Welcome Home (1989) — AI Story Visualization

Plot Analysis Summary

A presumed-dead soldier struggles to reconcile two families and recover a place in both his past and present.

Story Structure — 5 Plot Phases

The Soldier Lost

Jake is shot down, becomes a prisoner of war, escapes, and hides in the Cambodian jungle. Years of isolation lead him to build a new family there.

Key Events

• Wounded Man Rescued — A very sick man is rescued and taken to safety in Cambodia. Characters: Jake Location: Cambodia near the Vietnam border
• Jake Identified — The rescued man is identified as United States Air Force officer Jake. Characters: Jake Location: Cambodia
• Combat Mission Recalled — Jake's past as a pilot shot down during a combat mission is established. Characters: Jake Location: Vietnam
• Prisoner Of War — Jake becomes a prisoner of war after being shot down. Characters: Jake Location: Vietnam
• Escape Into Jungle — Jake escapes captivity but finds leaving the jungle dangerous. Characters: Jake Location: The Cambodian jungle
• Years In Hiding — Jake remains hidden in the jungle for years. Characters: Jake Location: The Cambodian jungle
• New Cambodian Family — Jake marries a local woman and has two children. Characters: Jake Location: Cambodia

Two Lives Apart

Jake grows sick in Cambodia while Sarah mourns him in America and eventually remarries. Their lives develop separately under the belief that Jake is dead.

Key Events

• New Cambodian Family — Jake marries a local woman and has two children. Characters: Jake Location: Cambodia
• American Life Continues — Sarah mourns Jake, remarries, and raises a son born after his departure. Characters: Sarah Location: America
• Jake Falls Seriously Ill — Jake becomes very sick after years in Cambodia. Characters: Jake Location: Cambodia
• Government Extraction — The United States government takes Jake out of Cambodia without his new family. Characters: Jake Location: Cambodia

The Impossible Return

The United States government extracts Jake and explains his missing-in-action status. He returns to America quietly after securing a promise that his Cambodian family may follow.

Key Events

• Government Extraction — The United States government takes Jake out of Cambodia without his new family. Characters: Jake Location: Cambodia
• MIA Status Explained — Jake learns he was declared missing in action and presumed dead. Characters: Jake Location: Cambodia
• Return Conditions — Jake accepts a quiet return to America if his new family can follow later. Characters: Jake Location: Cambodia
• Quiet American Return — Jake returns home without telling anyone in America beforehand. Characters: Jake Location: America
• Sarah Remarried — Jake learns that Sarah remarried after believing he had died. Characters: Jake, Sarah Location: America

Home Without A Place

Jake discovers that Sarah remarried and has a son born after his disappearance. His return creates tension and leaves him unable to settle into his former home.

Key Events

• Sarah Remarried — Jake learns that Sarah remarried after believing he had died. Characters: Jake, Sarah Location: America
• Unknown American Son — Jake discovers that Sarah has a son born after he left for Vietnam. Characters: Jake, Sarah Location: America
• Family Tension — Jake's return creates emotional pressure within Sarah's established family. Characters: Jake, Sarah Location: America
• Search For Cambodia — Overwhelmed at home, Jake decides to find his Cambodian wife and children. Characters: Jake Location: America

A Family Reclaimed

Jake returns to Cambodia and learns that his wife has died while his children are in a refugee camp. He brings them to America, where the divided family begins to accept one another.

Key Events

• Search For Cambodia — Overwhelmed at home, Jake decides to find his Cambodian wife and children. Characters: Jake Location: America
• Loss In Cambodia — Jake learns that his Southeast Asian wife has died. Characters: Jake Location: Cambodia
• Children Found — Jake finds his children living in a refugee camp. Characters: Jake Location: A refugee camp
• Children Taken To America — Jake brings his children to America to live with him and his father. Characters: Jake Location: America
• Family Acceptance — The American son changes his attitude toward Jake and the new children. Characters: Jake, Sarah Location: America
• A New Family Bond — The American son visits Jake and embraces his half-siblings. Characters: Jake, Sarah Location: America

Story Breakdown

• Lost In Vietnam — Jake's combat mission ends in captivity and disappearance.
  • Shot Down — Jake is shot down while serving as an Air Force officer in Vietnam.
  • Prisoner Escape — Jake escapes captivity and enters the dangerous jungle.
• Cambodian Survival — Jake hides in Cambodia and builds a new life away from America.
  • Jungle Hiding — Jake decides that remaining hidden is safer than leaving the jungle.
  • New Family — Jake marries locally and has two children.
• Sarah Moves On — Sarah mourns Jake and eventually creates another family in America.
  • Presumed Dead — Sarah is informed that Jake is missing and presumed dead.
  • Second Marriage — Sarah remarries and has a son after Jake's disappearance.
• Unexpected Return — Jake is extracted from Cambodia and quietly returns to America.
  • MIA Disclosure — Jake learns that he was officially declared missing in action.
  • Quiet Homecoming — Jake returns without informing people in America beforehand.
• Family Disruption — Jake's reappearance destabilizes the life Sarah built after his disappearance.
  • Remarriage Revelation — Jake learns that Sarah has remarried.
  • American Tension — The return creates strain within Sarah's established family.
• Search For Children — Jake leaves America to locate the family he left behind in Cambodia.
  • Wife's Death — Jake discovers that his Cambodian wife has died.
  • Refugee Camp — Jake finds his children living in a refugee camp.
• Rebuilt Family — Jake brings his children to America and begins repairing family connections.
  • Children Reunited — Jake's Cambodian children come to America to live with him.
  • Half-Siblings Embrace — The American son changes his attitude and embraces the half-siblings.

Directed by

Franklin J. Schaffner

Key Cast

• Kris Kristofferson — Jake
• JoBeth Williams — Sarah
• Sam Waterston — Woody
• Brian Keith — Harry Robins
• Thomas Wilson Brown — Tyler