Hi, Mom! 4K 1970

Continuing the storyline from *Greetings*, De Niro’s character returns from Vietnam to a bustling, tumultuous New York City and almost immediately tries to break into the film industry. Starting with low-budget voyeuristic porn films, the character gradually navigates some of the turbulent phases of early 1970s America: the rise of sexual liberation and the struggle for Black civil rights. Gradually, this leads the protagonist to an “outburst” of the anger pent up inside him, which ultimately brings about the result he desires: after making it onto television, he sends a greeting to his mother.

De Palma, as in his first film, presents the protagonist’s adventures through the prism of seemingly illogical, and at times absurd, moments tied to the social issues that were intensifying at the time, so throughout the film we are forced to watch drawn-out moments of life from that era, whether it be five-minute peeks or a protracted “live” performance in which Black people attempt to equate a group of “white” people with themselves through a reality show. On the one hand, this allows us to delve deeper into the film’s bizarre atmosphere; on the other, it makes us yawn.

The film’s greatest asset is the performance of the then-little-known young Robert De Niro, who, like us, is swept up in these events. Interestingly, at first we don’t understand the protagonist’s motives or goals, and his actions generally resemble disjointed rambling and absurdity, while by the end we see a completely lost protagonist who, under the weight of everything happening, finally unleashes the rage that has built up inside him. Whether this is caused by the “post-Vietnam syndrome” that has intensified within the protagonist, or whether he was simply so eager to get on screen, whatever the case may be, the calm De Niro, with a smile on his face, impassively greets his mother on the news. It is both touching and surprising.

'Hi, Mom!‘—a second excursion into America’s turbulent era, this time with a no less absurd undertone and already greater significance than 'Greetings.’ If only it weren’t so drawn out.