Vietnam, Iraq-- what next?

Rating: 7/10 (4 April 2006)

I saw this film for the first time in April 2006, nearly 30 years after the film received its Oscar accolades. I certainly wouldn't have appreciated this film then, but I did this year! Basically, the ethos of a religious, naive small-town in America (who do not, maybe cannot ?) question the American-Vietnam war; after all, the propaganda "We serve God and our country" is deeply embedded in this community, who are all affected by the Vietnam war.
The acting is good - ensemble work - and the scenes of violence are realistic and disturbing. The film is relevant today - what right has Ammerica to be in Iraq? What support exists for brutalised young men and families that have had to cope with senseless deaths and wide-spread injuries.
The deer is a symbol of the effect of war - it cannot be pinned down or shot by the marksman at the end of the movie. War changes everything.
It's a message, pertinent today too. See the film: its strength lies in languidly setting scenes which are later seen to be transient, not permanent. A deserving film to grapple with.