Love in Country

There is a lot of great cinematography in this film and the score was really great, these can specifically be seen in the landscape and aerial shots and the final closing scene and the scene with the monk in the woods. The story is compelling but could have used something more, possibly if this production had a higher budget as it does feel a bit on the low budget end. Especially with the gunfire and explosions not looking real. But I did find myself rooting for the characters although I did get a bit lost with what happened with the mission and what the rouge captain was doing at the end of the battle. But overall I felt the relationship between the two lead characters was very genuine.

Whilst this may be based on a true scenario, and there may well be an underlying critique on the intolerance of the US military towards anyone who wasn't a white, heterosexual, man during the Vietnam War (and in many other conflicts) that's no excuse for taking the story of these brave men and turning it into this. David Garber ("Sgt. Alexander") and Michael Southworth ("Sgt. Reese") are charged with leading a secret CIA mission whilst facing opposition from their tenacious enemy and, as the two men come to terms with their own sexuality, with their colleague's attitude to that - all whilst under fire and in hostile terrain. The narrative here is all over the place. The lacklustre direction and soporific score; the really mediocre writing and the stilted acting all contribute to what is essentially a throughly unremarkable piece of cinema that seems to have no idea who it is for, or what it is trying to say - beyond the bleeding (quite literally) obvious. Most films from this theatre of war depict tragedy and brutality - but most do it far more cogently than this insipid melodrama that uses a gay angle to the story to thinly disguise a poor piece of wartime story-telling. It can't have had much of a budget and much of it looks like it was filmed in someone's back yard. It probably was, and maybe they could just stick to showing it there, too. Very poor.

This movie has a creative plot, haunting music, and is well-acted. The set design, costuming, sound editing, and storyline are all very nicely done. The LGBTQ theme is subtle but heart breaking. This movie makes you think and discuss for hours afterward about what it was like to be a soldier in Vietnam...in particular a gay soldier. The ending really brings to light some of the elements of war that are never really brought to light, including cruelty among the two sides, but also within the ranks. Even the antagonist has a back story that helps the viewer get a glimpse of why he may be the way he is.

Love in Country is an extremely ambitious film. Set in Vietnam, the story follows a small group of soldiers during the war. The movie centers specifically on two army sergeants who fall in love with each other. The cinematography was well done especially during the many scenes in the forests and the night scenes. I did think that the visual effects of some of the smoke explosions and bullet hits came across as low budget, however I was extremely impressed with the set design throughout, there was one scene outside a house and there were multiple fires burning. Overall an impressive and ambitious movie, for sure.

I gave it a chance. There were good reviews on here which is why I watched. WHY? It was horrible! Reminded me of a really, really, really bad version of Yossi & Jagger. No character development of the two main actors.... I couldn't even tell who they were at times. Poor crappy CGI effects. From the first few minutes I could tell this was filmed locally in some woods. If I wanted to watch a Vietnam field I'd watch Apocalypse Now. One or two scenes does not make it LGBT. Still don't what the movie was all about. Really. It had potential, and could have a LGBT movie with the Vietnam War as the background - I don't think there is any such movie.