Not One of the Fun Ones: This is an exhaustive look at the Vietnam War by Ken Burns, who has made some of my favorite documentaries. Prohibition, Baseball, the National Parks, and Jazz were all engrossing, full of well-crafted historical stories, and watchable. While I believe this is important as a historic resource, it was not entertainment for me.
Many, Many Hours of Depression: This is what I appreciate: raw truth. This is what why it took me forever to get through this: raw depressing truth with no lighter breaks. Even when dealing with a serious, sensitive subject, a person’s psyche needs a break. The Vietnam War had no lighter moments to discover, so this documentary dug in and dug farther in and just got sadder, more frustrating, and even though I really wanted to stay with it, I had to force myself to finish it.
Graphic Content: From start to finish there is historic graphic content, so be prepared. And this probably isn’t family time appropriate unless your kids are at least 16.
Comprehensive and Multi-faceted: There were things happening that I didn’t know about. I was surprised by some of the actions of the different governments involved. I didn’t know about the POW wives “union,” and I didn’t know about anything from the North Vietnamese perspective.
Still Interesting?: Absolutely. It was just hard.
What Are the Odds?: The next movie in my pile was Kong: Skull Island. For those that have yet to see that, it is set at the end of the Vietnam War. The interaction between the characters was politically charged, and I wonder how many people that saw Kong had any idea what the backstory was. And the soldiers were mostly way too lighthearted to have been in the actual war.
Final Thoughts: I never want to see it again. However, it could be used as a “textbook” on the Vietnam War. It misses nothing. History buffs will love it. People with empathy will be affected.
image credit: vanityfair.com
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