A Guerra do Vietnã

First a disclaimer of sorts.

My dad (now deceased) served with the Australian Army from 1953 through to 1983, and did 3 Tours in Vietnam as a regular soldier. His first was with the AATTV (Australian Army Training Team Vietnam), as an Military Adviser to Vietnamese Forces, and his other two Tours took place after Australia Committed Regular Army units to Vietnam, with SASR.

He died of cancer at 65.

With this in mind My review of this excellent start to what looks like being an informative and educational program now follows.

My chief gripe in the introduction to the main body of the work was the lack of mention of any effort by their Allies such as Australia or New Zealand, also the bit on Korea made it sound wholly a US War which it wasn't - it was a UN operation, involving everyone from Turkey and Greece through to British Commenwealth Forces.

Australia for example deployed everything from an Aircraft Carrier (HMAS Sydney),Naval Frigates and Fighter Squadrons through to Ground Forces, with all 3 services (RAN,RAAF and RAR) seeing extensive service and being involved in large scale battles such as Kapyong.

Now to the good bits.

Seeing it from the viewpoint of the Vietnamese was brilliant, both north and south. Talking about the French and American efforts early in the build up to the war was also great.

The musical score, be it the opening by Bob Dylan, or the instrumental work done by Yo Yo Ma and Atticus Ross And Trent Reznor is as usual spot on and not overpowering or taking away from the story its backgrounding.

All in all a great start which I look forward to seeing more of.

This is overwhelming. This documentary had me riveted through all 10 episodes.

I recorded it, but could never proceed directly to the next episode because so much emotion was packed into each one. I had to give at least a day between each viewing. After viewing an episode I would shut the TV off. Watching anything after would have been anti-climatic compared to the intensity of what I had just absorbed.

Among many excellent passages from the documentary, this is one of my favourite commentaries: "It is very, very difficult to dispel ignorance if you retain arrogance".

We are provided with the full panoply of the Vietnam War, with many different viewpoints and opinions. From start to finish this is visually engrossing. Full congratulations go to the makers of this unforgettable documentary.

Over the years I have soaked up every film and documentary I could find on the subject of the Vietnam war, and I can say this series is by far the most profoundly complete I have seen. It uses insights from the individuals caught up in it - the Viet Cong & North Vietnamese Army, the US Military & South Vietnamese army, civilians from both sides, politicians and journalists alike, to explain, account and report from the early circumstances causing the build up and outbreak of the war through the fierce intensity at the height of the conflict to the final withdrawal and legacies.

It explores and reports the socio-political aspects, the strategies and technologies, the cultural contrasts of the belligerents and most of all the people fighting it. It gets across the absolute sacrificial determined tenacity of the north Vietnamese and Viet Cong people - hand made IEDs and mind boggling hard graft versus the richest most technically advanced, but often disillusioned, army in the world (not the last time this would happen). It covers every angle - it's the most complete and compelling telling of this tragic yet fascinating landmark in our history that I've come across.

If you have an interest in this significant piece of modern history - the first rock n roll war - which became an unmitigated disaster, this brilliant, powerful and compelling series is absolutely unmissable.

Well, I thought that was an amazing documentary. I think Ken Burns does an epic and moving job covering the events from a big picture political perspective. You really get a sense of the weight of history, and the scale of tragedy, particularly how decisions made by presidents and governments set in motion forces that led to catastrophic suffering. Millions of deaths and unhealed emotional wounds. I also thought the documentary was very good at the military level, describing battles and engagements that I had never heard of, in a reasonable detail. And the music and photography was epic. Seeing those pictures of old-time American life juxtaposed with the chaos of Vietnam was so moving. I also thought the reconciliation part at the end was really beautiful.

There were three things about the documentary that I did think were weaknesses.

1. There was such a focus on the protests, and starting so early on in the series, it kind of overwhelmed the narrative in some ways. I have read that the vast majority of veterans were proud of their service in Vietnam, and did not have this tortured sense of regret and shame that you see with those interviewed in the series. Some did but not most.

(for evidence see this article - https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/ken- burnss-vietnam-is-fair-to-the-troops-but-not-the-cause-1507324058)

2. I wonder about the conspiratorial angle of things. This documentary portrays the North Vietnamese as almost magically destined to win, as if it was inevitable, as if nothing the Americans could have done would have made any ultimate difference. I just wonder if part of the reason the Americans lost is because they weren't allowed to win. I mean, had the Americans occupied Hanoi and Haiphong Harbour, would not the North Vietnamese have been unable to prosecute the war? Surely if the Ho Chi Minh trail was permanently occupied in several places there wouldn't be the communist resupply into South Vietnam? But perhaps none of this would have been possible without China directly entering the conflict. Who knows.

3.Because the documentary is so long, and also attempts to cover the bigger historical events, I don't think it captures the day to day experience of the Vietnamese villagers that well. I mean, what made someone turn to the VietCong? What was daily life like? There is another, Vietnamese documentary "the face of the enemy" which I think does a better job of this.

Overall, a fascinating time spent watching this, and I recommend it to all with caveats.

This isn't an easy watch, but it's one that I would highly recommend nonetheless. I watch many documentaries, but I have only rarely seen such an insightful and comprehensive portrait of a chapter in history.

Over the course of 16.5 hours this docu series takes the viewer from the earliest roots of the conflict in Vietnam and the country's sad colonial history to its modern-day reality after the war. Along the way, it tells a mesmerizing, shocking, appalling, tragic - but most of all: incredibly immersive and informative - story from the perspective of the people who were affected by this man-made tragedy.

Unlike most other documentaries on the subject, we also get to hear first hand accounts from North- and South Vietnamese officers, ARVN and Vietcong fighters, civilians from both the South and the North, in addition to learning more about the American experience and about the profound effect the conflict had on US society.

What Ken Burns and Lynn Novick have accomplished here can hardly be overstated; this is more than "just" an in-depth look at the Vietnam War: this is nothing less than the portrait of an era. A masterful work. 10 stars out of 10

Favorite TV-Shows reviewed: imdb.com/list/ls075552387/

Favorite films: IMDb.com/list/mkjOKvqlSBs/

Lesser-Known Masterpieces: imdb.com/list/ls070242495/

Favorite Low-Budget and B-Movies: imdb.com/list/ls054808375/

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