Last Days in Vietnam (2014) Reviews

• A Terrible, Terrible Moral Dilemma

  soncoman2014-10-07

  From 1971 to 1975 I lived on the island of Puerto Rico. As my father was an employee of the Federal Government, my siblings and I attended school on a military base. I went to Antilles Middle School on Fort Buchanan from third to seventh grade. I remember two things most clearly from this time. First, our classrooms were WWII era barracks and secondly, every couple of months the entire school was sent down the hill to cheer on various military leaders who were coming in by chopper. On a couple of occasions, we were told that we were cheering for Army Chief of Staff William Westmoreland, the former Commander of US Military Operations in Vietnam. Viet Nam was something that I was aware of as a young boy, as I was a voracious reader of newspapers (because they were in English) and magazines. The only time I heard my father, a WWII and Korean conflict veteran, mention it was in the context of him moving his family to Canada if they drafted his sons. Not that any of us were anywhere near draft age, but it gives you a sense of the feeling that the war would never end. Certain images from the front pages of newspapers of that time are burned in my memory, including the image of the rooftop helicopter evacuation of Americans from Saigon. That evacuation is the focus of "Last Days in Vietnam", a new documentary by Rory Kennedy. With archival footage, newly released recordings and interviews with pilots, evacuees, and those left behind, Kennedy tells the gripping tale of the men who did their damnedest to uphold American honor and personal responsibility. This is the story of how they dealt with the "terrible, terrible moral dilemma" (as said by one of the interviewees) of deciding who to evacuate. Devoid of most of the politics of the day, Kennedy focuses on the men who, while not specifically given the responsibility for getting as many people out as they could, took it upon themselves to rescue those who faced certain death at the hands of the approaching North Vietnamese forces. The marines on the ground, the chopper pilots in the air, and the naval commanders at sea are all given their due for the incredible work that they did in evacuating approximately 170,000+ people in an amazingly short period of time. There are no villains in this film. Ambassador Graham Martin, the person responsible for ordering an evacuation, is treated fairly, as questions are raised and answered as to why an "official" evacuation had not begun earlier, and why thousands were left behind. Heroes are plentiful, from the American pilots who flew for 24 hours straight, to the South Vietnamese pilots who did whatever it took to rescue their families and friends. Most telling as to the emotional toll this event took on those involved is the overwhelming sense of regret and sorrow you get from interviews with US Marines responsible for Embassy security, and the images they witnessed as the last chopper departed Saigon – thousands of people left on the Embassy grounds that had been assured they would be rescued. The evacuation of Saigon is probably the least known component of the Vietnam War as it occurred two years after the Paris Peace Accords had been signed and the US had withdrawn all combat troops. It deserves to be better known and understood and the people involved appreciated, and this film goes a long way in recognizing the honor and bravery of those tasked with an impossible mission. It's a tribute to Kennedy's skill as a filmmaker that she manages to take a story to which we all know the end and writes a seemingly new, riveting chapter. While the Vietnam experience is often looked at as the nadir in American foreign policy and military engagement, "Last Days in Vietnam" shows us that, even at its lowest point, there were those who stood tall and went above and beyond the call of duty to uphold American honor and simple human dignity.

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• Riveting and Historical: Epitomizes the pain of war in conflict with the human morality

  advocacyforkids442014-04-16

  Rory Kennedy is a masterful story teller, and has combined that talent with historical accuracy in this engaging and truthful documentary. Having been a former AP reporter in Vietnam, I can verify that the US evacuation in 1975 is a little told story---a critical element of the war story, but often disregarded in the annuls of this war. But the evacuation is a catalyst for Ms. Kennedy to recreate the dynamics of how easy it is to get into war, but how difficult to get out. For Vietnam veterans, often not wanting to talk about their war experiences, Ms. Kennedy deftly interweaves the soldiers stories who were there, with an out of touch US ambassador who refused to believe that Saigon would ever be defeated, to a Congress that blocked any more funding to support a falling regime. But the soul of this story is how they all were morally and personally torn by leaving behind many of their Vietnamese counterparts who could not be evacuated in a very hasty and uncoordinated US departure. To add another original dimension, one of the US Kirk navy men had hours of 8mm footage of the evacuation that was uncovered in his attic and remastered by Ms. Kennedy for use on the documentary. One of our soldiers spoke for many of our troops when he said "that he sometimes even dreamed in Vietnamese." In one of the same, this may have been a small part of the war's history, but at the same time epitomized the entire war in 98 minutes of drama, skilled cinematography, stunning resolution and sound, and the riveting pain of war. As an educator and child advocate, I would urge that this be used as a resource in every social studies, history, and political science class rooms in the country.

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• Well made documentary, fascinating in its detail and storytelling

  samui-986-8704532014-09-13

  I sat in a small theater with people that were at least a generation older than me watching this documentary. I'm too young to remember Vietnam, was born in 1972. I am a Vietnam War history buff and have visited Vietnam on three separate occasions. This documentary was extremely well made and it includes some never seen before footage of the chaotic evacuation from Saigon. For an hour and a half I was glued to the movie screen. The story telling is excellent and it includes words from both the Americans and the South Vietnamese. Perhaps it would have been interesting to add a perspective from the North Vietnamese who were storming the city and why they allowed the helicopters to leave without challenging the evacuation. All and in all and excellent documentary and one that I enjoyed very much.

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• Heart Wrenching

  accountingman2014-11-01

  I was in college when the events of this documentary took place, and only remembered that there was a sort of scramble to do the final evacuations (memories mostly coming from the iconic photo on the roof, along with photos of people swarming the US Embassy). This film tells the whole story, and I sat in the interview really amazed at the way the story was told. It brought tears to my eyes in several parts. It is a reminder also of how the military of the USA was at a very low point in public opinion due to the Vietnam war, and the general feeling of the American public was that we were "done" over there and no more money ought to be spent on any sort of military activity. For that reason this film is a very important piece of military and political history. Very highly recommended.

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• Completely engrossing

  Leofwine_draca2015-07-16

  Some reviewers here have missed the point: in no way, shape, or form does Last Days in Vietnam purport to be a documentary covering the whole of the Vietnam War and the rights and wrongs behind it. That documentary would take hours to chronicle such events. Instead, this is a snapshot of a single situation, the airlifting to safety of many South Vietnamese people in the dying days of Saigon. Where Last Days in Vietnam excels is in the contemporary footage of the event. The entire film is made up of old news footage of crowds fleeing and the unfolding situation at the US embassy in Saigon. Talking head footage is cut in to humanise the story, and the documentary as a whole turns out to be thoroughly engrossing: it's gripping stuff, moving with it, in which the best and worst of human nature is brought to life. Every talking head character here has an interesting story to tell. The director, Rory Kennedy, is the daughter of none other than Robert Kennedy and although I wasn't familiar with her work previously I'll be looking out for her in future. Last Days in Vietnam is superlative stuff, and unmissable viewing for anyone with an interest in those ill-remembered times.

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