Vietnam flick? I don't think so.

Rating: 9/10 (22 March 2002)

Face it, all movies about the Vietnam war sucks. When will writers realise that the Vietnam war so much more than having psychologically disturbed soldiers sneaking about in a jungle with facial paints? Might as well watch Rambo. Where are the innocent Vietnamese civilians... have we forgotten how much they suffered as well? When Brando muttered "The horror, the horror" he must have been talking about the state of Vietnam flicks produced in Hollywood.

Contains ending spoiler -

So how come The Deer Hunter is still emotionally powerful after all these years? Essentially, this movie is often mistaken as a pure Vietnam war flick, but I found that to be untrue. Emphasis is placed squarely on character development, and here lies the strength of the film; three tragic characters who are forever changed by the war that they were involved in - because the war setting serves as a mere background noise that drives these three close friends to the brink of insanity. At the end of the film, I could only shook my head in pity as the principal characters gathered together around the table, singing the American anthem like a bunch of broken, tattered warriors. War is horrible, but they choose to remain patriotic until the bitter end. The sad irony of life! By doing so, they ask the audience to feel sorry for them as opposed to sentimental sympathy because war is wrong, not just an empty spectacle made for popcorn-munching theatre goers.