french.

Rating: 9/10 (19 December 2008)

**film studies response.
#3. What's the deal with the French character who introduces Nicky to the Russian Roulette in in Saigon? What is this character suppose to symbolize?
if you are really brave and lucky, i can make you very, very rich -julien.
Known as Julien Grinda, the Frenchman who appears twice throughout the Deer Hunter represents how France managed to lure the US into the Vietnam War Just as Julien lured Nick into the twisted game of Russian Roulette. As the United States begins to take over the situation, risking the lives of thousands, France began to step back and watch the horror unfold.
Nick proved to be the perfect candidate for Julien Grinda's twisted game. Nick, who was already plagued by the horrors presented during Vietnam was already beginning to lose his touch with reality. PTSD began to dominate his everyday life, clouding any joyous thoughts, disorientating his mind and judgment.
As many soldiers did during the war, Nick resorts to drugs in hopes to relieve his mind; primarily Heroin. His arms soon become scarred with needle lines, serving as a constant reminder of no matter how much heroin he'll take, it'll never be enough to erase all the damage that took place. Believing that his best friends, Mike and Steven, have been killed by enemy forces, he feels that there's no point in living. he could careless if hes alive, or if hes left for dead.
Hearing the sounds of Gunshots in a nearby building, Nick asks Julien what was going on. Julien responds, "Wanna see what's inside?"; Nick agrees to, and from that point on the old nick is gone. He learns that they're playing Russian Roulette; the same exact game Nick and Mike played when they were held by a POW camp. Fueled by addiction, depression, PSTD, desperation, and not caring about his existence, Nick is lured into the game; soon becoming addicted.
Amazingly, Nick manages to survive each of the rounds; raking in large amounts of money for both himself and Julien. Nick sends his money to Steven in hopes that he's alive. Mike visits Steven, and soon learns that Nick is actually sending him money. Determined to save Nick, like he promised on the night of the wedding, Mike ventures back out to Vietnam.
After roaming around in the red light district of Saigon, Mike manages to find Julien; but this time he pretends to not speak good English. Mike, determined to find Nick, tries to bribe Julien with large sums of money. Hesitantly, Julien agrees and takes him to the club where Nick plays Russian Roulette. Mike desperately tries to reconnect with Nick, constantly reminding him that he can come home and everyone's okay; he paid the club owners for his release, so he doesn't need to continue anymore. When Mike discusses about deer hunting, Nick suddenly realizes who he is, and says "one shot". He immediately reaches and points the gun at his head, instantly killing himself.
It's evident that Julien didn't care about Nick's well being. He was more worried about the amount of money that he a human life. Julien was even trying to come up with a plan to escape.
If France wasn't involved in the Vietnam war, it would be extremely unlikely that the United States would be involved as well.