The film is full of contrasts, before and after the war, and at the same time, it is also what the director wanted to express, what the war brought. One set of contrasts perhaps best reflects the mental distortions that war inflicts on ordinary people. Before the war, Nick asked the drunk Michael to take him back to his hometown anyway (which also set the stage for the ending), and in the end Nick, who had collapsed, spat on Michael who brought him home.
In addition, the film has two metaphors, one of which is the revolver roulette, which is a miniature of the fear and devastation brought by war to ordinary people. It can be seen that michael and nick reacted to this kind of gun pointing in the head after the war, exactly the same! Because this is a disrespect for life, an insult to those who have experienced war, and a trampling on the fear and sacrifice these people have suffered in the war! It's a pity that the trajectories of the two are worlds apart.
Another metaphor is deer hunting. I think this metaphor is the life of ordinary people. Michael hunted a stag with magical marksmanship before going to Vietnam, and after returning from Vietnam, he let go of the stag under extremely easy conditions, which means that he can't let himself go back to the familiar life. And the okay in the echo is to vent Michael's dissatisfaction with this status quo.
one shot! This "only one shot" is reflected in these two metaphors. Either way, you only have one chance, "I try to tell people that, they don't listen."
The plot arrangement is very interesting. Before Vietnam, the arrangement was wedding and deer hunting, but after Vietnam, the order became deer hunting and funeral. In addition to the different things, a lot of things have changed. The wedding was a warm, Russian song and dance (all characters in the play should be of Russian origin) and after the funeral it was a mournful God Bless America. This change may be the greatest asset the Vietnam War brought to this country - unity!
We have not experienced war, and we may not be able to understand what the film really wants to express, but what is certain is that this is a war seen from the perspective of ordinary people, and has nothing to do with politics.
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