I'm glad the docu refrains from lengthy preachments against the Vietnam war. Instead the narrative's a mix of anti-war songs, dance numbers and comedy sketches, but most importantly are the revelatory comments from soldiers themselves about personal feelings toward the army and life stateside. Many are on the humorous side, yet short in length. Nonetheless, their overall impact remains unmistakable.
Fonda and Sutherland both sing and comment, each serving more as continuity between sections than as major spokespeople. That mainly allows the focus to be where it should be: namely, on the servicemen and women of all races and their anti-war, anti-army feelings. Perhaps unexpectedly, there are no stagings in Vietnam itself, probably because of Defense Department restrictions. (After all, this is not Bob Hope.) Instead the show travels across the Pacific ending in Japan and lingering images of 1945's a-bomb blasts. Still, the overlapping message remains basically the same across the changing locales and service-personnel.
Anyway, whether you agree or not with the anti-war stance, the docu's well worth catching up with. And though 50-years have passed, the underlying feelings are as relevant now as they were then.
