Documentary ‘Last Days in Vietnam’ covers fall of Saigon
April 30 will mark the 40th year since the fall of Saigon, which ended the Vietnam War.
That is the focus of filmmaker Rory Kennedy’s — Robert Kennedy’s youngest child — Academy Award-nominated film “Last Days in Vietnam.” It will be screened for free at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the KiMo Theatre in Downtown Albuquerque.
“I’ve always been fascinated with Vietnam,” she says. “I think most of us think we know the story of the last days of Vietnam, but we really don’t.”
The documentary follows the chaotic final days of the war, as the North Vietnamese Army closes in on Saigon and South Vietnamese resistance crumbles. The United States has only a skeleton crew of diplomats and military operatives still in the country.
As Communist victory becomes inevitable and the United States readies to withdraw, some Americans begin to consider the certain imprisonment and possible death of their South Vietnamese allies, co-workers and friends in Saigon,
now called Ho Chi Minh City.
Meanwhile, the prospect of an official evacuation of South Vietnamese becomes terminally delayed by congressional gridlock.
With the clock ticking and the city under fire, a number of heroic Americans take matters into their own hands, engaging in unsanctioned and often makeshift operations in a desperate effort to save as many South Vietnamese lives as possible.
“This story hasn’t been told too often,” Kennedy says. “This is the reason I wanted to make the documentary. It tells a different side of the story.”
The divisive war, increasingly unpopular at home, ended with the withdrawal of U.S. forces in 1973 and the unification of Vietnam under Communist control two years later. More than 3 million people, including 58,000 Americans, were killed in the conflict.
Kennedy knew that making a documentary on a heated subject, even 40 years later, would stir up emotions. For 14 months, she searched through archival footage and traveled across the United States conducting interviews with Vietnam veterans and historians.
“I was pretty confident in understanding the research,” she says. “Understanding the events when it took place. We were on a pretty remarkable story. But you never know with these films. Sometimes they strike right, and all I wanted to do was reach a national audience.”
Kennedy’s film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, in 2014 and enjoyed an eight-month festival run, as well as 120 theatrical screenings.
Variety’s Rob Nelson complimented the documentary’s “accomplished summary of tension-filled events as they transpired from minute to minute.”
The screening is part of the New Mexico PBS Community Cinema at the KiMo series. After the screening, there will be an interactive, panel discussion moderated by Sarah Gustavus, producer of “New Mexico in Focus.” It is free and open to the public, and veterans are encouraged to attend. The panel includes retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Brinn Colenda.
The film will then air nationally on PBS at 8 p.m. April 28, as part of the American Experience series.
“When we conceived of this film three years ago, we knew it was a powerful story of individual acts of courage set against a background of chaos,” says “American Experience” executive producer Mark Samels. “But we didn’t know how relevant it would prove to be.”
After garnering an Academy Award nomination earlier this year, Kennedy says it was an honor to be in such great company. Despite not winning, she’s proud of her work.
“I’m happy with the film,” she says. “It tells a story that hasn’t been told in a meaningful way. I don’t really have regrets about the story. I have watched it over a period of time, and I feel like it’s a strong story.”