Hearts and Minds (1974)
Directed by: Peter Davis
Produced by: Bert Schneider
Distributed by: Warner Bros
Running Time: 113 Minutes
Film Response written by Joybeth Sullivan
Just one year after the United States “ended” direct military involvement in Vietnam, Peter Davis, in his debut documentary, Hearts and Minds, puts together a series of interviews, newsreels, and documentary footage to reveal the truths of the US involvement in the Vietnam War. The information is presented in a way that leaves the viewer, well, not proud to be an American. This documentary did not need additional commentary. The video clips that create this cohesive and impactful documentary speak for themselves -- containing all of the perplexing and devastating qualities of the Vietnam War.
Through numerous interviews of former sergeants and generals, we see the way United States soldiers speak of the thousands of lives, both civilian and soldier, they took without a thought. We hear the words “excitement,” “incredible,” “thrilling,” and satisfying” come from the mouths of veterans when speaking about bombing entire Vietnamese villages from fighter pilots (Hearts and Minds). After all, they were trained to not process what they were doing. Edward Sowders voices what led to this less than human speech of the war when he recounts the lies and deception that were enacted upon them through language and training throughout their time in Vietnam.
Then, we see the Vietnamese. The actual people. We see the lives lost and the deep sorrow felt. A woman who lost her entire home and her own sister. She says to the camera, “I am so unhappy.” A teenage Vietnamese boy says, “First they bomb, then they film” (Hearts and Minds). We see an older man on his hands and knees doing carpentry labor. At first, I did not know what he was building. I assumed he was perhaps repairing a destroyed home. They were child coffins. The Vietnamese man says that 800-900 children die daily. That truth, juxtaposed with interviews of American teenagers saying they do not even know what is happening in Vietnam is terribly painful to watch.
One of the most convicting mirroring of clips in Hearts and Minds was between a young Vietnamese boy sobbing at a devastatingly sad burial and General William Westmoreland speaking of how the “the oriental does not place the same high price on life as does a Westerner.” Westmoreland continues in saying that to the Vietnamese, “life is cheap” and “life is not important.” That is anything but true. Anyone from an outsider's perspective can see that so clearly. This documentary seeks to show how brainwashed many of those in charge were during this war. The American government actually believed those words.
“Why do they need us?” asks the American reporter. “Well that is a god damn silly question. Are you really going to ask me that?” replies Walt Rostow, the aid to President Kennedy and Johnson. He could not answer why. A former sergeant says, “They say we’re fighting for something. I don’t know.” Within Hearts and Minds, there are fast-paced shifts between support that comes with the sheer denial of realities along with acceptance of accepting that the United States was the “wrong side.”
Lyndon B. Johnson said, “The ultimate victory will depend on the hearts and the minds of the people who actually live out there.” And yet, nothing about the Vietnam War considered the hearts and minds of the people of Vietnam, or the US soldiers sent there without reason as to why they were there -- for what victory? At what cost? Although it is difficult to separate the realities of the footage with the masterful craft of the film, all of the differing opinions, voices, and memories of this war are equally shown -- making for a powerful and all-encompassing film on the complexities of the Vietnam War.