The Vietnam War (2017)

THE VIETNAM WAR  (2017)  ¢ ¢ ¢ 1/2
    D: Ken Burns, Lynn Novick
Of all the fucked-up wars in human history - and that would be all of them - a likely candidate for the most fucked-up would be Vietnam. Whatever justifications or noble intentions might've gone into it, the execution on all sides was an atrocity. It was like this long-running, real-life horror show that came to you nightly on the network news. For years. And that was if you were lucky enough not to be over there fighting the war yourself. Here Vietnam gets the Ken Burns treatment - 18 hours worth - and if that sounds like a long haul, it's not nearly as long as a year in the jungle. Like its subject, the movie is ragged, messy, maddening, heroic, gruesome, contradictory and horrifying. Veterans, peace activists, draft dodgers, family members and Vietnamese - North, South, Viet Cong and civilians - all weigh in on what happened back then and what they think about it now. Their testimony is candid and gut-wrenching. You'd like to think we've learned something since then. Don't bet on it.