excuse me if this has been mentioned
WTF is with that guy with the rabbits in his trunk?
shareIf you listen closely to his gibberish, he says he went to Vietnam and was now "driving all over this country." The dude was obviously high on carbon monoxide fumes and had lost several brain cells from constant exposure. Now as I've mentioned in other posts, this scene is intended to be a light, comical way to quickly build the relationship between Thunderbolt and Lightfoot through a "shared experience".
There are several different scenes in the first half of the film that work to accomplish this bond between the two men (who are from different generations and walks of life). Whether it be running for their lives from Red & Goody, sharing apples and beer by a river or surviving the most bizarre hitch-hiking ride ever known, these scenes create a friendship that makes the ending all the more meaningful.
To some critics of this film, these shared experiences appear to be nothing more than a haphazard collection of random scenes that go nowhere. I say they're not looking deep enough at what's truly going on under the surface, which is the growing bond. It's well crafted writing by Michael Cimino as he shows his two (very different) main characters becoming best friends without telling you they are.
"I don't want your watch, man. I want your friendship!" - Lightfoot
Great post, I agree of course. All those scenes are justified by what happens at the end. The reaction to events.
The Spikeopath - Hospital Number 217
I really enjoyed that scene and the other bonding ones (and the cheesy 70s music). But yea, I did realize about 35 minutes in, nothing had actually advanced the plot from the time Eastwood and Bridges met.
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