Jacob Hall's Review B+

The Real John Kerry...

I'll admit to putting this review off as long as possible. This is not the type of film that I particularly want to review because of my mixed political views...but I decided to go ahead and attempt it anyway.

This critique will be free of personal politics.

Most modern Americans will remember John Kerry as the man who lost the presidency to George W. Bush, and while this film was made as an attempt to promote Kerry in that election, it ends up being less about Kerry and more about the struggle that military veterans returning home from the Vietnam War had to face. For the one of the first times in American history, returning soldiers were not treated as heroes; they were either ignored or scorned, labeled as "babykillers." The higher-ups in the government didn't care about the soldiers...they cared about winning the war, they cared about the enemy's body count. So the military went on fighting an un-winnable war for a world that simply didn't care. Naturally, Kerry found this to be horrifyingly wrong and set out to change it.

The film is a documentary made up of photographs, old footage and interviews. Unlike so many documentaries that attempt to get a political view across, "Going Upriver" doesn't use theatrics and outlandish "entertainment" elements to make it's point; it shows us what happened, and what was done to fix it in entirely believable and serious ways.

While the film can be criticized for leaving out all of the controversial aspects of his tour in 'Nam, it does an utterly fantastic job of explaining WHY Kerry and the other Vets did what they did. Kerry was just what this movement needed. The "dirty hippy" look of many of the protesting soldiers simply couldn't do; Kerry brought a quiet air of professionalism and dignity. He wasn't angry and full of hot air, he was disturbed and wanted to change things. Whether you are a Republican or Democrat, you have to admit he did a very brave thing.

This IS NOT AN ANTI-BUSH film. It is a tribute to the veterans of Vietnam and how they were so terribly misjudged.

With that said, the film does treat Kerry as a saint rather than a flawed but brave man. If it had been a little more balanced and had the number of screens as "Fahrenheit 9/11," this could have given the Democrats the presidency.

© Written by Jacob Hall

How We Rated This Film TC Candler -     Richard Propes - A- Jacob Hall - B+

TC Candler's Comment

N/A

Richard Propes' Comment

This documentary provides such a wonderful view into the dynamics of the Vietnam War...the inter-mixing of clips, photos and comments is nearly perfect along with the soundtrack. While this film made considerably less than "Fahrenheit 9/11" it would have been a perfect double feature. But, then again, that would have been democracy actually working...and we can't have that.