‘CEASE FIRE’: THE REALITY OF VIETNAM

At a time when movies are turning Vietnam into a fantasy of daredevil POW rescue missions, “Cease Fire” (at the Beverly Center Cineplex) brings home the reality of the war as a lingering nightmare for the men who fought it.

An unpretentious, low-budget debut feature made by a pair of University of Miami film school alums, “Cease Fire” is a work of determined simplicity, unswerving in focus and purpose. Don’t be surprised if you find your eyes misting over at its finish.

Forget the cool, Versace-clad Don Johnson of “Miami Vice.” Here, he’s a decent, ordinary blue-collar guy with a sweet wife who’s a hard-working waitress (Lisa Blount); they have a couple of kids and a pleasant tract house. He’s managed to put Vietnam pretty well behind him until he loses his job.

In his now-vulnerable condition he begins to relive his war experiences in his dreams, which eventually continue into his waking hours as hallucinations. The more Johnson struggles for self-control, the more dangerous he becomes to himself and others as he resists confronting a terrifying and excruciatingly painful past.

In a smooth adaptation to the screen of a segment of his play “Vietnam Trilogy,” writer George Fernandez, his director David Nutter and their excellent cast deftly manage the always-tricky business of depicting the lives of unsophisticated, everyday people without patronizing them. Especially effective in this is Blount, who was in “An Officer and a Gentleman.” Neither genius nor dunce, her loyal wife doesn’t know what to make of her husband’s increasingly erratic behavior at first, yet she is both loving and intelligent enough finally to seek help from a counselor (Rick Richards), who runs a support group for troubled Vietnam vets like himself and their concerned spouses.

The film is a wonderful opportunity not only for Johnson to stretch his talent, which is greater than many might expect of an actor who could coast on looks and charm, but also for Robert F. Lyons, cast as another shattered Viet vet, a war hero whose medals won’t buy him a cup of coffee and whose long-standing instability has at last driven away his still-loving wife (Chris Noel, whose performance is heart-breaking). In the late ‘60s both Johnson and Lyons created something of a stir in their first films but neither hit it big. Yet they’ve kept on developing their skills, growing into mature, accomplished actors of considerable strength and resources.

Obviously, “Cease Fire” is not the first drama to deal with the plight of the Viet vet, scarred emotionally as well as physically in battle and rejected on the home front. In its unabashed social consciousness and unadorned style, it does have a TV-message-movie quality to it. But if “Cease Fire” is scarcely original in any way it is no less an illuminating emotional experience, thanks to the inherent power of the material and to the dedication of its makers.

Rushes from “Cease Fire” (rated R for moments too intense for small children) helped land Don Johnson “Miami Vice”; perhaps now his popularity will help draw audiences to a small and worthy film deserving of their attention. ‘CEASE FIRE’

A Cineworld Enterprises release. Executive producers Ed Fernandez, George Fernandez. Producer William Grefe. Director David Nutter. Screenplay George Fernandez; adapted from his play “Vietnam Trilogy.” Associate producers Richard Styles, Ralph R. Clemente. Camera Henning Schellerup. Music Gary Fry. Art director Alan Avchen. Film editor Julio Chavez. With Don Johnson, Lisa Blount, Robert F. Lyons, Richard Chaves, Rick Richards, Chris Noel.

Running time: 1 hour, 33 minutes.

MPAA-rated: R (under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian).