Sommersby is a 1993 romantic drama film directed by Jon Amiel. It is a remake of the 1982 French film Le retour de Martin Guerre (The Return of Martin Guerre) by Daniel Vigne. Both of these stories center on a man who returns home after being away for many years at war. However, the man who returns is an impostor, who seems to deceive his family and the inhabitants of the city. It's only towards the end of each film that you discover the truth. Sommersby is a story that draws its audience with the American traits of idealism and romanticism. It is the story of Jack Sommersby who returns to his wife Laurel after the Civil War. But it's actually Horace Townsend who returns, playing Jack. Only much later in the film do you discover that he is an impostor. From Jack's homecoming you look at him as someone attempting to live the American ideal of success, as well as the idealistic thought that a person can change for the better. Americans always want to believe that people change, that we can be better, and that success is available to anyone who puts in the effort. Jack (Horace) embodies this belief. So Horace begins the film with an American ideal that everyone considers at some point in their lives, the ability to start over. Jack (Horace) returned home no longer the same man he was before he left, but one who was kinder, more compassionate. Jack was trying not only to succeed himself, but also to allow the people of the town to be part of the American dream. To help his town, he believes that changing crops from cotton to burley tobacco will bring prosperity to the town. To raise money for the crops, Jack (Horace) sells pieces of his farm to people who will use this land to grow tobacco. This act allows more...... half of the paper......t from an injury he received. This was, as Jack (Horace) stated, "probably the best luck he ever had" as he took Jack's identity because he didn't like his own life. Jack (Horace) explains to Laurel that he wants to die like Jack, as he will "never be Horace Townsend again". This scene demonstrates the love story between Jack (Horace) and Laurel. But the climactic romantic moment is when Jack (Horace) tells Laurel that "being your husband is the only thing I've done in my life that I'm proud of." Sommersby is truly an American remake that uses idealism and romanticism to embrace American audiences. Horace, who almost seems like a hero, becomes the champion, saving the city, assuming equal rights, falling in love and sacrificing everything for the common good. His love is true and his commitment to family and community is unparalleled. Jack is the hero we all want to be.