DVD Birdy
Based on William Wharton's transcendent novel of the same name, this film is about many things: friendship, war, and, of course, birds. The framing device is an effort by a horribly scarred combat soldier (Nicolas Cage) to break through to his best friend, Birdy (Matthew Modine), hospitalized after seemingly being driven mad by fighting in the Vietnam War. Cage then flashes back to their boyhood, where Birdy, a canary aficionado, was considered the school weirdo but managed to be a solid companion nonetheless. Directed by Alan Parker, it works best as a coming-of-age story, but misses the bizarre psychological transferences of the book, in which Birdy imagines himself within the world of canaries he creates in his bedroom at his parents' house. Modine is fine as an out-of-it misfit enraptured by his own little universe. --Marshall Fine |
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Review(s): DVD Birdy | |
This sleeper and not very recent movie should get more recognition than it gets, since it`s a moving, well-crafted piece of film-making above most overhyped flicks around. It focuses the relationship of two friends, one (Nicolas Cage in one of his first roles) that has recently returned from Vietnam and "Birdy" (an excellent Matthew Modine), who is kept in an hospital due to (apparent) psychological disorder.
The pacing is slow (pherhaps a bit too slow during the first half), presenting Cage`s character visit to his friend in order to help him and some flashbacks that showcase their teenage relationship. As the story unfolds, Birdy`s past is foreshadowed and the viewer comes across his passion, curiosity and obssession with birds, that starts to increase and soon reduces his bonds to other people and experiences.
Birdy has his own little world and soon gets stuck in it, and one of his few contacts with "common reality" is his only friend that struggles to understand his point of view.
Director Alan Parker manages to bring a deep, powerful and subtle movie that expertly deals with isolation, insanity, friendship, freedom, alienation and connection.
The story wisely avoids sappy and easy melodramatic fluff, delivering a strong and honest character study that lies in the range of its two leads. Modine, in particular, is utterly convincing as the fragile, confused and innocent Birdy, providing a compelling portrayal of a youngster that percieves his own peculiar universe.
This picture is also a stunning coming-of-age tale, avoiding predictable and tired cliches and presenting a unique, memmorable and sincere friendship between the two characters.
The slow pacing and the beautiful cinematography help the creation of a captivating, haunting and eerie mood to the movie, becoming weirdly unsettling at times.
"Birdy" has much to recommend and really carries a feel of its own, being a great cinematic experience for those who have ever felt "different", misunderstoodand and seem to be outside.
This is quality cinema. Highly recommended.
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| An ode to friendship and standing up for what you believe in |  |
This beautiful movie, directed by Alan Parker (The Wall, The Commitments, Evita, Angela's Ashes), is a true ode to the power of friendship and a piece of encouragement for those who are willing to fight for what we believe in, in spite of adversity.Matthew Modine (Full Metal Jacket, Any Given Sunday) plays Birdy, a young man who has a fascination for birds, whose life gets drawn by them, gradually taking him "away" from the rest of the world. Nicholas Cage (this was one of his first movies) plays Al Columbato, Birdy's best friend, who has just come from Vietnam, to learn that his friend is held in a mental institution, where he has done nothing but perch and stare at the window like a bird without saying a word, since he came back from Vietnam. As Al talks to Birdy every day, he draws him closer to reality while he gradually realizes that the war has not only left him scars on his face, but also on his mind. A very strong criticism against war, Vietnam and the life of veterans lies at the very core of the movie. Peter Gabriel fans will be rewarded by the movie, since all the music to it is composed and interpreted by him (enough said). Worth seeing over and over!
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| Birdy. | |
Character-driven film which explores the friendship between two young men, one of them relatively normal (Cage) but physically scarred by 'Nam (could have been any war)...and the other (Modine,_Full Metal Jacket_) who more and more sees the world through the beady eyes of birds, with as consequence gradual alienation from his 'fellow men and women'.There are not many reviews here belonging to Birdy, but it was a hit at Cannes (a while ago) and is generally considered a staple of 'good-film-making'. Anyway, people who come here hoping to learn more about it are likely to be real admirers of fine cinematic art, in my opinion. Possible complaints (NOT mine) would be that Birdy is slow and goes nowhere at all and has a weak ending. To those people, go watch something in which dozens of cars explode for no apparent reason. Anyway, after the horrors of war (this is not Platoon, however, Birdy is, how to put this nicely, not littered with dead people), Modine ends up hospitalized (I gave nothing away; this is the start of Birdy). Cage tries to pull him back into sanity, and it's through chronological flashbacks (many excellent scenes, by the way) that their friendship is shown. Fascinating characters, brilliantly written, and great acting. As others pointed out, the soundtrack is indeed memorable.
Unfortunately for me, I realized but late why it was so important that the window should open. Stupid me. I hope you are brighter of mind.
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