This is a tremendously entertaining film that makes its points about many things: childhood energy, ingenuity, innocence, and nostalgia; class distinction; first love; learning from one's mistakes; life being precious; parentage; realizing what's important in life; setting an example as a parent; etc. It's filmed in the beautiful Irish countryside. Watching it, I wanted to grow up there myself. The youthful actors were comic, fantastic, joyful, touching, and true to childhood. The script was outstanding in allowing the young actors to show us the essence of childhood, rather than just telling us by being talky. The story concerns the rivalry between two sets of boys in neighboring towns and how and why it escalates. A real charmer, it reminds me of Truffaut's Small Change and the resilience that all children seem to have. The only criticism I have is regarding the transition in the film from the rivalry to the last act. Although it seemed to be a natural enough occurrence, I felt it was a little quick and the film ended a bit abruptly for me. Or just maybe I wanted the magic to continue, if for only a little while longer: the nostalgia of childhood and first realizations. *** of 4 stars.
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CitizenCaine1 October 2003
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Coffee_in_the_Clink12 April 2020This is a very fun and light-hearted film that is impossible not to like. Based on a French novel that has also been adapted a couple of times in France, the story is transported to Ireland and concerns the rivalry between the kids from two villages. Carrickdowse and Ballydowse are separated by a bridge, and in the evenings after school, mobs of boys meet in the fields and fight each other with sticks and rocks and set new and ever-changing border lines. The 'war' reaches new levels when a new form of trophy-taking comes into play, whereby the groups capture a member from the opposing village and cut off the buttons from his shirts and rip his clothes. In order to fight this war, the Carrickdowse leader Fergus orders his soldiers to assemble all buttons and threads they can find, so that they aren't punished by their parents if they are captured and then return home without any clothes. "War of the Buttons" is something of a family-classic in Ireland these days. Watching it all these years later I can appreciate the fine cast of actors that the film was able to gather. This was by no means a low-budget movie, it's more along the lines of "The Commitments" in terms of the international investment it received than anything else made in Ireland. It was produced by David Puttnam, who had produced a Best Picture Oscar-winner with "Chariots of Fire" in the 80s, and the screenplay was written by Colin Welland, who also won an Oscar for that one. That was quite a considerable pedigree behind it. Amongst the cast there is Liam Cunningham, who was only really starting out on the screen in 1994, and the always solid Colm Meaney. The young cast all did a great job, too, and the cinematography was spot-on in visually reconstructing an Ireland from the 1960s/70s.
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lee_eisenberg11 August 2005Ireland is developing quite an interesting film industry. In "War of the Buttons", the children from rival towns are always sparring over buttons. They come up with every neat way to get revenge on each other. One of the reasons that this movie was so interesting was because it wasn't one of these situations where against all odds the ragtag team beats the big guys with all the money; in this case, they were equally matched. Also, we get to see how the Irish are trying to revive their culture: the schools are teaching the native Irish language. The only two cast members whom I recognized were Colm Meaney and Milo O'Shea, but the the whole cast did quite well. An excellent movie.
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thomandybish26 May 2001WAR OF THE BUTTONS is a warm film that exudes a wonder and zest seldom seen in even so-called family films. The parable-like movie concerns a feud between two factions of boys in an Irish village, the trophies of war being the buttons the boys cut from captured enemies' clothing. As the battles grow, we see how the rivalry goes back even further than the boys, to their parents' childhoods. Nothing heavy-handed or profound, but a perceptive view of childhood with a great lesson gently imparted. See it!
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andrews_0719 October 2006I liked the movie very much. It was interesting and very funny; I enjoyed the entire movie, all the characters and all the things that I sow in the movie.
All the characters had an excellent presentation and I watched many surprises all the time.
But I think that the movie show us something that happen in our real lives, something that isn't good as I want, I don't know what is you're opinion but I think that many times we do a lot of things or we have several behaviors or actions and we don't know the reason of them.
Those kids made many bad things and one sentence that for me contain the mean of the movie is "we have to find something worse" they said that respect the word "bedeo" and that happen in the rest of the movie, always those kids tried to find something worse to do to the other kids. -
Mustard Seed3 July 2001I didn't expect much from this film when I rented it. Another Improbable Hero Kid movie?
The fine point of it is: No. If you run screamin' at the mention of Home Alone or Goonies, you needn't be afraid of a movie like this.
The kids impart a genuine, unself-conscious mood to everything in the film, contributing in large part to its subtle and pervasive good humor. I marvelled at the creativity of the Ballydowse kids, and was at the same time satisfied that their rivals were never reduced to mindless obstacles to rouse our sympathy.
As we can see the war from the kids' view, we can see its reflection in their parents, and of course, in adults everywhere. But the film keeps its subtlety here too; we're never beaten over the head with the analogy, but given the right views to delight in it - their creativity and intelligence belongs to all ages.
My one reservation is the soundtrack; it's manipulative and lacks the subtlety of the rest of it.
Three favorite scenes: Little Con breaking his eggs and marooned for a bit with the Carrick boys, the teacher translating Riley's passed note, and the carousal and tractor. -
macpherr10 February 2000I watched "La Guerre des Boutons" around 1970. It was a very enjoyable movie. Well I married a war buff, but not of the kind of war of this movie is about, but the Pacific Theater of World War II. I have been looking for the tape of "La Guerre des Boutons" for years. I wanted my husband to see the black and white movie where a bunch of kids speaking French engages in their own type of warfare. Interestingly and strangely enough both movies were practically unknown in the States. I never found the tape of "La Guerre des Boutons" but when I realized that "The War of the Bottoms" was out, I immediately had to buy it. My husband loved the movie, and so did I.
It is so much fun watching those kids engaging in warfare. They get ideas from their school teacher and come up with all kind of strategies and plans. They have a leader, meet after school, and have to work to get ammunition, war it is quite serious business for those Irish Kids. They are prepared! One bunch of kinds are all "preppie," the typical "suits"! The other group is a bunch of poor kids wearing their jeans. When the poor guys realized that buttons were expensive and they can get their butt spanked for losing their buttons, they show up for their fight already naked, which really scared their adversaries. They meet in their little fort, where they kept their ammunition. They even dance and have a party when they win a little battle, just like the big boys. Jerome is my favorite of the bunch of characters. He is one of the opposition but he is such a little gentlemen and is so cute! I can also identify with Maria, because most of my friends for most of my life have been male. I found it interesting that the one of the producers was David Puttnam (The Killing Fields, Midnight Express, Memphis Belle, The Mission) who produced "Chariots of Fire" with the late Dodi Fayed, Princess Diana's boyfriend. Another fascinating fact is that this is supposed to be the first movie all of the kids had done. They were not "trained actors," but what a performance! This movie I presume is well known around the world but not in the U.S. I watched the movie first outside the U.S. I just wonder why such a classic is not known here? I recommend this movie to anyone. It is just adorable. What is it with the distributors here? My favorite scene: When the little guy gets royally drunk. He is hilarious. The kids stopping the war to care for the little rabbit.
My favorite quotes: "Fergus": "What are we going to cut off first?" The little kid goes: "His willie, cut off his willie." -
I was entranced by this perky, quirky tale. My teenage daughter even more so. A wonderful family film, but a treat for all lovers of anything Irish, regardless of age.
Three scenes in particular were memorable: The "rain" of buttons Marie bestows on the Bally boys in their HQ, the look that passes between Fergus and Marie after the Bally boys successfully routed their "enemies" by charging them sans clothing, and the exchange between Fergus and Geronimo when Geronimo asks why the "war" ever started in the first place.
The youngsters are believable in their portrayals, and the beauty of Ireland was a treat for the eyes. -
bjones24 July 2003Wonderful, interesting story of a growing rivalry between young boys in two neighboring Irish small towns. This film is supposed to be based on the book, "La Guerre Des Boutons" by Louis Pergaud. The story, casting, acting and locations were perfect. One strong suit is the beautiful scenery filmed on location in Ireland. I really like this film. It seems few people who reviewed it actually watched it as none of the reviews I read even matched the film's content. I would have liked to have seen the one big battle scene played down as it seemed a bit over the top but other than that this was a pure joy to watch.
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ablu27224 March 2004I was so board but curious as to what would happen to these boys next. It was like watching a train wreck I couldn't take my eyes off of it.
I did like the ending though. It was very cute. I'm still trying to decide whether i liked it or not. I think that maybe I did. The War of the Buttons is the type of movie you watch on on a rainy day just because there is nothing better to watch on TV, and you're too lazy to put a video in. The actors were talented for their age. If you like movies like The Black Stallion, then this movie is perfect for you. -
bob the moo19 October 2002In two small Irish villages the two communities have children who are ongoing hostilities. The Bally's are a little poorer than their rivals the Carricks. However the war of attrition between the two sets of boys is escalated when Fergus cuts all the buttons and buckles off one of the Carrick's clothes. This sparks the war of the Buttons which the Bally's take seriously, saving money, building a head quarters etc. The childish war begins to escalate however and the reality of the adult world begins to make it's presence felt in a very real way.
I set my video to tape one of the Hope/Crosby `Road to' movies late one night. However the destination for that movie was a place that had been the target of a terrorist bomb so it was dropped from the schedules and this movie was put in it's place due to the similar running time I assume. I was a little let down cause I'm a big Hope fan but I thought I'd give this a shot for lack of anything else to watch. I had high expectations when I saw that the team behind this had also produced and written Chariots of Fire, but soon realised this was a much more low key affair.
The plot is a remark of an old French film and sees a village feud between two groups of kids. It could have been sentimental and mushy with tonnes of cute kids just taking things too far 9imagine if Disney had made this!) but happily it is kept on a level field and not allowed to be spoilt in such a crude manner. The plot never gets out of hand and the ending is a sobering blow of reality without falling into sentimentality which it could so easily have done.
The cast are all excellent. The children are not the `cute but cheeky' type favoured in Hollywood but are totally convincing in their roles. The film never judges any of them but lets us just watch without having baddies or goodies just children. The only fault is that it is a little too light and could be basically a film for slightly older kids who can understand the themes and not just take in the idea of fighting. Adults may find it to be a little too childish for long parts, but it's still a good mix of fun and serious material.
Overall I was set for a Bob Hope classic but got this. I got over my disappointment and got into this. It is light and funny but also dark without tipping into the mushy sentimentality that accompanies many films with all-kid casts. Could have been more substantial but is still pretty enjoyable all the same. -
Andreas_N4 November 2005I enjoyed this one a lot! That's basically due to the amount of kids and the depiction of the Irish countryside as the main setting. All the actors - without exception - do a perfect job. I especially liked the moldering tension between Geronimo and Fergus, the two leaders. The way the two gangs clash into each other is both amusing and absorbing. The movie has a tremendous amount of natural, genuine charm to it. It is both sincere and blithe. There ought to be more movies like this one. Entertaining and intriguing at the same time, with some nice twists and unexpected events. The cultural dimension, as the movie takes place in Ireland, is another argument to see it. Friendship and fidelity are some of the main themes. Just to recommend for an entertaining evening.
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CindyMur10 October 2006"War of the buttons" is a story about a fighting of two gangs composed by kids. One gang is from Ballydowse and the other one is from Carrickdowse. Both gangs are headed by Fergus and Geronimo respectively.
The "war" consists of cutting off their opponent's buttons as a trophy or a signal of victory during a battle.
In "War of the buttons", the children shows us up an important organization as a common society even its background is still a kid's adventure from small towns.
There's no need to find out a meaning in the battles or the scenes they play, well... it's not adventure acting neither... but I guess there is a simple suggestion about the roles of each person in a group of people summoned by the same purpose.
The magic of childish minds into colorful places of Ireland makes a nice environment in the movie, despite of the fighting between them.
However is an entertaining story about love, family, forgiveness, courage, betrayals, friendship and support; held by a cute frame of kid's brightness.
I really recommend you guys to check it out if you haven't seen it. -
I think that this movie is a clear representation of the real life, because today in the world many people beginning a war and they don,t know what is the reason of this. And the other hand this movie is very fun and the acting of the children's is very fantastic, the topic of this film is very actual an is a very special form of sensibility to humanity about this problem that affect many places around the world. To finish I want tell that the war between us is a very demonstration of the intolerant that exist. In conclusion the movie war of the buttons is a marvelous film thank you. The war of the buttons as equal as real life, because in the war don't exist winners only warriors.
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marcelagh619 October 2006In my opinion I think that the movie was funny above all when the boys run uncovered and the end of the way they met with the girls, and saw the position of her was very, very funny. I liked too the way how each group did the wickedness to the other group the boys, with the purpose to overpower and win the battle.And the way to celebrate the victory. They come back to home happy, singing, whit the buttons that they took of the prisoner.
But I felt a little sad when one of the boys arrived to home, and his father hit him, because he wasn't helping to break the wood. And other think, when the tractor was dashed counter the encampment because one of the boys the opposite group did it. and the end was fantastic, when the parents ransom the boys who escaped the town. -
darth_sidious26 December 2000One of the great things about being a kid is that you get away with a lot, growing up is an adventure, gangs, silly jokes etc. Okay, maybe you can't get away with it all.
This picture is an adventure for 2 gangs who hate each other, one poor, one rich. Which is good and evil? Actually, the line is blurred, no one is evil, yet no one is good. It's not all adventure, there are dark moments. The film is a joy to watch, it brings back memories for us adults.
The picture's location is stunning, Ireland is such a great place, the countryside and simplicity is brought to life by stunning direction and beautiful photography.
A very good screenplay as well.
The performances are stunning, you believed that the kids were fighting each other, you believed in their emotions, great stuff!
A must watch! Remember to view in widescreen -
JakeRfilmfreak5 March 2023A childhood treasure... I loved this movie growing up, and still love it today. The classic tale of the rich versus the poor.
The Carricks led by Geronimo (John Coffey) are the wealthier kids from one side of town. Feuding with the Ballys led by Fergus (Gregg Fitzgerald) who are the poor kids on the other side of town. The feuding escalates as one group tries to outdo the other, until the adults get into the picture.
An awesome movie that has many great lines, I could quote the whole film. The acting is great, you couldn't ask for a better cast of young actors. The music is another thing I absolutely love about the film. As soon as it starts, I still get the warm feeling I did long ago. -
butterfly_bush16 October 2005The actors were brilliant and the way they delivered their lines was amazing. A beautiful story with vibrant characters and hidden points,lines delivered and moments in the film that just makes it what it is.Can be sad and heart-wrenching at times but hilarious at others. In this film you will go through hatred, love, laughter, sadness, happiness and lots of other emotions! Afterwards the film you have a real knowledge of how things actually are in Ireland (I'm northern Irish, I just moved to Belgium 4 years ago because of dads job...I'm 14)The truth that it tells is so tragic but true that it really affects you. The young actors and actresses are VERY well chosen for each part and shine through.They put it to you so simply and so 'right to the heart of it getting at the problem that adults can't explain better' way. It is a Definite see with wonderful settings and moving themes and moments.
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ediltoteles18 October 2006I think that the movie is pretty good, because this entertains and too tells a short story that it is very impressive and strange if you don't put attention and for this reason mahy people don't understand the movie. My opinion about the movie don't only it is limited to the excellent argument but also what I understood about this. The movie show us like two group of children have a war and when a band lose a battles ( not the war), someone of the warriors lose his buttons. I wanna speak about the conviction that all boys put in the battles and the group's work. I believe that this conviction is the necessary for to make many things and these boy demonstrate us when they made their general quarter.
In this movie we can also see the personal interest of some people like the child that he is fired of the group because he was sluggish and he wanted the buttons single for his, and like he destroyed the general quarter for his expulsion. Thus, I think that many people react when they are threatened although they don't nothing for nobody.
In conclusion I like the movie I recommend and my vote is ten points. -
julianv8617 October 2006Tag line:Why are we fighting? Nothing, Why else?
I think the film is very interesting because it talks about the adolescents' life, which is a very complicated issue. The film shows how the adolescents can be very creative and risky in order to reach their goals and likes. Nevertheless these goals are not commonly related to their personal growing. These are often related to their need to figure between other ones. The stage of the film is very appropriate, because it develops on a power and honor's fight between two groups. The ambition is so much that they are involved easily in a war without end, but the most interesting part is when the groups' leaders don't realize why are they fighting. Which reveals the natural behavior of the adolescents (They do whatever, but don't measure the consequences). By Julián Valencia -
kadrep25418 October 2006On of the most interesting aspect from the War of the buttons is the resemblance in the movie between the battles of children and adults. In fact, this film achieves the audience feels many kind of emotions like laugh, fear, uncertainty and others. These factors help to catch the audience during the 100 minutes of the film.
However, the war of the Irish kids also makes a sort of criticize about the human conflicts. It is showing how often the real war nearby to be a childlike trouble is, in relation with some superfluous reasons of adult people. So, the audience could reflect about the human condition and have a great time with this wonderful film. -
popcorn_tigger24 July 2002When I first watched War of the Buttons I feel in love with the movie. The story on how two groups of children, over come their problems is just wonderful. I recommend this movie for the whole family. Sit down and watch it. Don't let a title fool the main point of the story.
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biomosco20 October 2006I've really liked that movie because in it I could find many relations with the everyday life. One of them is that humans need to show to the others their capacity of dominate a group of people, a territory and the capacity of conquer more of those.
Another important thing that I could notice in the movie was the necessity of revenge of humans. just like in the movie, we have to pay back the bad things that other people have made us; and sometimes that's not enough, sometimes we need that the revenge must be worse because that give us a sensation of superiority.
Finally, I was completely amazed with the leaders of both groups because in spite of all the events I could see that there was something special between them, something that they wanted to express but they couldn't due to the circumstances. That happens with us every day, we don't do what we really want because we are always doing what the rest of the people do.
In the end, it is a great movie; and if you want to find a deeper meaning, you must go further the images and the dialogs. -
ktam8424 October 2006This story is about a growing rivalry between young boys in two neighboring Irish small towns. It shows us all the experiences that those kids lived during their "war". It is an entertaining story about love, family, forgiveness, courage and friendship.
I really liked the movie because it has many relations with the real life. I think the film criticize the human conflicts and the violence that exist in the world.
I liked a sentence in a conversation between Fergus and Geronimo: "Why are we fighting? Nothing, Why else?". I think that in these words there is a very important message for people, and it is that many times humans fight without reason.
The youthful actors were comic, fantastic, joyful, touching, and totally convincing in their roles. All the actors did a perfect job. I especially liked Geronimo and Fergus, the two leaders. In addition, the picture's location is stunning, Ireland is beautiful!
Two scenes in particular were memorable: The "rain" of buttons and when the kids stopping the war to care for the little rabbit. I liked so much the end and I'd like that all wars ending that way.
I had a great time with this wonderful film. I really recommend you. It is very cute. In this film you will go through hatred, love, laughter, sadness, happiness and lots of other emotions! In conclusion this movie is a beautiful story with vibrant characters, very special moments and a valuable lesson for life. -
yusufpiskin9 March 2020This charming Irish family film has never received the attention it deserves. Based on a French novel of the same name it tells the story of two rival villages and the escalating conflict between their children. Their disputes start small with the typical name calling and idle threats of violence but in a game of oneupmanship it descends into a full blown war where the buttons of their foes become prized possessions.
It is a rather slight film made up of a number of subplots. In truth even at 90-minutes it feels rather drawn out yet its spirit and believable casting help push it through to the end. The cast of non-professional child actors acquit themselves well delivering natural and unpretentious performances whilst this likes of Liam Cunningham and Colm Meaney enliven small adult roles. Director, John Roberts, also makes great use of the beautiful rural Irish landscape.
Although very much a family film it isn't afraid to show the darker side of life nor the conflict. The leader of the Bally gang is a boy with an unloving home life who finds companionship and purpose in this battle with his rivals but loses sight of everything else around him. Most of the skirmishes involve typical childhood games with slingshots and throwing rotten vegetables but the violence escalates in a believable manner. It could so easily have drifted into syrupy sentimentality but it maintains its restraint and endearing tone.
War of the Buttons is a warm, amusing but rough around the edges film about childhood and friendship that has aged remarkably well.