Review of Path to War (2003) by David R — 23 Nov 2015
It's hard to make a drama-free movie about Johnson's war in Vietnam, but this film comes close. We never see what converts McNamara from hawk to skeptic. There is the occasional mention of "the poor", but we don't feel LBJ's frustration at having to sacrifice The Great Society for a war he didn't start.
There is no mention of public protests until the film enters its third hour. We don't see any of the horrors that turned the American public against the war. And the realization that the "kill counts" are not an accurate way to tell who's winning the war is played as a military math error.
Most confusing of all, the film ends with LBJ announcing he won't seek a second term as dramatic, triumphant music swells in the background. What are we supposed to be cheering? LBJ's realization that Bobby Kennedy would beat him in the primaries? That -- as the closing titles tell us -- the war wouldn't end until 58,000 Americans and two million (!) Vietnamese were dead? The history of this period is the stuff of Greek tragedy; it's a shame this film failed to capture more than a touch of that.
This review of Path to War (2003) was written by David R on 23 Nov 2015.
Path to War has generally received positive reviews.
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