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(This review contains spoilers. You have been warned.)

Perhaps the main reason The Deer Hunter connects with me so much, emotionally, each time I watch it is because it's not really what many would define as a "war film".

Opening in the late 1960s, in the small working-class town of Pennsylvania, it tracks three Russian-American steel workers, Michael (Robert De Niro), Steven (John Savage) and Nick (Christopher Walken). The lives of these characters occupy the screen for a large majority of the movie: We see them drinking and singing along to the jukebox at their local bar, dancing at their friend's wedding, and going on hunting trips into the mountains.

The reason the film chooses to focus upon these hard-working people is to show the importance of human bonding; how one chooses to celebrate his life by surrounding himself with friends and family. The Deer Hunter never attempts to make its characters seem flawless; instead, they each are out just to have a good time before they depart to Vietnam with the army. When they meet a soldier at the bar of the wedding party, they can’t understand why he isn't proud of serving his country in war; they appear patriotically naive. But we don't hate them for it, because the film doesn't really reveal a cause of the soldier's personal issues until we are introduced to the horrifying sequences that follow.

It isn't till at least an hour in that the film cuts to Vietnam, and we, as well as the characters, are forced to discover how violence can psychologically manipulate the lives of those involved. Captured, and forced to participate in a deadly game of Russian roulette, Michael and Nick somehow have to find the physical and mental strength to escape.

They do escape -- just barely. Michael manages to make it home to his friends, but feels uncomfortable by the subdued praises of his heroism that he receives when walking down the street. Meanwhile, Steven has lost both his legs and has no choice but to stay in the hospital; while Nick is still in Vietnam, attempting to conquer others by the games of Russian roulette regularly at night.

Evoking the agony of Vietnam, The Deer Hunter is more concerned with the emotions of its characters than it is with the politics of war. Particularly, the scenes involving De Niro and Walken are so intense and emotionally-disturbing that it'll be very difficult for me to find another film that unsettles me just as much as this one did (Walken truly deserved his Oscar for Best Supporting Actor).

Unlike a majority of war films, which I tend not to favour, here explains what the situation meant for soldiers, rather attempting to justify the carnage from one country's side of the argument. No one is innocent in war (that's the film's point) -- not even the characters of The Deer Hunter, which we sympathise with for the tragic events they endure.

Similar films, such as First Blood and Harsh Times, have attempted to explore the psychological effects of war, but none have effectively absorbed me into the lives of the characters as much as The Deer Hunter has. An astonishingly intense exploration of the human psyche, this still stands as one of the most hauntingly memorable films of those affected by violence and destruction in a world fuelled by ugly cynicism.

On a final note: Much like The Godfather, The Deer Hunter really does require your undivided attention. At three hours long, it definitely isn't a quick ride around the park. People tend to criticize its length, but if you are willing to sit down, in silence, for the evening and give it a watch, you won't be disappointed. It's powerfully disturbing and utterly compelling.

(C) Andy Carrington, 2009.