High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Racing with the Moon is a 1984 comedy-drama film starring Sean Penn, Elizabeth McGovern, and Nicolas Cage. It was directed by Richard Benjamin and written by Steven Kloves. The original music score was composed by Dave Grusin. The film is set in 1942 California, in and around Mendocino and WWII. Penn plays Henry 'Hopper' Nash, a seventeen year-old small town boy who has been drafted into the U.S. Marine Corps and is about to be shipped overseas. He is close friends with Nicky (Cage), who is also on his way to the fight. They have approximately six weeks before shipping out and the film shows their remaining time as civilians.