AWFJ Movie of the Week, Sept. 1-7: LAST DAYS IN VIETNAM
Opening Aug. 29, the AWFJ Movie of the Week is Last Days in Vietnam, a new documentary from Rory Kennedy that chronicles the final days of the Vietnam War. Focusing on the dramatic events around the 1975 evacuation of Saigon, the film combines present-day interviews and archival footage to recount what happened when the North Vietnamese Army closed in on Saigon and military officials had to decide who they would help escape. Kennedy is the youngest of the eleven children of Senator Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy. Her documentaries focus on various social issues and in 2007 she won an Emmy for Ghosts of Abu Ghraib. Read on…
AWFJ Movie of the Week Panelists Comments:
Jennifer Merin: Rory Kennedy’s fascinating political documentary, Last Days in Vietnam, is a revealing chronicle about the military evacuation of Saigon in 1975. As North Vietnamese troops advanced on the city, the White House ordered that only American citizens be airlifted to safety. The film shows how American diplomats and soldiers risked being charged with treason in order to evacuate their South Vietnamese comrades along with American personnel. This story of American heroism is deftly told by Kennedy, who intersperses insightful on-camera interviews with revealing archival footage to shed light on a pivotal moment in the haunting history of the Vietnam era.
Loren King: I’m a Rory Kennedy fan. Her impassioned, intelligent documentaries inspire, educate and move me. I loved what she did with Ethel, the candid and tender portrait of her mother. Last Days in Vietnam, about the fall of Saigon and how the US was finally forced out of the debacle, looks to be another well-researched and insightful film from one of our best contemporary documentarians.
AWFJ Movie of the Week Panel Members: Nikki Baughan, Anne Brodie, Pam Grady, Leba Hertz, MaryAnn Johanson, Loren King, Cate Marquis, Jennifer Merin, Nell Minow, Rebecca Murray, Kristy Puchko, Carrie Rickey, Sheila Roberts, Jeanne Wolf, Sara Vizcarrando.
Other Movies Opening the Week of Sept. 1-5, 2014:
September 5
– Frontera (limited)
– God Help the Girl (NY)
– The Identical (limited)
– Innocence (limited)
– Last Days in Vietnam (limited)
– The Longest Week (limited)
– Memphis (Kino Lorber) (NY)
– Trailer Park Boys 3: Don’t Legalize It (limited)
