Birdy (1984) ****
It's interesting to have finally seen Alan Parker's Birdy (1984), having listened to and loved Peter Gabriel's moody score for the film (which, in addition to new pieces composed for the soundtrack, also incorporates instrumental themes and sections from his third and fourth albums to form the basis of some tracks) for many years.
The film is a beautiful portrait of friendship, obsession, and what it's like to be an outsider, portrayed by two brilliant and sensitive actors, Matthew Modine and Nicolas Cage, in the prime of their youth. The story involves two young men—one fragile and strange (Birdy), the other frustrated and short-tempered (Al)—who form a unique bond and later on both become scarred by the Vietnam War.
The titular character (Modine), obsessed with birds and flying, has ceased speaking and has been put in a mental hospital after going missing in action, having been the sole survivor of a helicopter crash. Al (Cage) has been hospitalized at the same facility when he suffered head injuries from a bombing. Al attempts to bring Birdy back to reality by recalling memories of their growing up together in Philadelphia, while wrestling with his own demons.
Birdy deftly bounces between flashbacks and present day (just after Vietnam) to form a lyrical, dream-like, and visually exciting movie that features one of the most abruptly amusing and tonally jarring endings ever laid to film.
The film is a beautiful portrait of friendship, obsession, and what it's like to be an outsider, portrayed by two brilliant and sensitive actors, Matthew Modine and Nicolas Cage, in the prime of their youth. The story involves two young men—one fragile and strange (Birdy), the other frustrated and short-tempered (Al)—who form a unique bond and later on both become scarred by the Vietnam War.
The titular character (Modine), obsessed with birds and flying, has ceased speaking and has been put in a mental hospital after going missing in action, having been the sole survivor of a helicopter crash. Al (Cage) has been hospitalized at the same facility when he suffered head injuries from a bombing. Al attempts to bring Birdy back to reality by recalling memories of their growing up together in Philadelphia, while wrestling with his own demons.
Birdy deftly bounces between flashbacks and present day (just after Vietnam) to form a lyrical, dream-like, and visually exciting movie that features one of the most abruptly amusing and tonally jarring endings ever laid to film.
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