Cold Mountain

Minghella's excellent adaptation of Charles Frazier's dense and challenging novel has Inman (Law) attempting to return home, "Odyssey"-style, to North Carolina after his friends are all killed in the disastrous battle at Petersburg, Virginia in 1864. Inman sees no point in continuing the fight and begins his journey so he can continue the brief, chaste, tentative courtship he had begun with the sophisticated Ada (Kidman) before the war. Ada has also seen hardship during their separation. Her father has died, leaving her unprepared to tend the farm until neighbor Ruby (Zellweger) is sent to help.All the actors are superb, with Zellweger stealing every scene she's in, and Minghella strikes the perfect balance between the two stories, thanks to some expert editing.