Hearts and Minds

An American president says that winning the war depends on the support of the people. The documentary takes that sentence and looks at both sides. Villagers are interviewed in Vietnam; people whose houses were burned and whose children were killed describe it. In America veterans speak; one lies in hospital and still does not know what he fought for. Generals, secretaries and advisers are on camera too. The editing sets the two sides beside each other; right after an official's sentence, what that sentence meant is shown. Peter Davis directs. Politicians of the period, soldiers and Vietnamese civilians appear in it. It is an American production, made in 1974. The film won the Oscar for best documentary. The award ceremony caused controversy; the producer read a message from the Vietnamese delegation on stage and a counter statement followed later that night. The film had trouble with distribution before release; the studio held it back for a time. The matter it treats is how a war is described; the film refutes propaganda with its own material. In one passage a general says that the East places less value on life, and a funeral is shown immediately after; that cut is the film's best known moment. The narrative uses no narrator and adds no commentary. Its limit is method; the editing is openly partisan and that is still argued over. Who it is for: viewers who like war documentary and political cinema. Who it is not for: it is shattering, partisan, and the ending bitter.