Local hero

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by thematinggame, Dec 7, 2019.

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  1. thematinggame

    thematinggame Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Germany
    No idea if this British film from 1983 is known in the US (apart from its quite famous soundtrack by Mark Knopfler) .
    Watched it for the second time (after twenty years or so) last night and, though quite dated, really enjoyed it .
    My question might sound silly, but I would like to know why the film is called "Local hero" ?
    - the storyline of the film doesn't really provide a clue - at least not to (clueless) me - any ideas ?

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    Last edited: Dec 7, 2019
    Carl LaFong, g.z., Andy Smith and 3 others like this.
  2. DetroitDoomsayer

    DetroitDoomsayer Forum Middle Child

    Location:
    Detroit, Michigan
  3. EdgardV

    EdgardV ®

    Location:
    USA
    Great question.

    Its been quite some time since I watched it. Absolutely love the film (and soundtrack). BTW, I believe a lot of people don't "get" the film because the humor is not forced down your throat, but it is subtle — which is one of the reasons that I like it so.


    The film contrasts the big city life versus the quaint, tranquility of the small Scottish town. While it presents both similarities and stark differences, I believe that the final message is that this little town is far too special and valuable to lose (as much as most of the town folk would like the money).

    As I recall, the old man who lives in a shack on the beach, actually owns an important part of land that needs to be aquired to accomplish the development for Knox Oil. However, he doesn't want to sell. He likes his life and the town just as it is. He has no need for money.

    After a long and presumably philosophical discussion between the old man and the head of Knox Oil, (Felix Happer, portrayed by Burt Lancaster), Happer decides the town would be the wrong location for the development.

    So I'm guessing that Ben, the old man on the beach, is the “local hero,” since he puts up the resistance and doesn't cave to the almighty dollar; as well as persuading Happer that it would be a bad idea. Ben saves the special little town, (in spite of the wishes of the rest of the town's people). Ben saved a way of life, that is more valuable than money or progress.

    Just a guess.

    Thoughts?
     
  4. thematinggame

    thematinggame Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Germany
    Was also my guess, although he plays a rather minor role in the film to be thus upgraded as eponymous hero , but perhaps this is part of the understatement and charm of the film

    P.S.
    only a few weeks ago I watched Gregory's Girl for the first time , and only just learned that it was also directed by Bill Forsyth - for those who know(and like) Local Hero but not GG I,d highly recommend it

    [​IMG]
     
  5. stepeanut

    stepeanut The gloves are off

    There are a few red herrings amongst the characters, but the true local hero is Ben Knox, played by Fulton Mackay, who puts self-interest aside and does the right thing for the community and for nature. He refuses to sell out and, instead, shows integrity. I know that’s a rare thing in this money-grabbing world, but surely it can’t be that difficult to understand?
     
  6. BrokenByAudio

    BrokenByAudio Forum Resident

    I'm a big fan of that film as well and your question is perfectly appropriate!

    When trying to do interpretive work in the creative arts I think we sometimes have be careful of how literally we take a word, or words. Or perhaps sometimes we need to expand on the definition of a word. (And just by way of full disclosure, I have an undergraduate degree in English--something that can work both for and against me here!)

    So here we have a title that has two words in it. Local, and Hero. One way to respond to "local" is to think that it applies to someone who lives in the Scottish seaside village that is the center of the pending plot issue. Who might that be? The only obvious candidate is the guy who lives in the shack on the beach who the Burt Lancaster character (corporate bigwig, or CBW) goes to visit. What makes him "a hero" is that once CBW visits him CBW decides to toss the entire moneymaking scheme he'd dreamt up by way of making a gazillion dollars by sacrificing the traditional seaside village. But to accept that explanation requires the fact that that guy on the beach would have had to play a much more prominent role in the larger film, which he doesn't.

    We might say that the CBW himself is the "local" hero despite the fact that he's hardly local (coming as he does from where? Houston was it? Some big Texas city). But you might argue that he becomes a "hero to the locals" because he doesn't follow through on his plans. I don't think that washes particularly because nobody in the village is celebrating him as much as they're just thankful that he's not destroying the place. (If Attila the Hun doesn't come to rape and pillage in your town do you refer to him as a hero?)

    So what about the two advance guys that CBW sends to Scotland--the characters around whom the majority of the story centers? Well, aside from the plural... So, what if we stop thinking of "local" in geographic terms? What if "local" is a way of thinking within oneself, a kind of "interiority"? Maybe we're getting somewhere here. In the case of each of the three corporate guys, the two advance guys and the CBW, they have a preconditioned sort of approach to life, right? Money, cars, status, etc. The seaside village in Scotland is at the outset just another part of the moneymaking game and they are going to sacrifice that. But something happens to each of them when they get to Scotland and spend some time there seeing the sights, meeting the villagers (the real locals!). The village (the locality) and the villagers (the locals) have this transformational effect on each of them. I don't want to pass too much by way of judgment but they become better people in the process. They have their minds opened-- they allow themselves to be transformed.

    So, one way we might interpret the title is by embracing the idea that we as individuals (the ultimate "localness" :)) can be "heroes" unto ourselves. By remaining connected, by seeing another viewpoint, by taking time to look at nature, by appreciating the beauty that is life itself we can be heroic. So perhaps the title is simply suggesting that there isn't a particular character in the film who is the hero?

    I never gave a lot of thought to it until now, so thanks!
     
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  7. thematinggame

    thematinggame Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Germany
    You are welcome and I really appreciate your thoughts and speculations, which all seem valid and well-considered and they seem to confirm there is no definite answer to my question .
    I don't agree that it as straightforward as stepeanut has pointed out , because , as you said , there is nothing heroic in what the old guy does , neither is he aware of what his refusal to sell the beach, means , nor do the locals celebrate it as a heroic act - they just take his decision as it is and neither seem to approve nor disapprove of it .
    On the other hand , I can't really imagine that writer and director Bill Forsyth put too much thought in choosing a title for his film (I feel tempted to contact him and ask) , usually film titles are short , catchy , decsriptive , but rarely ambivalent and open to interpretation so eventually it might be as straightforward as stepeanut suggested - whatever the correct answer is, it is the first time that a film title has struck me as odd and rather curious ...
     
  8. Floyd Crazy

    Floyd Crazy Senior Member

    Been listening to Mark Knopfler's great
    Score a lot lately both original CD and remastered reissue CD.
    Wonderful Movie I think old Ben Knox the real hero in this film. Nice post, Floyd.
     
  9. BrokenByAudio

    BrokenByAudio Forum Resident


    Yeah I had forgot about the fact that the rest of the village's people were pretty much all in on the idea of taking the money and running, regardless of the loss of their long established way of life. In that context it becomes easier to accept that the old guy on the beach is a/the local hero. What's a little dissonant about that is that the villagers don't really know, or appreciate that (as the OP pointed out: "nor do the locals celebrate it as a heroic act - they just take his decision as it is and neither seem to approve nor disapprove of it"). So on one hand the old guy has saved them from themselves but they don't view him, particularly, as some sort of "hero". Quite the opposite it might be.

    So at the very least there is a bit of irony in the title.
     
  10. DigMyGroove

    DigMyGroove Forum Resident

    The film is based on a novel, so giving that a read might shed further light on the title. That said I think any of the thoughts expressed here on the thread are quite on target.

    This film has been a favorite since I first saw it upon release. I managed to find the beach when visiting Scotland back in 1984, a lovely spot across from the Isle of Skye.
     
  11. EdgardV

    EdgardV ®

    Location:
    USA
    Yes, I would think that Ben was not a hero to the town's people at the time; (but as you point out perhaps they would realize it in the future), but he was a hero more so to Scotland, and to the movie audience and mankind in general, for preserving a way of life.

    Professionally, Peter Regert's character wanted to get the deal done. But personally, he fell in love with the town, and didn't want to leave. Since he is the primary character, the audience views the film through him, and we don't want that town to be destroyed. So Ben is a hero to us, the audience.
     
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  12. vamborules

    vamborules Forum Resident

    Location:
    CT
    I don't know what the title means but it's a beautiful movie. One of my all time favorites.
     
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  13. thxdave

    thxdave "One black, one white, one blonde"

    I've loved the movie since it came out.
    "Be careful....Ricky's on the road tonight"
     
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  14. John B Good

    John B Good Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    NS, Canada
    Rewatched it recently, and it brought up conversation about Trump's golf courses.
     
  15. Scott222C

    Scott222C Loner, Rebel & Family Man

    Location:
    here
    What about golf courses built by other people ? Obama likes to play golf a lot , no ? :rolleyes:
     
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  16. Scott222C

    Scott222C Loner, Rebel & Family Man

    Location:
    here
    And what about democracy ? Shouldn't a majority of the villagers decide how to proceed in such an important matter for the future and the young people in the village ?

    Imagine the uproar here if an old dude decides there need to be no new Beatles remasters, the old records should just be the way their music shall be remembered ...... :laugh:
     
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  17. Andy Smith

    Andy Smith .....Like a good pinch of snuff......

    My favourite film - ever. That and ‘Restless Natives’ are the finest films of that era. That they happen to be British is a bonus.
    The Yank became a local hero to the villagers due to the prosperity he’d bring. That was my take anyway.
     
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  18. Andy Smith

    Andy Smith .....Like a good pinch of snuff......

    My son had a holiday up there with friends some years back. They tried to get to as many of the filming locations as possible. They had a marvellous time.
     
  19. John54

    John54 Senior Member

    Location:
    Burlington, ON
    I've rarely gone to the movies in adulthood but 1984 was a year in which I saw a whole seven (7!) and Local Hero was the first one (a friend cajoled me into going with him). It is an enjoyable movie, and the soundtrack helps in that department. I don't have the soundtrack but I have Cal instead, which is also Mark Knopfler ...
     
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  20. Carl LaFong

    Carl LaFong Forum Resident

    Location:
    Georgia
    Are you sure about Local Hero being based on a novel? I ask that because Bill Forsyth did receive a BAFTA nomination for best original screenplay. I believe he has said that his story was inspired in part by Brigadoon, Whisky Galore, and I Know Where I'm Going.

    It's one of my favorite films too. Every time I watch it, it feels like I'm seeing it for the first time. Magical. Wonderful score by Mark Knopfler too.
     
    Chris DeVoe likes this.
  21. DigMyGroove

    DigMyGroove Forum Resident

    Right you are, it’s a novelization!
     
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  22. tdcrjeff

    tdcrjeff Senior Member

    Location:
    Hermosa Beach, CA
    I'm not exactly providing a glowing endorsement, but "That Sinking Feeling" is another Bill Forsyth film (his feature debut a year earlier). Also set in Glasgow, very quirky, and featuring some of the same actors used in Gregory's Girl.
     
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  23. Ro-Go

    Ro-Go Forum Resident

    Location:
    Hudson Valley
    Oh man this forum is awesome. My good buddy references it all the time, mostly for the Knopfler score...but says it is great. I have to watch it.
     
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  24. stepeanut

    stepeanut The gloves are off

    Gregory’s Girl was filmed in Cumbernauld, not Glasgow.
     
  25. adm62

    adm62 Senior Member

    Location:
    Ottawa, Canada
    There was a documentary about Trump trying to open a golf course in Aberdeenshire in Scotland. It required houses to be demolished, land flattened, roads built etc. Some of the locals were against it in a way that completely echoed Local Hero.
     
    budwhite likes this.
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