10 War Films That Dealt With The Consequences

One of the cinematic greats from auteur sensation Martin Scorsese, his four-time Oscar-nominated 1976 film Taxi Driver is one that has been scrupulously analysed by critics, scholars, and fans alike for decades as we journey into the unhinged mindset of titular taxi driver Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) as he traverses the grimy night streets of New York.

Although this film doesn’t explicitly connect to the Vietnam War, we do know that Bickle has recently returned home after serving in the war himself. Likewise, while the screenplay (penned by Paul Schrader) doesn’t tackle themes of PTSD head-on, it doesn’t take much to argue that Bickle’s increasingly violent and unstable behaviour is a possible result of his time spent in combat.

Isolated from society with a disillusioned worldview, Travis makes it his personal mission to clean up the streets and protect two woman he becomes dangerously infatuated with by whatever measures he deems necessary – regardless of their morality. It’s these character traits that Travis shares with real-life soldiers who’ve witnessed atrocities that has led some analyses of the film to conclude the character embodies the isolation and trauma of PTSD sufferers.

It's Bickle's ambiguous character that's made him so fascinating for film fans.