Local Hero (1983)

One of the wrost movies I have ever seen

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

A Surprisingly Unforgettable Movie!

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Local Hero is a watchable, but fairly mediocre drama that doesn't try to be anything.I didn't dislike it, it just doesn't really go anywhere. The comedy is also too sparse to be labelled such. Lancaster isn't in much of the film and Riegert was a pretty weak lead in my opinion. I Couldn't understand what the Victor character who came late in the film was saying most of the time, needed subtitles. I would of liked them to explore more of the Marina/Oldsen pairing, could of been something there.

This movie ranks as No.37 on the BFI Top 100, and that is what probably led me to watch it. I'm happy I did!When a Texas oil company decides to establish a refinery in Scotland, the company head, Felix Happer (Burt Lancaster) sends one of his Scotsman, Mac (Peter Riegert), there to buy the land from the locals. 'Mac' accepts the job even though he would rather just enjoy his life in Houston. Part of Happer's instructions to Mac is to watch the skies over Scotland for comet activity in the constellation Virgo since Happer's real bliss is astronomy--and having a comet named after him. After arriving in the Scottish village to make the deal, Mac is told by the town's jack-of-all-trades official that he would have to check it out with the locals.While waiting for the results, Mac takes in the local color and evolves from a stuffy executive to a guy in touch with the locals. But, while he waits for 'the town' to make its decision, he is unaware that everyone there is dreaming of leaving the village and getting rich from the Americans. The important lone holdout is an old beach comber, Ben Knox (Fulton Mackay), who owns an important part of the needed land. When negotiations with Knox fail, Happer comes to Scotland to push the deal forward, with unusual results. This is a gem in which the viewer is taken for a fun roller-coaster ride. While watching it, I was reminded of other pretty good British comedies with similar plots, later movies like: Waking Ned Devine (1998) and The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain (1995).

I may watch this film again and again and all the time it is like going home and be with friends.One of my favourite films, and music is perfect. Love it.Only one thing was very surprising for me....sea lions in Scotland....It will leave you with a big smile on your face.Amazing film.Everything I love about Scotland is in this film.All the characters are very real and you just want meeting them again and again.And beautiful nature of Arisaig and Morar ...you go there and you see itall is real.

In the course of human civilization, it has been keenly observed that the activities of buying and selling are not as simple as one expects them to be. This is due to the fact that in any financial transaction, apart from the exchange of cash and properties, human emotions are also involved. Keeping in mind this aspect of financial transactions, Scottish director Bill Forsyth directed "Local Hero", a film where more than buying and selling of goods, a precious exchange of human emotions take place in abundance. 'Local Hero' oscillates between comedy and drama as it contains elements of both genres. There is a lot for both critics as well as viewers to learn from an American's visit to a Scottish fishing village in order to negotiate the sale of land which would be used to construct an oil rig. One gets to watch how an ordinary American man becomes completely besotted with the simplicity of a Scottish village to such a large extent that he expresses his desire to swap his American existence for a much quieter stay in the fishing village. Director Bill Forsyth is a keen watcher of human foibles which he has succinctly shown in his film. One watches bemusedly how two lonely men feel the need of female companionship. Apart from ubiquitous concern for environment and nature, there is empathy towards animals too. In a moving scene there is string indignation when the American discovers that he has been made to eat his pet rabbit as food. Local Hero has celebrated more than 30 years of existence. It would be remembered by future generations as a film about local people who are neither hostile nor overtly nice. This is something which works in this film's favor as more than a single 'local hero', there are numerous 'local heroes' who care for their surroundings.