running on empty

Director: sidney lumet

Actor: river phoenix,christine lahti,judd hirsch,jonas abry

Data Published: Fri Sep 09 1988

Genres: Crime,Drama,Music,Romance

Key Words: radicalism,teenage romance,fugitive,music teacher,piano

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096018/

WIKI: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Running_on_Empty_(1988_film)

Description: Running on Empty is a movie starring River Phoenix, Christine Lahti, and Judd Hirsch. The eldest son of a fugitive family comes of age and wants to live a life of his own.

Plot: Parents Annie and Arthur Pope are on the run, as they were responsible for the anti-war protest bombing of a napalm laboratory in the 1970s. The incident accidentally blinded and paralyzed a janitor who wasn't supposed to be there. They've been on the run ever since, relying on an underground network of supporters who help them financially. At the time of the incident, their son Danny was two years old. As the film begins, he is in his late teens, and the family, now with younger son Harry, are again relocating and assuming new identities. Danny's overwhelming talent as a pianist catches the attention of his music teacher at school. The teacher begins to pry into Danny's personal life, particularly questioning why records from his previous school are unobtainable. While he pushes Danny to audition for Juilliard, Danny also falls in love with Lorna, the teacher's teenage daughter. As the pressure to have his own life and realize his own dreams intensifies, Danny reveals his family secret to Lorna. Meanwhile, Annie finds out about Danny's audition, and begins to come to terms with the fact that she must let her son go and find his own way. This does not sit well with Arthur, even as Annie risks their safety to contact her estranged father and arrange a home and life for Danny, if they should decide to leave him behind. When Arthur hears on the radio that one of their underground colleagues has been shot and killed running from the authorities, he realizes that it is better for his son to pursue his dreams than to continue living a dangerous life, on the run from crimes for which Danny bears no responsibility. The family leaves Danny behind and heads off for their next identity in a new town.