Though it’s not the most exciting or ground-breaking
documentary you’ll see, Rory Kennedy has made one of the more solid,
interesting, and important entries in the 2014 crop of award-winning
documentaries. Last Days in Vietnam
focuses on the final days of the war between North and South Vietnam, long
after the U.S. had pulled all troops off the ground and the Paris Peace Accords
had been signed. After President Nixon resigned, the North Vietnamese army
began advancing in violation of the agreement. This documentary is about the
effort to evacuate the American Embassy in Saigon including all Americans on
the ground. A lot of Americans also had Vietnamese wives and children to
evacuate. Then a simple evacuation turned into a massive humanitarian effort to
extract tens of thousands of South Vietnamese soldiers and civilians who might
end up imprisoned or executed if left behind.
