Birdy is a 1984 American drama film based on William Whartons 1978 novel of the same name. Directed by Alan Parker, it stars Matthew Modine and Nicolas Cage. Set in 1960s Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the film focuses on the friendship between two teenage boys, Birdy (Modine) and Al Columbato (Cage). The story is presented in flashbacks, with a frame narrative depicting their traumatic experiences upon serving in the Vietnam War.
Plot:
In a 1960s working-class neighborhood in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a teenage boy nicknamed Birdy befriends his next-door neighbor Al Columbato, and relates to his fascination with birds and their ability to fly. The two begin pursuing Birdys hobby of catching pigeons and caging them in a large, wooden aviary that he has built outside his parents home.
One night, the teenagers climb atop a refinery building, where Birdy hangs on the ledge to catch the pigeons roosting on it. Birdy loses his grip and falls several stories, but he lands on a pile of sand. Slightly dazed, he tells Al that during the fall, he flew. After Birdy is hospitalized for minor injuries, his parents dismantle the aviary.
Birdy concedes to Als wishes of pursuing another venture. After they purchase and restore a 1953 Ford automobile, Als father registers the vehicle. Al drives Birdy to an Atlantic City boardwalk, but they are arrested the next day after Mr. Columbato reports the car stolen. After bailing the boys out of jail, Mr. Columbato sells the vehicle. Birdy later confronts him, claiming that the car was not his to sell. Mr. Columbato offers Birdy a sum of money, which Birdy refuses in principle.
Birdy builds a new aviary in his bedroom and purchases two canaries. He names the female Perta and the male Alfonso (after his friend). Upon returning to school, Birdy encounters a classmate, Doris Robinson, and Al encourages him to ask her out on a date. At the prom, Birdy dances unenthusiastically with Doris, leaving her confused and humiliated. Afterwards, Doris drives him to a secluded spot, where Birdy lightly rejects her sexual advances. Birdy returns home to his bedroom and lies down naked in the aviary. In a semi-conscious state, he expresses that he wants to die and be born again as a bird. He then imagines himself flying like a bird around his room, throughout the house and outside in the neighborhood.
Upon graduation, Al enlists and Birdy is drafted into the United States Army. During the Vietnam War, Birdy is placed in a mental hospital after being missing in action for a month. A flashback reveals that he was the sole survivor of a helicopter crash. Al is hospitalized in the same facility. His face is heavily bandaged for injuries that he sustained from an exploding bomb. Major Weiss, a military doctor, informs Al that, although Birdys injuries are relatively minor, Birdy has not spoken since he was found. Al speaks to Birdy at length, but Al grows increasingly frustrated by his lack of response. He is then elated when Birdy smiles at a joke he makes. Weiss dismisses the response as dissociative behavior.
Al suspects Birdy of feigning insanity to hide from the world, and he expresses to Birdy that he too wishes to hide due to his own injuries. Birdy unexpectedly responds by telling Al that he is full of shit. Al alerts Weiss to Birdys response, but when the doctor arrives, Birdy remains silent. Not seeing any progress, Weiss orders Al to leave, but Al pushes the doctor aside. After Weiss flees, two orderlies are sent in to subdue Al, who fights them and takes Birdy to the roof of the hospital. Birdy rushes to the ledge, raises his arms and jumps off the side of the roof as if he were about to fly. Thinking Birdy has plunged to severe injury, Al runs over to the ledge but finds Birdy on another level of the roof, perfectly fine. Birdy looks up at Al and says, What?
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