Review of Hearts & Minds (1995) by Ryan M — 27 Feb 2009

The film has a political heartbeat, yes, but its surface is unabashedly HUMAN. For nearly two hours I sat and was plowed over by this diverse collection of images and voices. Following a roughly linear chronology from Truman's espousal of the Cold War "containment" foreign policy strategy all the way up to pre-Watergate Nixon's declaration of the military actions in Cambodia & Laos a "great success," the film participates in a seriously moving dance between Vietnam-era supporters and dissenters, politicians and civilians, warmongers and freedom fighters, et al.

Davis' skill as a director is immense: he knows when to provoke, when to pacify, when to shock (holy god the shock), and when to edify the audience. The act of giving REAL Vietnamese -- both Southern and Northern -- a strong voice in this 1974 (stress on "1974") documentary is beautifully courageous and beautifully effective.

And of course, to use the 60's parlance, the "Hawks" get nearly as much screentime as the "Doves" here, as should be clear to anyone who sits through the chilling scenes with Westmoreland, the two whore-loving (literally) GI's, G.

T. Coker, et al. Make what you will of the politically-charged editing (I personally needed no more convincing that Vietnam was an immoral, totally misguided venture prior to seeing this film, so there's my bias if I have to confess it), but no human being, regardless of their stance on Vietnam, can look at a pile of coffins filled with children and not feel compelled to keep up a dialogue with this momentious period in our history, and, most importantly, to never forget it.