''A Time of Destiny'' is a 1988 American
drama
Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...
war film
War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about navy, naval, air force, air, or army, land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle s ...
directed by
Gregory Nava
Gregory James Nava (born April 10, 1949) is an American film director, producer and screenwriter.
Personal life
Nava was born in San Diego, of Mexican and Basque heritage. Nava graduated from St. Augustine High School in San Diego and attended ...
and written by Nava and
Anna Thomas. The story is based on the opera ''
La forza del destino'' by
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( ; ; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for List of compositions by Giuseppe Verdi, his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma ...
. The motion picture was executive produced by
Shep Gordon
Shep E. Gordon (born October 18, 1945) is an American talent manager, Hollywood film agent, and producer. Gordon is featured in a 2013 documentary, '' Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon'', which was directed by Mike Myers.
Life and educatio ...
and
Carolyn Pfeiffer. It features original music by veteran composer
Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone ( , ; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, Orchestration, orchestrator, conductor, trumpeter, and pianist who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 film score, scores for cinema and televisi ...
.
Set during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
in
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
and
San Diego
San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
, the film tells of two friends who become enemies during the war.
Plot
Soldiers Martin (
William Hurt
William McChord Hurt (March 20, 1950 – March 13, 2022) was an American actor. For his performances on stage and screen, he received various awards including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and a Cannes Film Festival Award for B ...
) and Jack (
Timothy Hutton
Timothy Hutton (born August 16, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He is the List of oldest and youngest Academy Award winners and nominees#Youngest winners 4, youngest recipient of the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, which he ...
) are very good friends during World War II. While their friendship grows, they do not realize they are brothers-in-law. Martin eventually learns that Jack is married to his sister Josie (
Melissa Leo
Melissa Chessington Leo (born September 14, 1960) is an American actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and two Critics' Choice A ...
).
When Jack and Josie elope, Jorge (
Francisco Rabal
Francisco Rabal Valera (8 March 1926 – 29 August 2001), popularly known as Paco Rabal, was a Spanish actor. His career spanned more than 200 film and television roles, between 1942 and 2001. He received numerous accolades both in Spain and abro ...
), her
Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
immigrant father, tracks them down and abducts his daughter in order to dominate her with his "old-world" notions of marriage. However, when Jorge Larraneta drowns in a lake after an auto accident, Martin (the black-sheep of the family) returns home and learns of his father's death. He vows revenge after he learns his buddy Jack has become his sworn enemy. Martin gets himself assigned to Jack's infantry platoon in Italy in order to seek vengeance.
Cast
*
William Hurt
William McChord Hurt (March 20, 1950 – March 13, 2022) was an American actor. For his performances on stage and screen, he received various awards including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and a Cannes Film Festival Award for B ...
as Martin Larraneta
*
Timothy Hutton
Timothy Hutton (born August 16, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He is the List of oldest and youngest Academy Award winners and nominees#Youngest winners 4, youngest recipient of the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, which he ...
as Jack
*
Melissa Leo
Melissa Chessington Leo (born September 14, 1960) is an American actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and two Critics' Choice A ...
as Josie Larraneta
*
Francisco Rabal
Francisco Rabal Valera (8 March 1926 – 29 August 2001), popularly known as Paco Rabal, was a Spanish actor. His career spanned more than 200 film and television roles, between 1942 and 2001. He received numerous accolades both in Spain and abro ...
as Jorge Larraneta
* Concha Hidalgo as Sebastiana
*
Stockard Channing
Stockard Channing (born Susan Antonia Williams Stockard; February 13, 1944) is an American actress. List of awards and nominations received by Stockard Channing, Her accolades include three Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, and a nomination for an Acade ...
as Margaret
*
Megan Follows
Megan Elizabeth Laura Diana Follows ( ; born March 14, 1968) is a Canadian actress and director. She is known for her role as Anne Shirley in the 1985 Canadian television miniseries ''Anne of Green Gables'' and its two sequels. From 2013 to 2017 ...
as Irene
*
Frederick Coffin
Frederick D. Coffin (January 16, 1943 – July 31, 2003) was an American film actor, singer, songwriter, and musician.
Early life
Coffin was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1943 to actress Winifred Deforest Coffin and writer Dean Coffin, and was one ...
as Ed
*
Peter Palmer as Policeman
* Kelly Pacheco as Young Josie
* Barry Miliefsky (actor) as young Navy sailor.
Distribution
The film was released in a limited basis on April 22, 1988. The box office opening weekend was $509,397 (216 screens).
Box office sales were disappointing. Total sales for the domestic run were $1,212,487 and in its widest release the film was shown in 220 screens. The film closed on June 23, 1988.
Filming locations
Filming locations included:
Istria Peninsula, Croatia;
País Vasco, Spain; and
San Diego, California
San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
.
Reception
Critical response
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
, film critic for the ''
Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...
'', liked the film but questioned the complex screenplay. Yet, Ebert was appreciative of the acting and wrote, "You see what I mean when I call the movie operatic. It glories in brooding vengeance, fatal flaws of character, coincidence and deep morality. Its plot is so labyrinthine that it constitutes the movie's major weakness; can we follow this convoluted emotional journey? Its passions are so large that they are a challenge to actors trained in a realistic tradition, but Hurt, who has the most difficult passages, rises to the occasion with one of the strangest and most effective performances he has given." His television partner
Gene Siskel
Eugene Kal Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) was an American film critic and journalist for the ''Chicago Tribune'' who co-hosted a movie review television series alongside colleague Roger Ebert.
Siskel started writing for the '' ...
hated the film and put it on his worst of 1988 list.
Vincent Canby
Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who was the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in 2000. ...
was not so kind to the filmmakers or the actors. He wrote in his review for ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', "The movie includes some big, unimpressive battle scenes, a number of orangey sunsets, a lot of comic-strip dialogue ('I'm going to get revenge!' 'He's dead - he'll never forgive me now') and one memorable moment in which the silhouette of a gentle, southern California mountain range fades into the silhouette of a man lying on his death bed. The performances are not good."
''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' was just as tough on Nava and Thomas. Film critic Rita Kempley said, "Hurt's role as a vengeful psycho churns up this laughable purple potboiler, but even the perennial
Oscar
Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to:
People and fictional and mythical characters
* Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar
* Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...
nominee can't save it from itself."
Kempley Rita
film review, ''The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'', April 22, 1988. Accessed: July 4, 2013.
Soundtrack
An original motion picture soundtrack was released on September 19, 1988, by Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...
. The CD, which has eighteen tracks, features original music composed for the film by Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone ( , ; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, Orchestration, orchestrator, conductor, trumpeter, and pianist who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 film score, scores for cinema and televisi ...
. The recording includes orchestral sounds and several selections of Edda Dell'Orso's vocals. Selections from this soundtrack (mainly the track “Love and Dreams”) were used for the trailer of the film ''Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp (March 19, 1848 – January 13, 1929) was an American lawman in the American West, including Dodge City, Kansas, Dodge City, Wichita, Kansas, Wichita, and Tombstone, Arizona, Tombstone. Earp was involved in the gunfight ...
''.
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Time Of Destiny, A
1988 films
1980s war drama films
American war drama films
Basque-language films
Columbia Pictures films
Films directed by Gregory Nava
Films scored by Ennio Morricone
Giuseppe Verdi
American World War II films
1988 drama films
1980s English-language films
1980s American films
English-language war drama films