Clumsily updated from William Wharton's Depression-era novel to a post-Vietnam moral fable, Birdy is notable primarily for the astonishing point-of-view flight shots and the complementary overplaying of Nicolas Cage - now there's a surprise - as the buddy called in to try to rouse Matthew Modine's silent, traumatised war veteran.
In flashback, we see the pair's friendship develop through their childhood, but despite the film's heavily symbolic tone, little is revealed about either of the characters or indeed the Vietnam War.