Sir! No Sir!

Sir! No Sir! (2005) written and directed by David Zeiger is the "must-see" documentary of 2005. The film tells the story of the GI resistance movement during the Vietnam war.

I'm a Vietnam-era veteran, and I was peripherally involved in the military-based resistance to the war. Although I certainly wasn't an important player, I knew enough about what was happening to attest that the depiction in "Sir! No Sir!" is accurate and balanced. (Most of my own anti-war activity took place when I was off duty and could participate in public peace demonstrations. The GI's who opposed the war when they were on active duty took much greater risks than I did.)

Jane Fonda played a pivotal role in the anti-war movement, and she has a pivotal role in this movie. It's interesting that Ms. Fonda has--no doubt under pressure--retracted some of her statements and apologized for some of her anti-war activities. In the film she is not apologetic about her actions, and she clearly believes that what she did was right. I'm not sure which persona represents the real Jane Fonda. I hope it's the unashamed activist who was trying to save lives--both US and Vietnamese.

The movie spends quite a bit of time discussing the famous story about returning GI's getting spit at by peace activists. I had always accepted this story as true. All the civilian peace activists I knew were in sympathy with the GI's--we opposed the generals and the Commander- in-Chief, Richard Nixon, as well as his chief adviser, Henry Kissinger. However, I assumed that a small splinter group of peace activists really did harass returning GI's.

The film takes the position that the spitting episode never happened--it's an urban legend. I don't know the truth of this matter, but the fact that it may not have happened is certainly something worth thinking about.

I was interested that the word "Iraq" never appeared in the film. However, the implications of this movie are obvious. We are again bogged down in an unpopular war that cannot be won. Before the war on Iraq started, many of us in the peace movement said, "It's going to be another Vietnam. U.S. GI's and Iraqis will die, and the country will be divided." The rest is history, as they say.

In summary, this is an important documentary, whether or not you agree that the GI resistance movement was the correct and proper response to the war in Vietnam. See it and decide for yourself!

Did any of you see this film? It was moving and spectacular. How can you compare it to a Michael Moore film? It is all about veterans and contains countless interviews with veterans and is an accurate portrayal of veterans who opposed the Vietnam War. These men risked their lives defending your sorry asses, and all you can do is condemn them as Hollywood liberals. Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland are not the focus of this film; it's about the men who fought in Vietnam and then opposed the war, in Vietnam and at home. Not only are they war heroes, they are also champions of free speech and civil rights. I highly recommend this film.

Who are returning from Iraq, who have questions and no answers.

I was interested in this film because Jane Fonda (demonized by the recent influx of right wing media hate mongers) clearly was proud of her position against the Vietnam War.

There are so many officers and people who lived through this. The doctor who protests being a trainer for new recruits, he mentions how dermatologists were used by the army so they could aid the Vietnamese to thinking the U.S. was helpful, even while bombing their villages. Victims were women, children, and the elderly. It is sad to me that no one hears the truth in todays corporate media.

Anyone who was born in the 70's or 80's must see this film to get a real picture of what was happening at that time. The My Lai Massacre and other atrocities. The only way I became familiar with the resonance of destruction was having read poet Anne Sexton's "My Lai Soldier" and I was interested to read and research what actually happened in Vietnam.

It is so important since we are yet going through more troubled times as a nation, the wars and what they do to humanity should be understood, and learned from. Noteworthy also, I don't recall being taught about Vietnam in honors history, American History taught the colonial days and founding fathers. Something young people should be learning about as they are at a recruit-able age in high school. Highly recommended to anyone wanting to learn the disturbing facts and reality. 10/10.

"... to your country!" With these words I shook hands with Jane Fonda at the Atlanta showing one recent Friday night. Attendance was excellent, the audience was mostly older but there was a smattering of very young - some of whom asked questions of Jane and David and a Vietnam veteran up front between shows.... Yet, I could have answered those questions, too; I am a Vietnam combat infantry vet who was an existentialist then; I am a Christian now. I wanted to ask Jane: "Ms Fonda, do you love Jesus?" - but it is obvious she does. She shook hands with me - a huge, ugly guy in a "Vietnam Veteran" ball cap, not knowing me from Adam, and there was nothing but love and a hint of sadness in those beautiful eyes. Yes, we all made mistakes in those days.... it was cathartic for this vet to watch and regret and weep and mourn the live not lived, the sacrifices needlessly made by the thousands... but the movie has seen the light of day and for that I will ever be grateful. See it with a vet. Thanks to all fellow vets and Welcome Home; your service is appreciated!

I sat in my college dorm room in 1972, after student deferments had been discontinued under political pressure, and I watched TV with my roommates as the man pulled birthdays out of a bowl in order to put them in numerical order to determine who would get called up first, second, and so on, according to their date of birth. Some of us drew lower numbers and started to sweat, not knowing if we would end up running to Canada, maybe forever, or if we would try to find a doctor who would give us an out (flat feet, allergies, homosexuality), but the medical excuses were getting harder and harder to pull off. By 1972, the draft boards were getting tired of everybody claiming to be gay or psychotic, so they drafted the weirdos and sissies anyway. It was a time when the fear became so palpable, that it drove me bats insane, so I hope people can understand why some of us protested, even violently. Now, to see that soldiers in Vietnam resisted the war even after they had been sent over there comes as something of a revelation because that fact has been glossed over by revisionist historians working for the power elite. This documentary shows how some guys resisted fighting and were court-martialed for it, in some cases being put on trial for treason, with a possible death sentence. Then there were the underground presses. Tons of homemade newspapers were circulated under threat of dishonorable discharge or even court martial for merely having a copy of a rebellious rag. The GI's who published these things were heroes in the truest sense. Jane Fonda, who is mostly remembered for her visit to Hanoi, was actually in Nam entertaining the troops in a bizarre parallel to Bob Hope. He would put on "patriotic" USO shows while Fonda and her troupe were invited by soldiers who liked her politics better. And it drove the officers crazy, but they couldn't stop her from going where she was invited. God has blessed me by allowing me to meet Ms. Fonda. She was presenting this film in NYC, and she hung out at the cafe in the IFC movie theater, where it is now playing. I pulled out my draft card, which I have been carrying in my wallet for 34 years. I asked her to autograph it, and she said, "Oh, cool!" Her signature is on the card right above that of S. Witherspoon, the local draft board administrator. Email me if you want me to send you a jpeg of this little artifact of history.