"Birdy" is a very strange film...one of the strangest ones I've ever seen. While it's not as strange as "Eraserhead", or "El Topo", it's awfully weird and will clearly NOT appeal to all viewers...or even most.

The story bounces back and forth though flashbacks. It seems that in high school, Al (Nicolas Cage) and Birdy (Matthew Modine) were very different but somehow became friends. Al liked girls and sports...and Birdy was just a misfit who cared about birds WAY too much. In fact, he was obsessed by them and their ability to fly...and over time it's obvious he wishes he could be one. In other words, Birdy just is not right!

Time passes and both young men are sent to Vietnam to fight. Al is badly injured and has naturally has a case of PTSD but Birdy's mental illness is more confusing. He was missing in action for a month and when he was discovered, he was practically comatose and unresponsive. Over time, Birdy has remained this way and out of desperation, the doctor in charge of Birdy's case at the hospital calls in Al to try to get through to him. And, much of the film consists of various flashbacks as either Al tells stories to Birdy about their youth or Birdy remembers his sick obsession about being a bird. Oddly, Al pretends to the doctor that Birdy was normal before the war...when you actually wonder if Birdy might have lost his mind even without the Vietnam War.

This is a film where I can respect what the actors did and tried to do but the film itself is just too bizarre and slow to be one I'd heartily recommend. I think there are some metaphors going on here in the story, but with my background as a mental health therapist, I just got stuck on the fact that Birdy was showing considerable signs of schizophrenia way before the war...and the experiences in Vietnam just pushed him over the edge.

Overall, a truly strange viewing experience....one for a very select audience. I give it a 4 mostly because of the excellent acting. The story itself...well, let's just say it's an acquired taste that I just couldn't acquire. I did, however, like the ending...another reason I decided to raise the score to 4.

Birdy (Matthew Modine) is the weirdo kid in a working class Philadelphia neighborhood. Al Columbato (Nicolas Cage) becomes his friend. Birdy introduces Al to his love of pigeons. They're both sent to Vietnam. Birdy returns in psychological distress after a month MIA. Al returns after suffering wounds to his face. Birdy's doctor finds Al to help in his treatment.

These are two great performances. Matthew Modine transforms physically and also mentally. Cage is the conduit between the audience and Birdy. He's not necessarily in the easier role at the least. They're both equally amazing. This isn't a movie about big plot developments. It's watching the obsessive Birdy going deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole.

Or , more exactly, the story in which I discovered Matthew Modine. a story about war and freedom and refuges and joy of life. precise, dark,hopeful in a special manner. because it is a story of friendship. and this detail gives force to a drama in which each scene seems be perfect. in which the symbols are important like each part of the past o Birdy. and this facts does the film a not ordinary story. but a parable. seductive, touching, impressive, like a spring wind in the morning. nothing not ordinary. only the performance of Nicholas Cage. and the last scene.