Kontum Diary

Exorcising the demons of the Vietnam War seems to have become a regular cottage industry among independent filmmakers in the last ten years. Kontum Diary is an earnest, if not particularly distinguished, addition. The video tells the story of Paul Reed, who, as a restless kid in North Dallas, signed up for a hitch in Nam, returning several years later with a handful of medals and a broken and angry life. In one skirmish in Kontum Province, Reed came across a pile of rucksacks abandoned by the retreating VC. One pack included a group of family photographs and a small diary. Twenty years later, Reed rediscovered the diary among his war souvenirs and had it translated. The journal reveals an adversary with many of the same fears, longings, and intense national and personal loyalties as Reed had during the war. The video traces Paul's journey back to Vietnam to deliver the diary to its owner, and to make peace with his former enemy and the past. Although Kontum Diary is obviously a well-intentioned work, there is something emotionally disappointing about the film. The flat-toned voice-over narrator tends to make the video sound like a 10 p.m. news piece which distances the viewer from the action and the players. In general, there is something of the media event about this work, right down to the camera capturing Paul's tearful reactions at being told that his former VC adversary is alive and awaiting his visit. Hard to believe this wasn't staged. There are more effective works on this subject out there. An optional purchase. (G. Handman)