim pulls away, a crazed look in his eye; Jim's experiences during the war of stealing, death and fear have finally pushed him onto the path to adulthood. Basie decides to leave Jim behind, knowing the boy will survive. Jim stays in the camp a bit longer, riding a bike like he did in childhood and laughing. He is found by a U.S. Army unit, to whom he "surrenders". Jim returns to Shanghai and is housed in an orphanage for child war prisoners. The kids are assembled by the nuns for a group of parents who have returned to Shanghai following the war; Jim's parents are among them. They wade through the sea of children, not able to find Jim at first, but spot him after a few moments. Jim, scarred from his experiences and still in shock, doesn't believe his own eyes as he recognizes his mother by her face and hair and eventually collapses in her loving arms.