When you talk about this particular war and the effects it had upon those that fought in it there’s almost a hushed, respectful reverence that is expected. This silence is largely due to the number of soldiers that went over and either didn’t come back, or didn’t come back all the way. Without experiencing a war firsthand it’s simply too difficult to understand the horrors and the inherent nature of what it does to those on the front lines. Perhaps we’ve all known one or two people in our lives that have had that faraway look in their eye, caused by things they simply can no longer refuse to see. In film, the emotions and effects are about the closest we will ever come.
Here are a few movies that are believed to give at least a hint of what the Vietnam War and its lasting effects were truly like.
5. Forrest Gump
For some Vietnam wasn’t as horrible as it could have been, at least not at first. If there were in fact any within the ranks that had the limited capacity of Gump then the lid was generally kept shut on it. But in this film one can see the uncertainty and the unexpected terror that comes when Forrest realizes he’s going to “this whole other country”, as he so eloquently puts it. There might be more of a gentle and comical lean to it to begin with, but when the bullets start flying there’s no doubt that the situation has gotten very real.
4. The Deer Hunter
Recall I spoke about that look that veterans can have at times, the look that’s commonly known as the “thousand-yard stare”. It is a sign of detachment from the world around them, and a sure sign of intense emotional trauma to come. DeNiro’s character exhibits this look in the film and throughout, and as the film goes on his trauma only grows worse as through torture, escape, and a continual downward spiral the effects of the war begin to unfold.
3. Rescue Dawn
There’s no way to downplay whether a story such as this is real, and to do so would be an insult. Whether they’re based entirely on the truth or not is between the filmmaker and those that lived the actual stories. In many Vietnam-based films however it is seen that torture and the dehumanization of POW’s was the preferred method of the enemy, and it had lasting effects that could not be seen or fully treated.
2. We Were Soldiers
War isn’t pretty. It isn’t neat, cut and dried like a Hollywood film, and perhaps that is what filmmakers are attempting to do lately when they refuse to pull punches in their creations. The disturbing images, the splashes of red that fling across the screen, in real life they are quite fatal and don’t get cleaned up when the director yells “cut”. To those that have lived this kind of life the realization of what was done is likely to still leave a mark for a very long time.
1. Platoon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90B5REGHc0w
Let’s not pretend that Americans are always the good guys. War does strange things to a lot of people, but it does horrible things to others. There is a reason why some people throughout the world don’t think too highly of Americans and in some cases they are good reasons. We can rationalize it away by stating that not all of us are bad and that situations sometimes call for drastic measures. But no matter if you’re a soldier or a civilian, there are lines that are better to remain uncrossed.
No one would dare deny what so many troops and their families have gone through during and after the Vietnam War. One can only hope that the healing still continues, and that the films showing such horrors can show them the appropriate respect.
Follow Us
