Journey Into the Depths of Hell ...

Rating: 10/10 (12 May 2011)

It's the literal translation of the film's French title, which couldn't have been more accurate. While watching "The Deer Hunter", Michael Cimino's Best Picture winning masterpiece, a deep melancholy submerged my body Â… yes, the pain I felt was quite physical as if I was exhausted from the hardship endured by those brave men, no superheroes, simple factory workers.
"The Deer Hunter" drowns you in an ocean of thoughts while you try to find out what are the right interpretations beyond the tears, the cheers and mostly, the thrills...
The film follows a three-structured narrative starting with a long wedding sequence, reminding of "The Godfather"'s famous first act, only this time, the wedding is BEFORE the war, before the boys go to Vietnam, the wedding party is also a farewell-party. Cimino rightfully trusts our patience and proves like Coppola did, that a long opening sequence properly handled is crucial to introduce the characters and their relationships. And like "The Godfather", the film sets a friendly and jovial mood only to make the following sequence, in contrast, more emotionally harrowing. Indeed, the second segment abruptly plunges us into the reality of Vietnam, the tragic heart of the story while the third act deals with the post-war trauma. The whole movie could be seen as an exploration of the devastating effects War has on peoples' lives: here, a group of friend from a small industrial town in America.
I guess the significance of their Russian background relies on two elements, the most significant being the idea of fighting as expressing a sincere gratitude towards America, the land that welcomed their families, the land they were born in and enjoyed living in, simply their home, sweet home, this is not about patriotism but a certain idea of duty conveyed by a strong sense of morality, not corrupted by the urban way of life of major cities. The second element, is probably the exotic atmosphere: I really enjoyed the music from the wedding party, especially the closing Casatschock. I wanted to dance with Michael, Nick, Stevie, Stan, all these jolly fellows, all night long ... before the last hunting. Isn't the movie titled "The Deer Hunter", after all?
Hunting, in those pre-lobbies eras, had always been considered as one of the noblest human activities because of its deep roots in our heritage. It's the contact with nature that allows to contemplate and understand its beauty and wildness with respect. You don't kill an animal, you participate to a cycle started from the dawn of the age, when men and animals were fighting over dominating their environment, when killing was for survival, not pointless. And as a ritual honoring this noble philosophy, Michael, played by a spectacular Robert De Niro hunts with a serious and extremely sincere dedication... This seriousness is incarnated by his unforgettable "This is This" speech delivered to the poor Stan, the late John Cazale in his last role. "This is this" as the perfect harmony of things, each own assumes what happens to him, preys are preys, predators are predators, living requires a discipline so raw it's close to survival. This reasoning might sound extreme but for Michael, the rules of life are impeccably simple.
Hunting inspires all the noblest manly sentiments, friendship, integrity, and respect. But this is only a setting, all these elements are explored beyond the limits of the mountain. Besides, this is an idealization, these guys, even Michael, enjoy drinking, arguing and making crude jokes. They are men of principles, faithful, but they're buddies more than anything.
"The Deer Hunter" is the ultimate male-bonding film incarnated by such memorable scenes as in the bar where they all sing along "Can't Take my Eyes Off of You", one of my favorite musical moments ever. And the central relationship is between Michael and Nicky, a young Christopher Walken in his most powerful performances as the best friend, or maybe something more that I can't put my finger on, like a cloud of mystery floating somewhere in a sky, blue like Meryl Streep's lovely eyes.
This friendship, as any other friendships, will be confronted to War, when Michael, Nick and Stevie, the broom, John Savage in a too overlooked performance, will be confronted to the iconic deadly game that immortalized the film, and gave it this iconic status. But more than a Pop Culture touch, the Russian Roulette is a powerful symbolization of War itself. It's having the gun pointed at you, with odds of survival getting lower and lower after each game. It's all a matter of luck, where the winner is not the guy who kills, but who let the other killed, and after such an experience, killing a deer strangely reminds you of your own condition as a human prey.
In one scene, probably the most intense of cinema's history, we learn more about war and death than any other film, De Niro's greatest piece of acting, and a deserved Oscar for Walken.
*** I will conclude by dedicating this review to the late John Cazale, who prematurely left this world after having portrayed weak and tormented characters with a heart-breaking authenticity. One of the images that will forever haunt me features Cazale as Stan, standing alone in the last scene as if it was the actor himself, visibly tired, who felt the song sung at that moment was his swan song, his personal good-bye to the cinema. But he couldn't have a better last film. And this is this ...***