milenamvdr I may watch this film again and again and all the time it is like going home and be with friends.One of my favourite films, and music is perfect. Love it.Only one thing was very surprising for me....sea lions in Scotland....It will leave you with a big smile on your face.Amazing film.Everything I love about Scotland is in this film.All the characters are very real and you just want meeting them again and again.And beautiful nature of Arisaig and Morar ...you go there and you see itall is real.

SimonJack This laid-back comedy takes a company executive from the fast lane in the oil capital of Houston, to the wilds of the north Scotland coast. "Local Hero" is a sort of tale of redemption or rediscovery of the important things in life. Peter Riegert is MacIntyre and Peter Capaldi is Oldsen. They are the two Knox oil company advance men. Mac is ordered to Scotland from his job in Houston, and he meets Oldsen in Edinburgh. Burt Lancaster is Felix Happer, the company owner and boss. His character is the epitome of power and wealth where he lives almost in seclusion – at least from the working class of his company. But in his penthouse office and home, Happer has the latest technology to pursue his fascination with astronomy. His ceiling is a planetarium. He has a visiting psychologist who seems to be a neurotic in his own right. He has a problem that we don't ever have explained. While powerful and wealthy, he doesn't live the high life. His passion and interest, aside from the occasional hand in operating his company, is the heavens. So, when he send Mac to Scotland to acquire an entire community and bay for Knox Oil to develop a huge oil drilling and refining project, he tells Mac to watch the sky and to report directly to him on what he sees. The story then settles in on the small community on the north end of Scotland. Several local characters are played superbly by a supporting cast, many of whom have sizable roles. Denis Lawson is Urquhart, the local hotel and tavern operator, public accountant, and acknowledged spokesman for the town. Jennifer Black plays Urquhart's wife or mistress (and owner of the hotel and tavern). Fulton Mackay is Ben, the permanent beachcomber and owner of the beach. Numerous other characters add color and fun to the scene. Warner Brothers filmed "Local Hero" in more than two dozen locales in Scotland. The scenic shots are fantastic. And some of the shots with the Aurora Borealis (real or special effects) and night sky shots are very good. The locals hope to get rich off their land, but if the project doesn't go through they'll be just fine continuing in their laid-back, but honest working lifestyle. One of the main fishing catches in the village is lobster. Mac asks one of the fishermen if they ate them. "Too expensive," he replied. He says they get shipped out where folks in the fine restaurants of Edinburgh and London have them for dinner. The local town has a couple of quirky characters as well. This quirky and easy going comedy gives a nice little slice of what life can be like in small communities away from the big cities. And how much one can enjoy such life out of the fast lane.

FilmCriticLalitRao In the course of human civilization, it has been keenly observed that the activities of buying and selling are not as simple as one expects them to be. This is due to the fact that in any financial transaction, apart from the exchange of cash and properties, human emotions are also involved. Keeping in mind this aspect of financial transactions, Scottish director Bill Forsyth directed "Local Hero", a film where more than buying and selling of goods, a precious exchange of human emotions take place in abundance. 'Local Hero' oscillates between comedy and drama as it contains elements of both genres. There is a lot for both critics as well as viewers to learn from an American's visit to a Scottish fishing village in order to negotiate the sale of land which would be used to construct an oil rig. One gets to watch how an ordinary American man becomes completely besotted with the simplicity of a Scottish village to such a large extent that he expresses his desire to swap his American existence for a much quieter stay in the fishing village. Director Bill Forsyth is a keen watcher of human foibles which he has succinctly shown in his film. One watches bemusedly how two lonely men feel the need of female companionship. Apart from ubiquitous concern for environment and nature, there is empathy towards animals too. In a moving scene there is string indignation when the American discovers that he has been made to eat his pet rabbit as food. Local Hero has celebrated more than 30 years of existence. It would be remembered by future generations as a film about local people who are neither hostile nor overtly nice. This is something which works in this film's favor as more than a single 'local hero', there are numerous 'local heroes' who care for their surroundings.

SnoopyStyle Oil billionaire Happer (Burt Lancaster) sends "Mac" MacIntyre (Peter Riegert) from Houston to remote Scotish village Ferness to secure a bay to build a terminal for the North Atlantic oil fields. His family is not actually Scotish and he'd rather do the deal through fax. Once there, local rep Danny Oldsen (Peter Capaldi) teams up with him. They meet marine biologist Marina (Jenny Seagrove) and Danny falls for her. The locals led by Gordon Urquhart (Denis Lawson) team up to negotiate a deal as Mac tries to adjust to the town. Then Gordon discovers that beachcomber Ben Knox (Fulton Mackay) actually owns the beach that is integral to the deal.It's a quirky little quiet Brit indie. My major problem is Peter Riegert. He's a great character actor but he can't really pull off a lead. It's also odd that he's not the one with the romance. Meanwhile Burt Lancaster is back in Houston for most of the movie. I think it would be interesting to have him in the town much more. This has a cast of slightly off characters but they aren't so quirky as to be funny. I just find the movie to be a slow moving bore with characters that I don't connect with. Everything is done with such a light touch that nothing is really ever intense.