Sommersby 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 many years at war. Yet, the man who returns is an imposter, who appears to fool his family and the townspeople. It is not till near the end of each film, that you learn the truth. Sommersby, is a story that draws in its audience with the American traits of idealism and romance. It is a story about Jack Sommersby returning to his wife Laurel after the civil war. But in reality it is Horace Townsend who returns, playing Jack. It is not until much later in the film that you learn he is an imposter. From Jack’s return home 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. American’s always want to believe that people change, that you can be better and that success is available to anyone who just puts forth the effort. Jack (Horace) epitomizes that belief. So Horace starts the movie with an American ideal that everyone considers at one point or another in their life, the ability to start over.
Jack (Horace) came home not the same man that he was before he left, but one who was kinder, more compassionate. Jack was seeking to not only be successful himself, but to allow the town people to be part of the American dream. In order to help his town, he believes that changing what they grow from cotton to Burley tobacco will bring prosperity to the town. To raise the cash for the crops, Jack (Horace) sells pieces of his farm off to people who will use this land to grow tobacco. This act allows more than just Jack (Horace) a piece of the American Dream. “The American Dream being our national "ethos" of the United States; a set of ideals in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success; and upward "social mobility" achieved through hard work.” (Fields)
Jack (Horace) also takes on the issue of rights for freed slaves (idealistic during the era, and even today). Although threatened for his actions in an attempt to make him not allow Black people to own his land, he does not back down from selling to Blacks, saying that the they can “own what they pay for.” How much more idealistic could Jack (Horace) be, but to take on the issue of human rights.
Sacrificing all for the better good is another part of the American ideal. Jack (Horace) is taken to court because of a murder that the real Jack committed. In an effort to save him, Laurel his wife, who believed all along that Horace was not the real Jack tells the Judge that he is an imposter. She does this because she has grown to love Horace. But then Horace convinces the Judge that he is Jack Sommersby, and as such gets punished to death. So again, you have the ideal of risking one’s own life for the greater good. His refusal to go back to being Horace, saved Laurel and the baby having nothing.
On the romantic side, American’s always like a good romance. In Sommersby, you have the romance between Jack (Horace) and Laurel. It shows the American desire that you can find true love. While Laurel knew deep down inside that the person returning from the war was not Jack, she fell in love with Horace for who he was. While the trial of Jack (Horace) was going on and Laurel was trying to get Jack (Horace) to save himself by declaring his true identity. Jack (Horace) asks Laurel why she does not believe him to be the real Jack. Her answer was “because I never loved him the way I love you!" After that Laurel declares that Jack (Horace) is her real husband.
When Jack (Horace) confesses his identity to Laurel, it is the highpoint of their romance. It is in the scene where Jack (Horace) is in jail just before being hanged. Laurel gets Jack (Hoarce) tells his true identity. Jack (Horace) explains that he met the real Jack in Jail and they look so much alike that and after years together, knew a lot about each other. The real Jack killed a man after their release from jail, but died after the fight 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 didn’t like his own life. Jack(Horace) explains to Laurel that he wants to dies as Jack, as he “will never be Horace Townsend again.” This scene demonstrates the romance between Jack (Horace) and Laurel. But the crowning 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 the idealism and romance to embrace the American audience. Horace, which almost sounds like hero, becomes the champion, saving the town, taking on equal rights, falling in love and sacrificing all for the greater good. His love is true and his commitment to his family and community are unequaled. Jack is the hero we all want to become.

Fields, Uriah J. "Beyond the American Dream." AuthorsDen.com:. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2012. <http://www.authorsden.com/categories/article_top.asp?catid=55>.

Sommersby. Dir. Jon Amiel. Prod. Arnon Milchan. By Nicholas Meyer and Sarah Kernochan. Perf. Richard Gere and Jodie Foster. Warner Bros., 1993. Streaming