Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision

it was not the best documentary of the year. That honor should go to "Hoop Dreams." I don't understand how this amazing film could be so neglected by the Academy.

It is so hard to separate the impact of the Viet Nam War Memorial from the tale behind its conception and execution. The memorial itself is so incredibly moving you can only react with incredulity when reminded how much opposition there was to its message and to its author.

People who revel in divisiveness (like Pat Buchanan) are featured among the opposition to this memorial partly on aesthetic and partially on racial grounds (Maya Lin is of Asian, i.e. "gook" heritage, don't you know!).

Her journey is well documented from her original entry into the contest (as part of a self-designed course on funereal architecture at Yale) to her part in the public debate.

Various historical clips are presented along with current analysis by many of the key players in this effort.

Secondary to the memorial itself as a "must see" this movie deserves serious consideration both as a historical documentary and a well-made movie in its own right. Freida Lee Mock's works have impact, are relevant and resonate so well with those who have lived, or want to know more about, the history of the United States in these particular turbulent times.

This documentary film won the Academy Award for this category and because of that I decided to give it a look. It's a film about the career of Maya Lin starting with her design for the Vietnam War Memorial in DC through the mid-1990s. I wish it talked more about her earlier life and I'd love to know what she'd doing today, as the film came out a decade and a half ago.

As for the big design that catapulted her to national attention, this took up almost half of the film and was quite interesting. I learned two interesting things (among others)—that she created this winning design while a student in college and that there was at least initially a lot of dissension about its merits. As I was only a teen at that time, I really didn't notice either---I just remember the profound impact the memorial had on many people once it was completed. The rest of the film concerns some of her other projects—such as a memorial to slain civil rights workers as well as a weird glass project that looks reminiscent of a Japanese rock garden. Much of it consists of Ms. Lin discussing the creative process and her thinking behind her award-winning work.

Although this documentary was a bit dry, it was interesting and well-made. For lovers of documentaries, it's worth seeing—if a bit incomplete. For others, though, documentaries are often not very popular films and I doubt many will ever see this even with its Oscar—which is a shame, as it's well worth a look.

I sat down with this film knowing that Maya Lin was the creative force behind the Vietnam Memorial in Washington DC. What Freida Lee Mock's brilliant documentary shows is how difficult it was for her design to become reality. Not only did she compete with over 1,400 other entrants, but opposition to her idea, once selected, was stong and sometimes intentionally cruel.

The film follows Maya throughout her career. Other creations include the Civil Rights Monument in Montgomery, Alabama and a tribute to the women who have attended Yale University. The winner for Best Documentary Feature in 1995, Freida Lee Mock deserves praise for letting Maya and her art speak for themselves. Simply witness the emotional responses of the memorials' visitors, and you'll begin to understand what a treasure Maya is. A wonderful film!

Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision (1994)

*** (out of 4)

Good documentary on architect Maya Lin who at the age of twenty had her work selected to become the Vietnam Memorial. Throughout the documentary we see her original concept and the controversy that followed because many vets thought it was going to be an insult to them and there were many people who objected because of her Asian race. Years later we see the work in progress of the Civil Rights memorial where we watch Lin as she tries to come up with a new design and make sure her vision gets across. MAYA LIN: A STRONG CLEAR VISION won the Best Documentary Oscar and while it's not a masterpiece it's at least very entertaining and it really gives one a great look at all the issues that went into the Vietnam memorial. I thought the documentary really did a very good job at showing the entire process that went from selecting the person to do the memorial and then we get into the controversy that followed. I liked the fact that the documentary didn't just show the good stuff but instead showed the controversial aspects of the work and call out some of the people who said some questionable things about the creator not because of a lack of talent but because she was a woman, young and Asian. Through archival footage we get to see a lot of this back and forth heat and it really makes you see how questionable a lot of it was. The Civil Rights stuff doesn't take up too much time but it's respectfully done and it's nice having Lin talk about the creation. We also get a brief bio on Lin, which gives some good information. With all of that said, the strongest moment of the film happens when we get to see various Vietnam vets reactions to the monument.