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''War of the Buttons'' is a 1994 British-French drama adventure film directed by John Roberts. It was written by Colin Welland and based on the French novel ''La Guerre des boutons'', by Louis Pergaud. The story, about two rival boys' gangs in Ireland, the Ballys (working class), and the Carricks (middle class), is set in County Cork, where it was filmed on location.〔''The Irish Filmography 1896–1996''; Red Mountain Press (Dublin); 1996. Page 209〕 The film has been classified as a drama and comedy,〔(''War of the Buttons'' (1994) ), Mojo Movies〕 and the tone is frequently light and humorous. It examines issues of conflict and war, the actions and consequences of violence, and how it can divide and oppose people who can be friends as easily as they can be enemies. == Plot == In 1960s southern Ireland, more precisely the centre of the bridge over the river that separates the Irish villages of Carrickdowse and Ballydowse, there is a white line that few young people dare cross. The boys of each village spend most of their time trying to upstage the other, whether over the sale of hospital raffle tickets, or something more important, such as deciding who is a "tosspot" and who is not, or, for that matter, defining "tosspot". This ''War of the Buttons'', in which the buttons from the enemies clothes are captured, has gone on as long as the youths can remember, and "to the death", though rarely does either group hurt more than its pride. The leader of the ''Ballys'' is Fergus (Gregg Fitzgerald), the son of a pauper family and an unpromising student who lives in a trailer on the edge of Ballydowse with his mother and abusive stepfather. What Fergus lacks in education, he makes up for in leadership, and the youth of Ballydowse will follow him anywhere. The members of the Ballys include Marie (Eveanna Ryan), the narrator, who revisits her memories of what happened from her adult viewpoint. The leader of the ''Carricks'' is Jerome (John Coffey), the son of a wealthy family. He is nicknamed ''Geronimo'' after the Apache tribal chief. The story explores how events escalate, gang class differences (the original and main incentive for their war), Fergus's troubles with his oppressive environment, conflicts that arise when the adults of the villages discover the feud, and conflicts within the Ballys. Their tactics to "win" the war, including a nude ambush of their enemies, are shown in great detail. The groups clash in several battles, the last to conquer the Carricks's "castle". Reilly stays out of the final battle because he doesn't want to get hurt. Geronimo with the help of Reilly then drives the tractor into the Bally base, and they wreck an old barn. Fergus and Geronimo are blamed for the destruction. They run off and are disowned by their families. After being captured they are put in the church orphanage, where they put aside their differences and become best friends. Marie says that she married one of the boys, the other became the couple's closest friend, but she does not reveal whom she chose to wed. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「War of the Buttons (1994 film)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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