Vietnam: Talking to the People

Following up on their landmark documentary Vietnam: Picking Up the Pieces, DCTV returns to the war-torn land to locate many of the subjects they filmed eight years before, just after the fall of Saigon.  The resulting film, Vietnam: Talking to the People, offers a penetrating view of a country deeply embedded in the American consciousness, and the picture that emerges is one of determination, hardship, humor and resiliency.  From a look at Vietnam's failing birth control program to a journey through the Mekong Delta, from drunken weddings to slow-moving funerals, from pepper pickers to orphans, the film traverses the vast landscape of Vietnam.  Highlights include the first entry into an operational Vietnamese prison camp, sealed off from foreign observers for 10 years, as well as an examination of the Orderly Departure Program, in which American officials interview and process the applications of thousands of Vietnamese awaiting visas to the U.S.   The final segment follows up with a young Amerasian woman who has left Saigon to find happiness in Ft. Wayne, Indiana.

Quotes:

"Incomparably the most vivacious, absorbing, and outrageous piece of reportage ever screened...Always goes straight to the heart of the matter." — The Listener (London)

Awards:

Tokyo Video Festival: Grand Prize

Credits:

Director: Jon Alpert
Producer: Jon Alpert and Steve Friedman


Technical Details:

1985, trt 55 min, color