PBS offered us all a real treat this weekend by giving us Rory Kennedy’s Last Days in Vietnam for free over it’s app prior to it’s broadcast premiere on April 28th for it’s American Experience show. The films is nominated for Best Documentary at this years Oscars. Rory, daughter of Bobby, whose brother John had a large hand in escalating the American presence in Vietnam in the first place, gives us a look at the Fall of Saigon and the accompanying evacuation of American contractors, civil service members, military as well as South Vietnamese collaborators in the span of an extremely haphazard 24 hours on April 30th 1975. PBS will be airing this again almost 40 years to the day of the harrowing event. The Vietnam War is one of the saddest parts of American history, a debacle for the ages. This documentary does not focus on those mistakes which seem so obvious in hindsight, but instead shines a light on those who were not worried about legalities but right and wrong in the evacuation of innocents from Saigon as the army from the North barreled down on the city. American forces had largely left the country by this time after the Paris Peace Accords. The North saw this as an invitation to roll their tanks into Saigon and punish all those who had worked with the Americans. This is the story of the escape of the last Americans in the country as well as tens of thousands of South Vietnamese who knew their fate would likely be death if they stayed behind.
Their are dozens of iconic photos and videos that are shown in this documentary. Perhaps none more than the one above of a helicopter going to pick up a chief South Vietnamese military figure and the stream of humanity who wanted out. While the interviews of those involved in the events are enlightening and interesting, it is the archive footage that makes this documentary stand out. Seeing these amazing images with such a concise and driven documentary narrative is a rewarding experience. Kennedy also does a great job helping us understand the geography of the embassy layout and the efforts that were made to facilitate the evacuation. While not on the scale of Dunkirk in WWII it has the same sense of gravity and importance. I won’t get into a very in depth review of the film, but just talk about a couple of my favorite scenes.
There were many US Navy ships in the waters east of Saigon to protect the helicopter evacuation of the embassy. The helicopter option was the last choice after river based and airport evacuations became impossible. Once this became apparent there were many South Vietnamese Air Force pilots who took their helicopters and picked up their families and flew out into the Pacific not knowing if they would have enough fuel to reach a ship or if the ships would take them. There was one ship who’s job was not to receive refugees or evacuees but to simply provide protection for the US Navy helicopters. South Vietnamese pilots flew to this ship and the captain accepted them allowing them to land. As the first chopper landed on skids only they saw seven more waiting in line to touch down. There were no spots to keep these aircraft so the Navy personnel spun them around and shoved them off the side of the ship. Seeing so many South Vietnamese saved in this way was placed in very stark contrast to the dozens of helicopters literally being pushed into the ocean to make way for the next to land.
Then a Chinook helicopter came to land. This helicopter is absolutely huge and would have no chance of landing on this relatively small ship. So the pilot hovered over the ship as his family, six year and four year old boys, and his wife with six month old daughter, and others jumped out into the arms of welcoming US Navy personnel. The pilot then hovered over the water with the wheels dipping in and out as he took his cumbersome flight suit off and then tilted the chopper to the right as he dove out the door to the left. The helicopter broke up in incredibly dramatic fashion just 20 feet behind him as he swam to safety. It was an absolute miracle that all these people survived in their intense efforts to escape the oncoming onslaught of the North Vietnamese Army.
Others weren’t as lucky and had to cram into ships to attempt to get out. Hundreds of thousands attempted but failed to escape and were sent to re-education camps where the death toll is unknown. This film is a tribute to those who escaped and those who did not. Ultimately this would not make my top five documentaries of the year it was still a very good movie and one that I recommend everyone see when you get a chance. I mean it’s on PBS, so it’s free and everyone can get it.
midwestmovieman 