The Deer Hunter, 1978

Rated R

The story of the winning film of 1978 starts a decade earlier in Pennsylvania where three friends leave their fellow hunting buddies and jobs of steel-working to fight in the Vietnam War. The story ends not long after the war ends in 1975. One of the main characters, played by Robert De Niro, is a superb deer hunter and is known for killing deer “with one shot only”. I’ll be completely honest and admit that I didn’t quite catch the symbolism of deer hunting in this film. The hunted vs. the hunter? I don’t know… I don’t mean for this to sound sexist, but the only thing I can think of is that hunting is a manly sport; it’s one to brag about. Juxtapose that to the cruelty and gruesomeness of the war where pride goes out the window.

This film was/is(?) considered controversial but I think that’s because the war itself was controversial and divided our country. I wasn’t even born until six years after the war ended, so I obviously can’t relate to how people were feeling at the time, but I didn’t see anything specifically controversial in this documentary-styled film. Obviously, there were a few disturbing scenes regarding the treatment of the soldiers, but I think it was/is the politics behind it all that hit a chord with audiences (and I don’t think that the issue of politics is delved in too deeply in the film).

As evidenced in its movie poster, this film features the unlucky game of Russian Roulette. There are two unsettling scenes where the Vietcong gamble on and force American soldiers to play this game of chance. Perhaps this was a point of controversy as apparently there are no historical reports of this “game” being played with POWs, however, it does seem to be an appropriate symbol of the war with its deliberate but random violence.

This war is sadly responsible for many of its soldiers being later diagnosed as having Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The top criteria (according to DSM-IV) include: exposure to a traumatic event, persistent re-experiencing, and persistent avoidance and emotional numbing. It’s easy to see from this film how the mind games played could subsequently manifest into mental disorders. In addition to the mind games and horrific images plaguing the soldiers during the war, many of them (in real life) were disrespected and treated poorly upon their return home. I can’t begin to imagine how torn and confused they must have felt while fighting- there they were laying their life on the line and people back home are protesting. Add to all this a possibility of “survivor’s guilt”, which we see De Niro’s character suffer from, and we can understand how these characters and the soldiers in real life came home irrevocably changed.

Clocking in at just over three hours, this film’s a bit too long for me. I understand we need to see the times before/during/after the war, but the first part was pretty boring and uneventful for me. I know we need time to get to know the characters, but still, it dragged a bit. I don’t agree with it being on AFI’s 100 Greatest Movies of All Time, but to each, his own.

The character Chistopher Walken plays (buddy of De Niro’s character) is entirely different than anything I’ve seen him portray; it is quite the opposite of his roles in “Hairspray”, “Wedding Crashers”, and on Saturday Night Live. I was very impressed with his dramatic acting abilities as his character goes through emotional and physical hell; it earned him the Best Supporting Actor award. This is one of Meryl Streep’s early films and the very first of her fifteen unsuccessful wins… can you believe she’s been up seventeen times and only won three??

“The Deer Hunter” had an impressive nine nominations and walked away with five awards. It was up against “Heaven Can Wait”, “An Unmarried Woman”, “Midnight Express”, and “Coming Home”, none of which I’ve seen. Interestingly though, “Coming Home” is another anti-war film about Vietnam that happened to capture the Best Actor and Actress awards.

FAVORITE SCENE:

I’m finding more and more that this is section is not always easy to write. As expected in a film about the Vietnam War, I don’t have a “favorite” scene. But I will say that the solidarity these buddies showed each other before, during, and after the war (as hard as it was) was moving to see.

LESSONS LEARNED:

No matter what our individual views are on war(s), it is important to support our troops. They are the ones laying their lives on the life to defend and protect our country. They deserve our respect not judgment.

I may need to learn a little more about deer hunting in order to fully appreciate or understand the metaphor in this film.