Last Days in Vietnam

One of the most reviled wars in American history, in term of involvement, is explored through the eyes of sympathetic humanity toward its last days.

The war in region known as Vietnam stretched nearly thirty years – and in the Last Days in Vietnam, filmmakers show the chaotic and desperate final weeks before and after the fall of Saigon.

Nearing 1975 the war in Vietnam was supposed to be finished through the signing of the Paris Peace Accords. However, North Vietnam continued the offensive and in doing so, violated the treaty. Slowly descending toward the South Vietnam capital of Saigon, and with US troops withdrawing, the scramble for safety intensified. In the final weeks, American soldiers and diplomats stationed in the area are confronted with a moral predicament: obey direct orders from the Executive Branch to only evacuate US citizens and condemn their Southern Vietnamese allies to an unspeakable end OR ignore orders, risk treason, and save as many lives as they can.

As someone born close to fifteen years after the end of the Vietnam War, the severity and desperation of that time is but a lesson from a history book for me. I am too young to know about Vietnam extensively, and unfortunately the American public education system rarely catches up to near-current history.

The documentary, Last Days in Vietnam, lacks the minute details of a backstory in the opening of the film to catch uninformed viewers up to speed to fully comprehend the complete gravity of the situation during this time. Last Days in Vietnam pretty much wastes no time and jumps right in to the withdrawal of troops and consequential impacts upon the South Vietnamese. From then on it is a fast-paced and suspenseful account of the courageous and hopeless efforts to save civilians while expressing the genuine reverence US soldiers has and have for their allies, who the US government had no direct objective to rescue.

Last Days in Vietnam is heart felt and comprehensive, detailing the accounts of those final days and weeks through video, pictures and first-hand personal narratives. The simultaneous use of real chronicles with video and photography makes for a powerful and engaging experience for the viewer.

Though the film mentions in passing, the harsh reality and ultimate consequence of war, human lives, especially in the face of imminent conquering and defeat – it does not delve deeper. Nor does Last Days in Vietnam review those civilians who were unable to be rescued or had unresolved resentment toward the Americans for abandoning them. Without these key unexamined pieces, Last Days in Vietnam ends up feeling like an American propaganda documentary – informative but one-sided.

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From 1971 to 1975 I lived on the island of Puerto Rico. As my father was an employee of the Federal Government, my siblings and I attended school on a military base. I went to Antilles Middle School on Fort Buchanan from third to seventh grade. I remember two things most clearly from this time. First, our classrooms were WWII era barracks and secondly, every couple of months the entire school was sent down the hill to cheer on various military leaders who were coming in by chopper. On a couple of occasions, we were told that we were cheering for Army Chief of Staff William Westmoreland, the former Commander of US Military Operations in Vietnam. Viet Nam was something that I was aware of as a young boy, as I was a voracious reader of newspapers (because they were in English) and magazines. The only time I heard my father, a WWII and Korean conflict veteran, mention it was in the context of him moving his family to Canada if they drafted his sons. Not that any of us were anywhere near draft age, but it gives you a sense of the feeling that the war would never end. Certain images from the front pages of newspapers of that time are burned in my memory, including the image of the rooftop helicopter evacuation of Americans from Saigon. That evacuation is the focus of "Last Days in Vietnam", a new documentary by Rory Kennedy. With archival footage, newly released recordings and interviews with pilots, evacuees, and those left behind, Kennedy tells the gripping tale of the men who did their damnedest to uphold American honor and personal responsibility. This is the story of how they dealt with the "terrible, terrible moral dilemma" (as said by one of the interviewees) of deciding who to evacuate. Devoid of most of the politics of the day, Kennedy focuses on the men who, while not specifically given the responsibility for getting as many people out as they could, took it upon themselves to rescue those who faced certain death at the hands of the approaching North Vietnamese forces. The marines on the ground, the chopper pilots in the air, and the naval commanders at sea are all given their due for the incredible work that they did in evacuating approximately 170,000+ people in an amazingly short period of time. There are no villains in this film. Ambassador Graham Martin, the person responsible for ordering an evacuation, is treated fairly, as questions are raised and answered as to why an "official" evacuation had not begun earlier, and why thousands were left behind. Heroes are plentiful, from the American pilots who flew for 24 hours straight, to the South Vietnamese pilots who did whatever it took to rescue their families and friends. Most telling as to the emotional toll this event took on those involved is the overwhelming sense of regret and sorrow you get from interviews with US Marines responsible for Embassy security, and the images they witnessed as the last chopper departed Saigon – thousands of people left on the Embassy grounds that had been assured they would be rescued. The evacuation of Saigon is probably the least known component of the Vietnam War as it occurred two years after the Paris Peace Accords had been signed and the US had withdrawn all combat troops. It deserves to be better known and understood and the people involved appreciated, and this film goes a long way in recognizing the honor and bravery of those tasked with an impossible mission. It's a tribute to Kennedy's skill as a filmmaker that she manages to take a story to which we all know the end and writes a seemingly new, riveting chapter. While the Vietnam experience is often looked at as the nadir in American foreign policy and military engagement, "Last Days in Vietnam" shows us that, even at its lowest point, there were those who stood tall and went above and beyond the call of duty to uphold American honor and simple human dignity.

I sat in a small theater with people that were at least a generation older than me watching this documentary. I'm too young to remember Vietnam, was born in 1972. I am a Vietnam War history buff and have visited Vietnam on three separate occasions. This documentary was extremely well made and it includes some never seen before footage of the chaotic evacuation from Saigon. For an hour and a half I was glued to the movie screen. The story telling is excellent and it includes words from both the Americans and the South Vietnamese. Perhaps it would have been interesting to add a perspective from the North Vietnamese who were storming the city and why they allowed the helicopters to leave without challenging the evacuation. All and in all and excellent documentary and one that I enjoyed very much.

When an occupying army gives up, and retreats, the immediate consequences are always going to be worst for those of the indigenous population who collaborated with the outgoing forces. For years, the United States helped keep South Vietnam independent from the north; once the U.S. troops had departed, re-unification was inevitable and eventually, the remaining Americans evacuated themselves, taking with them just some of the Vietnamese who had worked or fought for them and who now faced an uncertain future under a communist regime. Indeed, with the North VIetnamese forces on the edges of Saigon, the only way the evacuation could be staged was by helicopter, leading to extraordinary scenes all captured on film, and re-lived in this documentary. Having gotten in this mess, it's hard to see what the U.S. government could have done differently; with hindsight, of course, the whole story of U.S. involvement in Vietnam is a dreadful mistake. There's a vividness to the film clips, and to the recollections of those involved, which makes Rory Kennedy's film a particularly personal and intimate representation of the war as a whole. What doesn't need stressing is the totality of the defeat suffered by the U.S., an event that has arguably infused U.S. politics to this day.

It's quite amazing how much was captured on film and photographs and it's put together so well that it almost seems like one was watching a movie of the fall of Saigon - it feels so complete. There are interesting interviews with witnesses mainly military personnel both US and South Vietnamese.

Unlike a typical Vietnam war movie this covers a different angle - not about fighting the war but the end of the war. There is criticism of Ambassador Graham Martin's refusal to organize an evacuation till it was too late leading the the chaos that took place. Would have liked to know more of his reasons for being so obstinate and the diplomatic failure at the end.

One minor fault is subtitles are in white sometimes against a white background and so hard to make out.

This makes one want a follow up on what happened to those left behind beyond the words of epilogue at the end.