April 14, 2008

Dear America: Letters From Vietnam DVD Review (5/5) - Jeremiah

Well, it was inevitable, and here it is: Three Geeks' first documentary review. A documentary that will move even the most heartless of men to tears... several times. I say this because I broke down in to a mumbling tear-machine at several instances throughout this masterful slice of sheer, chaotic humanity.

Bill Couturie sifted through 2 million feet, which averages out to about roughly about 926 hours, of news-reel tape. He was able to persuade the Pentagon to declassify previously classified battle footage. In some cases, he was even able to match-up letters to footage or photographs of the actual soliders who wrote them.

This was a serious and incredibly noble undertaking.

The letters are read by actors, some famous, others slightly less so. It is to their credit that they are only mentioned once, in the beginning, and never again. Some of them, like Michael J. Fox, are easily sussed out, but they are not out to out-perform each other or to solidify an ensemble cast. They are simply giving as truthful a reading as one could give to a letter a solider had written to their parents, siblings or friends.

The letters start out positive, with solders excited to help fight for their country and its cause. But, by the end, the letters grow angry -- with the war, the military, the soldiers themselves and with life. There are moments where we see soldiers taking what looks to be their last breath. We never see anyone die, but we see them when they are mere seconds from it, and it's heart-wrenching.

Yet, I do not wish to give the impression that all the tears are sad ones. There are moments of shenanigans and all-around, pure joy. For instance when you get to Nixon pulling troops out of Vietnam we see footage of one battalion listening to their radio for their name to be called amongst the list. Let me tell you, dear reader, that it is one of the most truthful, honest and joyous moments on film when their battalion is announced.

"Dear America" is a glaring look, not at the politics of the day, for there are still some today who support the war even to the end, but rather at the hell of war itself. About how even the people who supported it, wish it to end, simply so the nightmare would be over. This is one of the best documentaries, hell, best movies I have ever seen. It's hard to accurately review this movie in my usual 600 word way. It left an indelible impression upon not only my conscious, but my sub-conscious as well. It is not a movie, it is what few films rarely are, what a precious few actual movies accidentally become: a lasting visceral experience.

5 out of 5

Yours Until Hell Freezes Over,
Jeremiah

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Documentaries?! You know these things are based on real life, right? UGH. Hurry up and watch 'Before the Devil Knows You're Dead"!