Word: larch
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1990-1999
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Homer Wells (Tobey Maguire) trying to be his own hero. Raised in an orphanage in the era leading up to World War II, Homer fashioned his own version of a family. Besides having the other orphans as siblings, Homer develops a strong father-son bond with Dr. Wilbur Larch, played by Oscar-winner Michael Caine...
...Larch is more than just the head of the orphanage. He also performs illegal abortions. As Homer gets older, and it becomes more obvious that he will never be adopted, Larch begins to train him not only in obstetric techniques but also abortion methods. Homer, however, has other plans. He's not against abortions; he just doesn't want to perform them himself. Larch can't understand his reluctance, using a woman who died because of an underground abortion by an amateur as an example. "That's what doing nothing gets you," Larch cries. "It means that someone else...
...returns to Wally's farm with him and joins the apple-picking migrants in their seasonal labor. From there, Homer begins an even greater journey to make his own way in the world, a society with which he is almost completely unfamiliar because of his sheltered existence with Larch and the orphans...
...also learns quite a bit more than medicine from Michael Caine's Dr. Larch. Caine perfectly embodies the Dr. Larch of the novel. Although he has a gruff exterior, Larch loves all of his orphans, especially young Homer. It breaks his heart when Homer leaves, but he never gives up--just like, you might say, a real father. His signature line, spoken to the orphans before bed, "Goodnight you princes of Maine, you kings of New England," belies an overly optimistic hope for the future all of his young ones, a love and faith that he passed on to Homer...
With the names of trees you can make a fine pagan bouquet of words: hornbeam, ginkgo, quickbeam, oak, white willow, tamarind, Lombardy poplar, false cypress, elder, laburnum, larch, baobab, black gum, rowan, hazel, whitebeam, tree of heaven...