Southern Comfort is a 1981 action-thriller film directed by Walter Hill and starring Keith Carradine, Powers Boothe, and Fred Ward. The film is set in the Louisiana bayou during the 1970s and tells the story of a group of National Guardsmen on a training exercise who become the targets of Cajun locals after stealing their canoes.
The main characters include Hardin (Carradine), Spencer (Boothe), Poole (Ward), and Stuckey (Franklyn Seales), among others. The Guards' initial mission is a weekend training exercise in the swamp, where they are armed with blanks and non-lethal ammunition. However, after their maps are destroyed by gunfire, they mistakenly paddle into a restricted area and steal canoes belonging to the local Cajuns.
The Cajuns, who are descendants of French settlers, are fiercely territorial and view the Guards' actions as an insult to their culture and way of life. As a result, the Guards are hunted, captured, and tortured by the locals, forcing them to fight for their lives and survival in a hostile and unfamiliar environment.
The film is a gritty and tense exploration of the fragility of human relationships, the dangers of cultural misunderstandings, and the horrors of war. It has been praised for its realistic portrayal of a soldier's experience, with many critics noting its similarities to the Vietnam War.
Southern Comfort was well-received upon its release and has since become a cult classic. It remains an important film in the action-thriller genre and is known for its tense atmosphere, strong performances, and nihilistic ending.