Touches You

Excellent but underrated film

Boring

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

"Testament" is a lovely little film that stands out among other productions of the time that dealt with the after effects of nuclear war. What it stresses more than anything is the *human* element: the toll taken on peoples' lives, the loved ones that they're forced to watch pass away before their eyes, and the desperation, anger, frustration, and inhumanity that are experienced. The story (authored by Carol Amen, and written for the screen by John Sacret Young) personalizes things by concentrating on a particular family, the Wetherlys, and how the matriarch, Carol (Jane Alexander) struggles to be strong for the sake of her children, how she so often manages to say just the right thing to them, and the ways that she shows compassion. Instead of showing us lots of spectacle, devastation, and going into the politics of the situation, Young and the director, Lynne Littman, sensitively handle the whole thing and give us characters that are relatable and sympathetic.The Wetherlys are among those in a tight knit small community that must face the reality of nuclear explosions on the continental U.S. and the fallout that slowly kills many of them. And they're very much an ordinary, loving family leading regular lives. We see Carol directing a school play, the patriarch,Tom (William Devane) interacting with his son Brad (Rossie Harris), the daughter Mary Liz (Roxana Zal) practicing her piano, etc. Together with youngest child Scottie (Lukas Haas, in his film debut), they find their lives forever changed when the unthinkable happens.The cast is wonderful all the way down the line. Alexander offers a rock solid presence as a warm, caring mother doing her best to carry on; she gives the film a solid foundation. Familiar faces in smaller roles include Lilia Skala as Fania, Leon Ames and Lurene Tuttle as the Abharts, Rebecca De Mornay and Kevin Costner as the Pitkins, and Mako as service station proprietor Mike.Now, "Testament" isn't always subtle about the way that it tugs at the heartstrings, but it's still powerfully affecting and impossible to forget. It doesn't offer any false hope and is right up front about the harsh realities that its characters must face...right to the end.Well worth a viewing overall, and an interesting contrast to telefilms like 'The Day After' and 'Threads'.Eight out of 10.

There are times when we ask ourselves in our subconscious what if this or that happened, what would we do, how would we react, how would we survive; even though it may not have happen now who's to say it won't tomorrow. This film is one of those rare films that actually broke my heart and made me cry, and it still does whenever I watch it again, it's also a film you never forget.The film is tragedy about the aftermath and what we would do and behave knowing that the world we used to live in, is gone. there are many things that I appreciate about this film, for one thing there are never any special effects. We see no big explosion or any other graphic details; instead it has a power of suggestion which actually works. We actually witness in documentary style what the end of the world could actually look like. From seeing long lines which take hours to wait to get groceries or even a tank of gas, the need for batteries which is one of the last sources of power, garbage is littered everywhere. But the two images that I found the most chilling were the breakdown in the Eco System, from seeing the leaves and vegetation turn brown and red, as well as the sky becoming darker from the dust the bombs spread and has blocked some of the sun and contaminating the air. The second image was seeing gravestones and crosses everywhere from back or front yards one neighborhood homes you would pass by. Down to the park and playground, just seeing several gravestones behind a playground and an empty swing now swinging emptily just made my heart bleed knowing kids use to play there.But what makes the film work the most is the characters themselves whom all feel like real people, both major and minor we actually get to know these people as if their people that could live in our neighborhood or pass by on the street. Were completely involved with these people and the significant moments that occur which can be touching and heartbreaking. From Carol (Jane Alexander) talking to her daughter Mary about love and sexuality which Mary will never experience, seeing Scottie (Lucas Haas) burying his action figures and thinking of running away, Carol watching a family film and listening to her husband's voice on an answering machine as if she's waiting for him to come back home. It even comes down to the minor characters and what happens around town, community leader (Leon Ames) through his radio communication activities we get a sense of what happened to the world, Phil (Kevin Costner) seeing him walk the sidewalk with a chest drawer to be used as a coffin for his baby, down to seeing the elementary school play "The Pied Piper which is a little ironic to the current situation since that play takes place in the years of "The Black Plague" an overwhelming catastrophe that cost hundreds of lives.However what makes the film all the more heartbreaking is there's a sense of familiarity to the film. The character Brad the oldest son I identify with because he is very much like myself when I was his age, the town reminds me of the towns I lived in. Even seeing the final family film footage reminds me of some of the multiple family film tapes that were made with my family. In the end of the film as the final characters pass away it made me break down and cry for a long while, just the knowledge knowing there was once a happy family with some happy memories are never going to be able to make any more. All these familiar things are things I don't think about too much but after seeing this film it made me think about how valuable all those little things really are to me.The lessons in this film are showing that no one wins in a nuclear war and the terrible results it produces. But mainly just how valuable life truly is and how little time we truly have to live it. These are lessons that should apply not just to our current era but the future in general.The family and other souls in this movie may pass away but will live in our hearts forever.Rating: 4 stars

I would have to disagree with those who find this movie far more realistic than The Day After in its depiction of the consequences of nuclear war. Testament looks at such a situation at a more deeply personal level than TDA - the emotional horrors it explores are noteworthy. In Testament, nuclear war suddenly breaks out with no warning. I get the impression that this is a family used to watching TV, so there should have been some indication, some lead-up a la Cuban Missle Crisis. While they watch the warning, apparently for the first time, the house is enveloped in a nuclear flash (unlikely timing). Surely there would have been some fires or at least wilted vegetation from this? Everything outside looked quite normal.Clearly Testament was designed with a very different slant to TDA - who wants to watch a remake - but in doing so it over-softens and underemphasises the horror of such. Fortunately the world has not experienced such an event, so we are left with the results of computer simulations. Something like http://tinyurl.com/43mkwyy probably gives a realistic idea though.Darkened skies and a precipitous drop in temperature almost immediately are probable. The way Hamlin is portrayed might be possible in the first few weeks in the southern hemisphere, say Australia, but not in the US. The radiation which kills off the people comes through the vector of dust, and lots of it - "fallout" - but there is no sign of it in Hamlin. Everything looks quite normal. A crisis situation of this nature brings out the best and worst in people - the Hamlin "riots" are mild and transitory. You'd be unlucky to get a window broken. TDA has the missiles and high-tech, a gradual and realistic build-up to the event as well as the aftermath, the almost complete breakdown of civil society in horrific relief, compared to Testament's orderly, if very sad, demise.

I saw this film in 1983 soon after it came out. The film affected me greatly. (A child of the Cold War era, I had stuffed canned goods into a knapsack during the week of the Cuban Missile Crisis.) After viewing the film, I immediately arranged to borrow a 16mm copy from the local library and to rent a projector to show it. I contacted neighbourhood parents to ask if any of their children would like come and watch the film. Then, one evening, I went to the library, got the film, picked up the projector, collected the children, threaded the projector, and showed the film. I did this because I felt that if only one child was moved by seeing the film to try to prevent the catastrophe it portrayed, it was worth the effort.