

While Sergeant John Tyree is home on two weeks leave from Germany, he meets Savannah after he dives into the ocean to retrieve Savannah's purse that had fallen off a pier. John eventually falls in love with Savannah, who promises to write to him until he returns from overseas.
Acting
Richard Jenkins as John's autistic father, quietly devastating.
Cinematography
South Carolina beaches looking impossibly golden.
Score
Deborah Lurie's strings manipulating your tear ducts.

Director
Lasse Hallström
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This was the final film to top the US box office before Avatar's fifteen-week reign began.