He's a great kid. I hope I should do so well with my kids. This film is not so much a political story – though that's there, it's just part of life, something you live with. The difference is, through the actions undertaken for their convictions, all these issues are given heightened dramatic tension. Paradoxically, it's what you'd call a quiet film. But that's where its power lies. We recognize our own quiet lives, whether we're active revolutionaries or not. Just giving, to raise a child, to act on your convictions, to nurture a talent, is also a positive and political act.

And making sacrifices, so that, for someone, dreams deferred will not be all they've ever known. And that brings me, finally, to the ending. At his latest school, Danny has caught the eye of the local music teacher. He sees a promising talent, and encourages it. He even manages to get him to audition at Juilliard, even though neither he nor his parents have dared look beyond the next day or week of outsmarting the authorities. It's what they must do, and its all they've ever known.

The mother, played brilliantly by Christine Lahti, gets wind of her son's clandestine exploration of just where his talent might take him, so she starts thinking about how she might make it possible. She's coming to terms with what they've done and how their kids are paying the price. Her husband doesn't want to face it. "We’re a family unit. It's all we have," he says. "Look at our kids. They're wonderful. We haven't done too badly." He won't let himself look beyond the present moment.

Lahti arranges a risky meeting with her father at a restaurant. They haven't seen each other in 14 years, since the fateful explosion. He's unforgiving at first. She pleads her case. Just take Danny, let him go to Juilliard. When Michael is of age, I'm going to turn myself in. I'll get 15 years. 15 years without involvement in my children's lives. Yes, the same amount of time her father has suffered. Maybe it's easy irony, but it works. Her father finally agrees. She says she loves him and leaves, near breakdown. Her father's cold facade breaks, enough for him to let go with a small but forceful bark of emotion.

Full circle. The end: They're on the run again. Get in the truck and go! But Danny has to say goodbye to his girlfriend. The family waits at a rendezvous point. Danny comes barreling up on his bicycle, gets off and throws it in the back of the truck. His dad tells him to take the bike out of the back. Danny takes it out, parks it with the kickstand, starts to get in the truck. "No," says his father. "Get on it. Go. Your mother has made arrangements with her father. Go see him. Good luck kid."

And goodbye.

Roll credits.

I cried a few salty tears. I'm gonna have to do that someday.