Summaries

The eldest son of a fugitive family comes of age and wants to live his own life.

The Popes are a family who haven't been able to use their real identity for years. In the late 1960s, the parents set a weapons lab afire in an effort to hinder the government's Vietnam war campaign. Ever since then, the Popes have been on the run, with the authorities never far behind. Today, their older son wants his own life although he is aware that this would mean that either his parents would get caught, or that he would never see them again.—Kenneth Chisholm <[email protected]>

Married couple Annie and Arthur Pope, former student radicals who remain committed to their peaceful causes, have been fugitives from the law since 1971, following their admission of the bombing of a napalm research facility that seriously injured a janitor, who was not supposed to be on duty at the time. They and their two sons, Danny and Harry, have learned to live under aliases and pick up and move at a moment's notice whenever it looks like the feds are getting close, which is on average twice a year. They are able to do so with the help of an underground network of friends known as the Liberation. Through the network, the only extended family member they are able to keep in touch with periodically is Arthur's mother, Sophie Popov, those meetings always short and hidden away. They don't keep in touch with Annie's parents, wealthy Donald and Abigail Patterson, who they believe are part of the establishment problem of the world. Following Sophie's passing, Arthur believes their family unit of four becomes all the more important. Their constant moving means they have few material possessions, the only thing they need being a getaway vehicle. Their only indulgence is Annie's practice board which she's had since she was a child and which she used to teach Danny to play the piano. Their lives hit a crossroads when Danny reaches his senior year in school in Waterford, New Jersey, and transitions from being a fugitive Pope child into a man with his own dreams and aspirations. It includes falling in love for the first time, with classmate Lorna Phillips. It also includes thoughts of college, he applying to Juilliard under the advice of Lorna's father, his music teacher, Mr. Edward Phillips. What Danny will do in this phase of his life could be a joint family decision; Arthur and Annie know they will never see him again if they let him go unless they give themselves up.—Huggo

Parents who thought they could change the government by committing a terrorist act against the government, must confront their misguided mistakes. Living under fake identities becomes a cumbersome cross to bear when their son wants to start his own life and attend college.

Details

Keywords
  • coming of age
  • f rated
  • fugitive
  • piano
  • radicalism
Genres
  • Crime
  • Drama
  • Romance
  • Music
Release date Sep 8, 1988
Motion Picture Rating (MPA) PG-13
Countries of origin United States
Language English
Filming locations 89 Highwood Avenue, Tenafly, New Jersey, USA
Production companies Lorimar Film Entertainment Double Play

Box office

Budget $7000000
Gross US & Canada $2835116
Opening weekend US & Canada $215157
Gross worldwide $2847941

Tech specs

Runtime 1h 56m
Color Color
Sound mix Mono
Aspect ratio 1.85 : 1

Synopsis

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