Review of Local Hero (1983) by Kenny H — 10 Mar 2010

Oil shill Peter Reigert heads to a minuscule town in Scotland to speak to the locals about selling their town to a large Texas conglomerate run by Burt Lancaster. That's the story, but it's arbitrary, as the locals are more than willing to sell.

Rather than focus - or hell, even bother much - with that, Local Hero prefers to follow its heroes as they explore a place they've never been. It's a gorgeous, charming travelogue with a narrative.

There are some embarrassing attempts at high-comedy gags (Lancaster's abusive therapist, for instance), but they are few and far between. It's one of those rare films that perfectly captures the awesome, often beautiful, disorientation that accompanies travel.