Southern Comfort

Southern Comfort (1981)

Runtime: 106 minutes

Directed by: Walter Hill

Starring: Keith Carradine, Powers Boothe, Fred Ward, Franklyn Seales, T.K. Carter

From: Cinema Group Ventures

I figured it was about time I saw this movie and reviewed it here. It's not my favorite Walter Hill movie, but it doesn't mean I didn't like it. I talk all about it below: 

During March, I won't always be watching foreign films; sometimes I'll see ones from America. I stumbled across this and I figured it was time to give this a whirl.

The plot doesn't sound too complex on the surface: in 1973 Louisiana, a group of people in the National Guard go out in the swamp for a routine training exercise... which quickly become out of the ordinary when they “borrow” something from a group of Cajuns and the Cajuns are very unhappy. As they have real guns and the part-time National Guard soldiers mostly has blanks and they can't get along with each other... it's a bad situation. It's not laissez les bon temps roulez for them, in other words.

The movie is not just watching the Cajuns on the hunt; it's seeing how our protagonists interact with each other and deal with this crises; needless to say some handle it rather badly and there's plenty of conflict. Thankfully the Cajuns aren't always on the attack; it builds suspense as you usually look around when you can (while the actors are emoting or are in a critical scene) to see if they are hiding in the background waiting to strike. While there are some uneven moments overall this is a compelling moment with some quality kills. A talented cast (such as Keith Carradine, Powers Boothe, Fred Ward, and others) is a nice asset, as is a great ending.

Thankfully, the movie does capture the feel of Creole country, the unique feeling and aesthetic of Cajun culture, and not just because it was filmed in Louisiana and Texas. From what people say here, it's actually an accurate look at how those people live and act... well, aside from them being murderers at a slight provocation. The music from Ry Cooder is note-perfect to nailing that aesthetic and there are moments where you hear some great Cajun and Creole music from some authentic artists. It does factor into the great ending. Whether or not it's a parable about the Vietnam War (the year it's set in, I do say that it is), it is a movie worth seeing.