THOUGHTS ON ONE OF THE EPICS: "THE DEER HUNTER"

Oh, I’m pretty sure that those of you who know of this film sort of sat up in your chairs and took notice when you saw the name. I know. There is a lot to say about this film. Which is precisely why I reckon we should say it. As you guys know by now,  I usually only go for films that I like, unequivocally. But with a film like the Deer Hunter, the thing is you can’t help being emotionally involved in it at some level, but then again you may not necessarily love / like it. Well, I was affected by it. And there is a ton of stuff to say about this film. So maybe we should leave the “like” pre-requisite to one side? Hm, hang on. I see a theme emerging. But first, The Deer Hunter.

The Deer Hunter is a Vietnam story. It is the story of war and how it affects the inhabitants of a small industrial town. Nick (Christopher Walken) and Michael (Robert De Niro) are best friends. They and their gaggle of friends in this small close-knit town have pretty average lives, going hunting and boozing together – not to mention working together, day in, day out. Then, however, war erupts. And the two boys, along with their friend Steve, go to Vietnam to serve their country.  The horrors of war are absolutely unspeakable and when Michael, our hero, returns he is not the same person. However, a promise means he has to return to Vietnam and come face to face with his demons. And the demons that haunt his friends…

Now, I have gone down the more lyric route and done my best not to give away spoilers but it is such a famous film a lot of you know the score, I am pretty sure of that. In fact, this was talked about, in fact became quite a controversy back in the day. I am of course, talking about the infamous Russian roulette scenes, where our three heroes are forced to play Russian roulette with each other by their captors. In the first place, let’s jump right in and point out that not only has it been argued (quite eloquently) that this is completely inaccurate, the portrayal of the Vietnamese borders quite heavily on racism. They are all despicable psychopaths with no morals, who often take great pleasure in torturing others and they almost all harbour this bizarre addiction to Russian roulette – or watching it. Granted, it makes for a very emotional build-up and the climatic end (that naturally involves Russian roulette) made me jump even if I could see it a mile away.

This one is funny. I mean, it almost really touched me. But something was missing. I am unsure what. The fact that I watched it in several chunks – as opposed to in one sitting – no doubt has something to do with it. Then again, the film is a proper old fashioned epic; it’s almost 3 hours long. Cimino’s aim was, no doubt, to have a Godfather-like effect. The dates fit, it has to be said. The film even starts with a wedding. We have the main guys, but the thing is we follow them around. For far too long. The aim is, no doubt, to establish emotional connection and this does happen on a level. I really felt Christopher Walken was, for example, great for this part; especially with his looks as a young man, he is the perfect, tragic poetic hero. And Robert De Niro is… Well, he’s Robert De Niro. So duh, of course they’re both brilliant. But I don’t know. The film is, I think, trying far too hard to be epic. And it’s doing this for three hours flat. At some point, you start to seriously glaze over.

And there is the whole matter of the afore-mentioned racism against the Vietnamese and the seriously nationalistic – American – overtones. But I don’t know, the thing is, it’s an important film. It does some good stuff. I mean, there are a lot of poetic things in there, far too many for my liking but you may spot something you like. I am pretty sure you won’t like it all. But at the very least, this is an important film of cinematic history. You kinda need to see it, if only to know why you don’t like it. That’s my opinion on the matter anyway. 

A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY AND THE "CASUALTIES OF WAR"

Ok, so, there is actually a very good reason why a lot of my film theory books point out that the Vietnam war was one of the most “televised” wars in history, not necessarily in the same sense as the First Gulf War when we first got “live action” warfare but in the sense that there were many, many films made about it. I always am rather careful when I suggest war films. My dissertation topic means I have to watch a fair number of them (long story) but this has made me see that the good ones are very very good. The bad ones are horrid. Which complicates things even further because the “horrid” ones mean that sometimes very valid themes are put to one side as “oh been there, done that”. But they are actually truly worth talking about. Especially since this film about the Vietnam War and Brian De Palma’s latest film on the war in Iraq Redacted share, despite their many differences in theme, share some key scenes. Which means to me that despite time going by war is still war and we have a lot to learn… But enough philosophy, let’s get to this week’s fare. Casualties of War is, sad to say, a true story. Private Eriksson (played by Michael J. Fox who I haven’t seen around for years after is illness – I hope he’s doing alright…)is a new arrival in Vietnam. His squad seems to be an average group of guys. Their Sergeant, Meserve (played superbly by a young Sean Penn) is a bit rough but charismatic and an excellent soldier. His fellow soldiers seem an average group of guys. Until the squad is sent on a mission deep into the jungle. Angered by the recent death of a comrade and pushed to the brink by the horror of war, the squad decides to take their frustration out on the Vietnamese, or rather on one particular Vietnamese girl who is kidnapped from her village and taken with them as “portable r & r”. Eriksson cannot believe that his squad could be serious about this until the girl is actually among them, but once she is there Eriksson’s quest for justice in one of the locations he is least likely to find it begins. Like I said, the topic is not new. It isn’t new because stories like this, true stories, happen in every war. We are horrified to hear it yet a little jaded for having heard the story so many times before. For the victims however, the horror is very new. It doesn’t matter if they heard the story before. It is the first time they are witnessing /experiencing such a thing. And this is why the stories need to be told. Over and over if necessary. Until we figure out that war is a terrible thing. DePalma may well be accused of being overly emotional, the soaring, “typical” Hollywood scores and the emotional dialogue are all of a certain type of film. I am not a massive fan of his endings either (with the exception of Redacted – watch this space for the review on that one), they tend to be a little too “flowery” for my liking, a little too “fairy tale”. But Casualties of War is a good film. It is a very good film indeed. Don’t fall into the trap of saying *yawn. Another Vietnam film, let’s give it a miss.* The messages it has are universal.

RESCUE DAWN

Rescue Dawn – or rather writing it’s review – is one of those jobs I keep meaning to get round to and failing miserably. So now I’m in the mood for a bit of writing and have the time, I’m just riding the wave ;) This can be qualified as one of the most extraordinary true stories I have ever heard. Master director Werner Herzog and talented actor Christian Bale tell the unbelievable story of Dieter Dengler, one of only two survivors who escaped from the Pathet Lao prison camp in Laos, during the Vietnam war.
On Febuary the 1.st 1966, Lt. Dieter Dengler (Christian Bale in the film) was shot down over Laos. His fate is similar to that of all prisoners of war at the time; he is arrested by peasants and taken to the Pathet Lao prison camp. There, he meets seven other prisoners of war, Americans and Thai civilians (who worked as “kickers” with the army – a kicker, by the way, is a person whose job at that time was to kick pallets of rice and food down the plane to aid refugees in the Peace Corps thank you Wikipedia for enlightening me on that one!). Anyway, so, there thy are, in the prison camp, but Dengler is determined not to stay there – so the group rallies and an escape plan is soon made. The plan is executed with heroism but they are very far from being “out of the woods”… Because their actual prison is the jungle itself and getting out of it is going to take even more determination than the getting out of the prison…
Now, I want to add a disclaimer here. Researching this film, I have found numerous claims the film is quite inaccurate on a lot of counts – especially the way one of the POWs, Eugene DeBruin is portrayed. Here, you can find a critique by the families of the other prisoners of war on the matter, but although the link comes first, I would save it for later and click here to read more about Dieter Dengler, and don't forget to scroll down and check his fellow inmates if you have the time – or maybe you would like to try here to read an excerpt of his book “Escape from Laos”. And I would watch the film, it is a VERY exciting Hollywood film. (Possibly “Hollywood Film” is the key word here – you cannot help but notice certain "Hollywoodisms" in it.)Just bare in mind it is “based on” true events as opposed to a “true story”. A good work of fiction and not an actual, factual account. Besides, it pushed me to do quite a lot of research on the matter and has brought to light, for me personally anyway, an incredible story of determination and survival, not just on the part of Dieter Dengler but for all the men – even those who struggled heroically but didn’t make it home… It’s also a stunning reminder of the horrors of war and the man’s capacity for cruelty to his fellow man. A topic I seem to be repeating myself on but then again… It’s one of those things you can’t really repeat enough…