7/10
Impressive wealth of archive footage, but a little opaque.
27 February 2015
The most impressive aspect about Rory Kennedy's Last Days In Vietnam is the wealth of archive footage it has to offer. I marvel at the time investment she must have had to link every shot to a real life anecdote. As such, the documentary does a great job of making those stories come to life. But ultimately it's quite limited. I can see why the Academy liked it, moreso than Life Itself anyway, it's essentially similar to Argo where people are escaping volatile places. And like Argo it focuses on that moment of release rather than any context or consequence, besides the ending results. The film feels like a similar story over and over with little development, though they are interesting in their own right. It's got a very standard documentary approach with its interviews and the emotion, and while it's easy to empathise, it's rather basic rather than conflicted and complex. A good doc but a small missed opportunity for more insightful greatness.

7/10
3 out of 11 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Recently Viewed