The Deer Hunter movie is a story of three friends who go to Vietnam to fight, and how they deal with their lives after the war. Before the war, Mike, Nick, and Steve are all close friends who work together in a steel mill, and spend most of their time together. The first hour of the movie revolves around Steve’s wedding, and the group’s final hunting trip. At the wedding, which is also the going away party for the men, everyone is dinking and in a merry mood, yet when a Green Beret comes to the bar, the mood of Mike, Nick, and Steve change. They see what has become of someone who has served in the war, and how things might not turn out as they predict. On the final hunting trip, Mike is able to kill a buck with his “one shot”. This idea of a one shot will come back to haunt him later on in the movie.
While they are separated in Vietnam, they are reunited, yet promptly are captured, where they are forced to play Russian roulette against each other. This form of torture plays mind games on the men, and slowly makes them mentally deteriorate. During the escape, Nick is separated, and is not heard of for some time. Later on in the move we find that the lure of Russian roulette draws both Nick and Mike back to the Saigon underground, where they see each other, yet are unable to talk.
After the war, all three have separate issues that prevent them from returning to their prewar lives. Mike simply does not feel that be belongs and often feels the need to get out and to go away for a break. On the second hunting trip, he is able to get a clear shot at a buck, yet he deliberately misses the shot to allow the buck to live, possibly feeling that he has already taken enough lives. Steve, who has lost both of his legs, want to remain in the veterans hospital, because they treat him well, and he does not believe that he will be able to go about life in a normal manner. He has also not been able to see anyone who was not in the war until Mike takes him out. Nick has the most problems when it comes to dealing with his life. He went AWOL and remained in Saigon for the years after his release. He has been playing Russian roulette and been sending the money back to the states. Perhaps it is the feeling that rushes trough him that keeps him there, but we will never know. When Mike returns to try and retrieve Nick, Nick has no recollection of Mike, until they are playing each other at the game they know so well. The one shot that killed the first buck, also took Nick’s life. One shot can change and will change everything. These men are living one shot at a time, much like the game they play.
In the end I think that this movie is more pro- soldiers than anything else. It shows the commitment that they have to each other, and the chances they are willing to take for each other. Before they left, Nick told Mike that he did not want to be left in Vietnam, and even though he did not died as anticipated, Mike still brought this body home. In the end they all help each other, as they try to get back to what they were, although that may never be possible.
The Deer Hunter movie is a story of three friends who go to Vietnam to fight, and how they deal with their lives after the war. Before the war, Mike, Nick, and Steve are all close friends who work together in a steel mill, and spend most of their time together. The first hour of the movie revolves around Steve’s wedding, and the group’s final hunting trip. At the wedding, which is also the going away party for the men, everyone is dinking and in a merry mood, yet when a Green Beret comes to the bar, the mood of Mike, Nick, and Steve change. They see what has become of someone who has served in the war, and how things might not turn out as they predict. On the final hunting trip, Mike is able to kill a buck with his “one shot”. This idea of a one shot will come back to haunt him later on in the movie.
ReplyDeleteWhile they are separated in Vietnam, they are reunited, yet promptly are captured, where they are forced to play Russian roulette against each other. This form of torture plays mind games on the men, and slowly makes them mentally deteriorate. During the escape, Nick is separated, and is not heard of for some time. Later on in the move we find that the lure of Russian roulette draws both Nick and Mike back to the Saigon underground, where they see each other, yet are unable to talk.
After the war, all three have separate issues that prevent them from returning to their prewar lives. Mike simply does not feel that be belongs and often feels the need to get out and to go away for a break. On the second hunting trip, he is able to get a clear shot at a buck, yet he deliberately misses the shot to allow the buck to live, possibly feeling that he has already taken enough lives. Steve, who has lost both of his legs, want to remain in the veterans hospital, because they treat him well, and he does not believe that he will be able to go about life in a normal manner. He has also not been able to see anyone who was not in the war until Mike takes him out. Nick has the most problems when it comes to dealing with his life. He went AWOL and remained in Saigon for the years after his release. He has become addicted to drugs, has been playing Russian roulette and been sending the money back to the states. Perhaps it is the feeling that rushes trough him that keeps him there, but we will never know. When Mike returns to try and retrieve Nick, Nick has no recollection of Mike, until they are playing each other at the game they know so well. The one shot that killed the first buck, also took Nick’s life. One shot can change and will change everything. These men are living one shot at a time, much like the game they play.
In the end I think that this movie is more pro- soldiers than anything else. It shows the commitment that they have to each other, and the chances they are willing to take for each other. Before they left, Nick told Mike that he did not want to be left in Vietnam, and even though he did not died as anticipated, Mike still brought this body home. In the end they all help each other, as they try to get back to what they were, although that may never be possible.