![]() Walter Hill's Southern Comfort has got to be one of the most unique, bizarre, yet effective war films that I have ever seen. The film centers around a group of soldiers on a training exercise in Louisiana who unwittingly start a small war with the local backwater Cajuns of the area. It's essentially a film about Vietnam where the Vietnamese happen to be backwater Louisiana natives and there is some great commentary there. Being Walter Hill, the film is blanketed in Machoism, with actors like Powers Booth and Fred Ward really chewing up the dialogue. As the film progresses, we see these tough-as-nails men start to fall apart both mentally and physically. We see the dissension in the ranks where the men revert to their primal instincts, causing leadership to be questioned, as this is clearly a film dealing with survival just as well as pretty much any traditional war film. I have always loved films that showcase these weird, strange places that exist in America, away from the typical city or suburban structure, and Hill embraces his environment as dreary, horrifying landscape. Lots of great suspense throughout with the climatic sequence taking place in a small backwater town, a highlight of tension and unease. By the end of the film, these men and all their machoism has been reverted into fear and anguish, clearly a parable for any war. 8.75/10
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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