Film about malaise in 1970s America

Rating: 7/10 (27 December 2008)

I recently watched the Deer Hunter for the first time in 30 years. Back in the late 1970s people were trying to make sense of what happened in Vietnam and the Deer Hunter was one of a number of films that offered an insight into the war. It won five Oscars including Best Picture and became a powerful indictment of Vietnam. The film focused on ordinary working class draftees and presented a horrific view of the war. The film entered the mainstream and helped convince most people that Vietnam was a tragic mistake. It also played a role in persuading middle America that fighting wars in foreign countries should be avoided. Many of the film's most shocking scenes now seem dishonest and manipulative. There is also an underlying subtext of self-loathing and pessimism permeating the film which probably reflects the post-Watergate mood in 1978. These days it all seems strange and depressing.
The Deer Hunter almost seems like two movies. The first is set in Pennsylvania and is the story of three young men: Michael(Robert De Niro), Nick (Christopher Walken) and Steven (John Savage) before they are sent to fight in Vietnam. It has a rawness which is missing from most of the formulaic movies of today. The film doesn't conform to a preconceived view about how films should be structured. It provides a gritty depiction of life in a small close-knit steel-town. The men are the children of Russian immigrants. The American dream almost seems to have passed them by. They live in a world where men get drunk and the women get slapped if they step out of line. The movie shows a small town culture which in later years became a victim of globalization. Peaceful Asian democracies displaced low-tech American jobs.
The U.S. scenes now seem the most interesting. When the film moves to Vietnam it's less credible. Some elements of the story seem so far-fetched that they would fit into a Rambo movie. The film has a surprisingly xenophobic view of the world. Vietnamese men are sub-human sadistic monsters, their women are either strippers or prostitutes. There is even a cynical Frenchman who helps corrupt Christopher Walken. What the French were still doing in Saigon in 1975 is not explained. The Americans from Pensylvannia are depicted as innocent victims in a world full of depraved foreigners. Most of the scenes in Vietnam involve men playing Russian roulette, which although dramatic only make sense as a metaphor for war in general. In reality these episodes are pure fiction. The film tries to convince you that the Vietnamese were beyond help and not worth saving. Back in 1978, I concluded that asking young men to fight in such a conflict was unfair.
The college kids who opposed the war do not appear in this movie. The film focuses on a group of Americans who appear to have no political opinions and do not question why they are sent to Vietnam. They are uneducated, inarticulate and just trust their government. In mays ways this makes what happens to them all the more chilling. The film makes no attempt to explain what the war was about or why Americans died in Vietnam. Without the political context, the film leaves you with a very muddled view of this period in American history. The lack of a broader perspective leaves something of a hole at the center of the film. Watching this film is not a fun experience.The film calls for a talented cast that can display a range of emotions and all the actors are excellent. De Niro plays a stoic hero who believes in honor and duty and doesn't talk about his experiences. Walken is outstanding as Nick, and was never as good or as animated again. I had forgotten that Meryl Streep was once young and beautiful and it's fascinating watching her play a shy and vulnerable supermarket worker.
The movie shows that war is hell, but war has always been hell. You feel that the negativity and despair portrayed in the movie had a lot to do with the fact that the U.S. lost the war and was suffering a crises of confidence. The U.S. eventually recovered its swagger and by the 1990s was prepared to send troops into combat again. Although it's an interesting historical document, The Deer Hunter now seems flawed and exploitative. Looking back, it's not the definitive movie about Vietnam but it says a lot of the mood of the country in 1978.