[.ca] The Spitfire Grill (Widescreen/Full Screen)

From Amazon.com:
This well-acted drama won the Audience award at the 1996 Sundance Film Festival, causing a festival ruckus when several distributors entered a bidding war in response to the movie's positive buzz. When the movie was finally released, audience and critical response provided a sudden reality check: the movie's good to a point, but hardly worth the fuss it received at Sundance. Packing a miniseries' worth of melodrama into 117 minutes, the story centers on a young woman named Percy (Alison Elliott) who served prison time for manslaughter and arrives in a small town in Maine with hopes of beginning a new life. She works as a waitress in the Spitfire Grill, owned by Hannah (Ellen Burstyn), whose gruff exterior conceals a kind heart and precious little tolerance for the grill's regular customers, who cast their suspicions on Percy's mysterious past. The plot unfolds when Hannah holds a $100-per-entry essay contest to find a new owner for the grill. There's ample mystery surrounding the collected money, a local hermit who's really Hannah's shell-shocked Vietnam veteran son, and circumstances that lead the locals to adopt a lynch-mob mentality at Percy's expense. By the time Percy is nearly drowning in a raging river, The Spitfire Grill has taken its melodrama a few steps 'round the bend. Fine acting is the movie's saving grace, however, and newcomer Alison Elliott anchors The Spitfire Grill with a subtle, emotionally involving performance. Thanks to Elliott and Burstyn, you don't have to feel too guilty if you find yourself reaching for a Kleenex as the closing credits roll. --Jeff Shannon

This Movie Is A Hidden Gem - Superb Storytelling!:
. This movie depicts the reality of the how cold, hard and unfair life can be - yet gives us hope as well. I was a little nervous near the latter part of the movie that it was going to have a "Hollywood goofy ending" but a very surprising plot twist left me stunned. This is a superb story superbly told. This movie is what I would define what an excellent film should be. Film schools should require students to study and consider the methodology of this production. Here is proof a gazillion dollars and hi-tech hocus pocus effects are not needed to hit a home run. In fact I'd say this movie is more like a grand slam!

The colors of New England never fade.:
I came upon this film completely by accident years ago. It was being shown on a cable channel and out of sheer boredom, I decided to watch. It is, quite simply, a beautiful story. I couldn't find a fault anywhere. Having grown up in the East Coast, the film depicts New England accurately down to the last fall, colored maple leaf. We have the small town values and concerns pitted against the dark and mysterious past of a stranger, an outsider. Redemption. Acceptance. Forgiveness. Understanding. The more you need, the harder you'll have to work in order to get it.

It captures the Spirit of a northern New England town!:
Having lived both in Maine and in northern New York, I can tell you that the Spitfire Grill captures exquisitely the spirit and essence of a small town in both of these places. Characters abound in these parts of the country --just as they do in this excellent movie, "The Spitfire Grill". This is one of those movies that has a little bit of everything. It is good, clean entertainment that even the kids can watch. It is at times thrilling, at other times heart warming; and it may even bring tears to your eyes. Acting is all around superb! The Spitfire Grill is now one of my all time favorites. Its both in full screen and widescreen.

Beautiful!!:
This is an absolutely beautiful movie that will make you appreciate life and see its magic once again. Along the way it will also make you cry and laugh. The Spitfire Grill is so refreshing...I have never seen another movie like it, with so much spirit. Alison Elliott is wonderful.

A Wonderful Film of Redemption:
I won't get into any plot details, as several previous reviews have already discussed the character and scene development. I thought the film was a minor masterpiece in its subtle understatement and remarkable artistic achievent. The film seemed to adumbrate several themes; namely, the quest to find peace and harmony in a remote town far away from the hustle and bustle of modern urban stress. As it turns out, however, that there is an undeniable malaise which pervades this small town located in the far away wilderness of Maine. The name implies biblical associations. There are the themes of loss, of alienation, of lack of understanding and communication among the towns people. Despite the undeniable beauty of the place, there emerges a sort of spiritual wasteland which poisons the town. Along comes Percy, a stranger with her own desolate past. As the movie progresses Percy's involvement and commitment to her work and to several of the inhabitants involve the viewer's growing awareness that she is somehow a redeeming force. The scene between Percy and the reclusive, hermetic son near the end fully defines her role as the young woman redeemer of this wasteland. Her death, not unlike the ultimate sacrificial act brings the townspeople together in a sort of final requiem. The town is awakened and is ready to accept the new caretaker of the Spitfire Grill. A wonderful film.