the depiction of america in 1898 and the slowly heal wound from the civil war ( in the south ) and the come together of men of different background and as well a the apparently realistic battle scene combine to make this one of the best turner film in recent year . i would recommend it to anyone interested in teddy roosevelt or bucky oneil or in the spanish american war and the economic ( and idealistic ) american view of cuba at the time . the character emerge a real people and the viewer forgets for a moment that it a film .