Das Herz ist ein einsamer Jäger

I saw this movie as a 15 year old when it came out. I remember it was a Saturday night and none of my friends were around. My parents didn't have any plans either and asked if I would like to go to a movie with them. Although spending a Saturday night with ones' parents couldn't be more uncool for a teenage boy, I agreed. The story and performances sucked me in from the beginning and held me there while the unbearable sadness of the final scene tore my heart out. Of course teenage boys aren't supposed to be that sentimental so it took all my strength to hold back this tidal wave of grief that cut through me. As we walked out of the theatre and through the parking lot and got into the car I said nothing. After a few minutes my mother said, "Mark, you're awfully quiet". I shot back at her "leave me alone", which she did. I didn't want reality to intrude upon the profoundly deep feelings I was experiencing. That feeling stayed with me for months. Only decades later did I realize that the movie touched on a very personal sadness in my life that as a teenage boy I couldn't begin to grapple with. Micks' mothers inability to express love for her mirrored a similar void in my relationship with my father. During a particularly depressed part of my adulthood, while I was grappling with the reality of having an unloving father, one day I found myself thinking about this movie. Oh! That's why the movie had such a devastating effect on me! It brought to the surface all of the sadness, isolation and loneliness I suppressed as a child who wasn't loved for who he was! That's the definition of a true work of art. This movie had the ability to allow me to feel what I was unable to as a child and only years later would I be able to understand the reason for the overwhelming sadness I felt then.

I took my girlfriend to see this movie in 1968. At the end, I was sobbing. I didn't stop crying until we had driven a mile or so from the movie theatre. She looked at me as if I was out of my mind.

This week I bought the movie, to see how it would affect me 30 years later. Not quite the same emotional impact (well, I knew the ending), but still a very powerful movie.

Recently I heard a director say that the most important things conveyed in movies are not the words that are said, but the words that are not said.

This movie is filled with words not said. The protagonist, John Singer, is an emotional cipher. Alan Arkin had the good sense to underplay him. You can pour all of your own feelings into him.

I could quibble about some elements now, but this is, at essence, a story of the heart. Thirty years after first seeing this movie, it still stands up, and still touches my heart in a way few movies have.

I cannot forget the theme music of "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter" by Dave Grusin. There's a certain pervading peacefulness listening to its strains. Watching the film again on cable reminded me how impressed I was when I first saw it. Ever since, I kept an eye on movies with Alan Arkin in it -- his performance as John Singer, a deaf-mute, was sensitively delivered and commanded respect. It was Sondra Locke's debut appearance. She was young and slim, perfect for the role of "Mick", who learned to accept his disability and was able to share her love of music with him.

Along this life's journey of Singer, his friends included Chuck McCann as the plump fellow deaf-mute, who's playful and loved chocolates; Stacy Keach as the recovering alcoholic and new found chess mate; Percy Rodriguez as the self-righteous black Doctor who has his strife and discords with his daughter Portia, portrayed by a young Cicely Tyson. Lessons in diversity and tolerance are subtly evident as the story progresses. The ending is certainly not of Hollywood standard. Cinematographer James Wong Howe certainly tied in hope through his lens on the final shot with Mick (Sondra Locke) in it.

This film about reaching out and touching someone, irrespective of one's ability to verbally communicate or via signs, of one's race, color, or background, still rings true.

I will not forget this movie for the rest of my life! Although the direction is excellent with a very good script and good production values, the performances are the standout aspect of this remarkable film. Alan Arkin and Sondra Locke make the film work and were both nominated for Oscars for their work here. Their scenes are magic, but Arkin is easily the stronger performance of the two. The supporting cast is very good, but Chuck McCann deserves special mention here. A comedian who's work has mainly been very lighthearted, he plays a straight dramatic role here and does a excellent job. A very human, very touching, very emotional film, the last 15-20 minutes will stay with you a very long time. Turner Classic Movies runs this on occasion and it is currently in print. Most highly recommended.

now i would like to say this is one of the best movies i have ever seen. and in being the best, it is also the saddest. I would like to say i cried for an hour at least on this movie, and not how my life relates to it, but on the actually movie and how bad I felt about their lives. and i cried hard. not cried.. i wept.. i wept like a baby. i wept so much and hard that my stomach muscles hurt me. wow. good movie. go see it.