Vietnam Today: Open For Business--Economic Reform in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

ZZZZZZZZZZZ. Oh...ahem...yes, Hello! Vietnam Today...yes...a 51 minute and 40 second (count em'!) disquisition on the current economic status of Vietnam, and a look at the lumbering first steps of the country out of the foul pits of socialism and toward the light of a free market economy...sort of a "Capitalism Now!" Over nicely photographed, vaguely relevant stock footage of rice paddies, rivers, highways, schools, and cities, the soporific well-modulated voice of the narrator explains it all for us: the mix of traditions and ethnicities which characterize the country; the legacy of Vietnamese colonialism; the War; the current dichotomies between rural and urban economies; and the challenges faced in building effective social, technological, and economic infrastructures. There's also a complement of talking State bureaucratic heads put in front of the camera to describe for us (via disembodied translator) various changes in contract, investment and tax law; loosening of land ownership and profit exportation strictures; and streamlining of byzantine governmental business processes in general--all aimed at attracting foreign capital investment in Vietnamese industry and facilitating the expansion of Vietnamese foreign markets. While there's undoubtedly a fair amount of interest in this topic, it's unlikely that most would be inclined to sit through this snoozer rather than read about the subject in the Wall Street Journal or Forbes. Furthermore, call me Mr. Berkeley PC, but I was also put off by nasty hints of jingoism and worse cultural offenses lurking between the lines of the script (" [firms using Vietnamese labor] find workers dedicated, clever, and manually dexterous." Yipes!) An extremely marginal purchase for business, economics, and international relations collections. Far better choices here would be Rick Ray's illuminating documentary Raise the Bamboo Curtain: Vietnam, Cambodia, Burma (VL-1/95) and the Lonely Planet guide to modern Vietnam, The Vietnam Experience (VL-5/95). Aud: C, P. (G. Handman)