Just Like Me gets its name from one of the American soldiers interviewed in this riveting documentary. He tells a story of finding letters left in the camps of Vietcong soldiers and how, when translated, their stories were identical, just opposite. The Vietnamese soldiers had families, lovers, and friends who had the same worries as the wives, parents, and children the American GIs left back home. It forced a realization, “These guys are just like me”.
Narrator, interviewer and director Ron Osgood takes us on a trip to Vietnam and through history to explore the connection of Vietnam veterans on all sides including drafted American soldiers, North Vietnamese patriots, South Vietnamese Republicans, and Refugees of all stripes. While discussing the war and using occasional combat footage, the focus of Just Like Me rests on the people who were there. Osgood exposes us to the many forgotten or untold stories of the war and brings them together in one of the most outstanding short documentaries I have ever seen.
This documentary is perfect for library programming on any veteran’s day, POW, or Vietnam remembrance event. At just over an hour long, Osgood manages to expose us to a plethora of views, stories, and cultures on all sides of the war. His meticulous eye for the humanity of people really shines. While I wish there was a bit more length to the included interviews, especially that of critically acclaimed writer Tim O’Brien, Osgood does an excellent job of selecting only those segments which drive the documentary forward. Just Like Me does a better job of exploring the Vietnam War than any documentary I’ve seen on the subject. It dives into cracks that are difficult to access beyond propaganda and language barriers.
One interesting fact stated early on (and which I was surprised I had never considered) was the Vietnamese name for the Vietnam War: They call it ‘The American War.' This theme of identical but opposite is the lifeblood of this documentary and drives the unyielding focus on the arts and the experiences of soldiers and non-combatants on all sides. Just Like Me: Vietnam War Stories from All Sides/The American War is a superior documentary that belongs on all library shelves. It is also well suited to war, art, and history film collections in academic libraries, being surprisingly suitable for all ages. Editor’s Choice.
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Available from FilmsMediaGroup https://ffh.films.com/id/220714/Just_Like_Me_The_Vietnam_WarThe_American_War.htm or from Ron Osgood osgoodr@gmail.com