Blog 9 LW

“The Deer Hunter” can be considered a “coming home” film because it shows the lives of three soldiers before the war, during it, and how their lives were forever changed after coming home. The first hour of the film shows Mike, Nick, and Steven’s pre-war life at home with their friends. There is a great deal of foreshadowing in this part as the men go deer hunting and Mike stresses his “one shot” strategy. Of course, this comes back into play when the men are at war and must survive the deadly round of Russian roulette. It only takes one shot to end a man’s life, as seen in Nick’s death in the final minutes of the film.

At Steven’s wedding, the friends are all merrily dancing and very drunk, and everyone in attendance is proud of the men going to war to serve their country. The men discover a Green Beret that has seen the war. This part foreshadows the life that the friends are in store for. Their lives will be forever changed as the Green Beret’s had. Steven’s new wife Angela also spills the drink on her dress, a sign of bad luck. Angela becomes very sick and Steven loses his legs while in Vietnam.

The rest of the movie pushes the men to their mental brink. Their near-death experience playing Russian roulette changes them in a way that they cannot recover from. Upon returning home, Mike cannot stand to be in his own home anymore, tortured over not knowing where his friends are. He cannot return to his “one shot” hunting style, unable to shoot the deer again. Steven wishes not to return home to his life because he is ashamed of his amputation. Nick stays in Vietnam, addicted to drugs and risking his life night by night to play Russian roulette.

In no way is the film suggesting any pro-war sentiments. The contrast in the friends that left together for war and the broken men they return as shows that no aspect of the war was for good. The one thing that did remain, with the exception of Nick, was that the men cared deeply for each other, especially Mike who tries to keep the group together.