Hearts and Minds
Directed by Peter Davis
1974/US
IMDb page
Repeat viewing/Criterion Channel
President Lyndon Johnson: [historical footage] So, we must be ready to fight in Vietnam; but, the ultimate victory will depend upon the hearts and the minds – of the people who actually live out there.
Peter Davis blends political talking heads, interviews with soldiers on both sides, historical footage, and interviews across the ideological spectrum to create, without narration, the definitive anti-war documentary.
The film begins with historical footage from the Indochina war. It then covers U.S. public opinion on both sides on the Viet Nam war this trends from positive to negative as the movie goes on. The stories of certain veterans are also followed through interviews. The movie includes interviews with pundits including Gen. William Westmorland, Clark Clifford (who was President Johnson’s Secretary of Defense at the end of his Presidency), Daniel Ellsberg, and Walt Rostow among others on their views of the war.
Gen. William Westmoreland: The Oriental doesn’t put the same high price on life as does the Westerner. Life is plentiful, life is cheap in the Orient. And, eh, that’s the philosophy of the Orient. Expresses it – life is not important.
The most shameful aspects of the effects of U.S. GI’s, both cultural and military, on the Vietnamese are highlighted and numerous Vietnamese officials and survivors are interviewed. Although there is no narration, it is crystal clear where the hearts and minds of the filmmakers lie. The film was released following the U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam and prior to the fall of Saigon.
This works well as both a historical piece and an effort to persuade. Recommended to anyone interested in U.S. history of this era.
Hearts and Minds won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
