Local Hero

All of the previous reviews of this wonderful movie have said it all. I just want to add that every time I've

seen it (and believe me that is a large number) I get choked up. In fact reading the reviews gives me the same feeling.

I find it impossible to understand the view point of those who pan this movie because of lack of plot or satisfying ending. They would throw out most of Shakespeare

because plot was always secondary to characterization in his

works.

I heartily reccomend Local Hero to anyone with a heart.

It will be touched

The First Time I saw this movie I was a little boy. It's one of my father's favortie movies and I watched it again. This is movie is one of the quirkiest films ever. The way it's funny is unique, The characters are so real that they can be you or next door neighbor. Mark Knopfler's music only adds to the greatness. 3 of the most memorable scenes are when Mac (Peter Riegert) and Danny (Peter Capaldi) run over an injured rabbit in the middle of driving. Another Great scene is when Gordon (Denis Lawson giving a great performance.) Cooks the rabbit, and the final scene is one of the greatest in film, when Victor (Christopher Rozycki) Sings "Lonesome for a Lone Star Man like Me." I can't get enough of that scene it's just perfect. If you want to see a modern fairy tale today see Local Hero.

There's the great movies with a capital "M" (Casablanca, Strangelove, Kane) and then there's the great movies which feel like they've been made for the deepest, quietest, quirkiest parts of you and you alone - the small gems. And this one, in my view, is the sparkliest of these gems - a little masterpiece of a rumination on just how beautiful things can be when disparate paths in life intercept each other just the tiniest bit out of phase, never perfectly according to plan, and on how the deepest transformations seem to proceed from the smallest disjoints of orientation and expectation. It is a beautiful dollhouse of a film, whose success lies in its excruciating attention to and understatement of detail. Beautiful Mark Knopler strains suffuse the film's quieter moments, while subtle performances and simply lovely dialogue provide the backbone.

A big American petrochemical company contemplates the construction of a oil refinery in a Scottish isolated fishing village. A young executive (Peter Riegert) from the Texas is sent there and with the Scottish representative of the company tries to negotiate with the local authorities to buy the ground. But things don't go exactly as planned. Indeed, the two men are more and more seduced by the easy life that reigns in the village while the inhabitants are tempted by the company's initial plan in order to grow rich. Then, the manager of the firm (Burt Lancaster) arrives in the village to settle the question with surprising results.

Bill Forsyth made an ecological tale full of charm and sensibility. He enjoys describing with a discreet and subtle humor the daily life of this Scottish village which seems to be virtually cut off from the outside world. Like the main protagonist, relaxed way of life that reigns in this fishing village gradually overcomes us. But we can also understand Forsyth's work as an invitation to the pleasure of the senses. Indeed, Riegert enjoys the food he eats and the whisky he drinks; he is charmed by the beauty of the landscapes and what he finds by the seaside (his collection of shells) and especially the rare phenomenon of the northern lights. Ultimately, his stay will do him good since he'll fully become integrated with the inhabitants. There's a small detail that says a lot about it: Riegert will put in his cupboard his American suit to wear instead a sweater.

Bill Forsyth has also written the screenplay and the merits we ca attribute to it is to have avoided the traps the topic was tending: a rejection of Manicheism and the characters globally escape caricature. The character acted by Burt Lancaster is more passionated by astronomy than his firm and the power of money.

"Local Hero" is a breath of fresh air and just like Peter Riegert, we would like to prolong our stay in this Scottish fishing village far from the stress of modern life, far from the Hollywood imperialism.

Yes, the summary line has been used in an attempt to qualify this entry as upbeat and interesting. But it is true, I did purchase a modular couch unit because the hero in Local Hero has a scene where he reclines in a couch while on the phone (his is cream, mine, mindful of stains is blue). This little anecdote symbolises the effect this film has had on me. I first saw it at the impressionable age of 14, and have watched it pretty much on an annual basis ever since.

I don't know how, or why it has proved such an hypnotic film, maybe it is due to the fact that there is not a sordid event in sight, that every scene reamains soft and innocent, without becoming fantasy. It could all happen, to me, or you and it is totally unthreatening. Not a fist fight, mugging, or domestically violent vision to behold. The film is like a memorable weekend where you know you've experienced something special.

You have to set the right mood, this film is definately a red wine with candles film, not one of the beer and pizza variety.