SCREEN

GOING UPRIVER: THE LONG WAR OF JOHN KERRY

Benjamin Spacek

If you're beginning to grow tired of the seemingly nonstop parade of Bush-bashing films—from Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 to John Sayles' current satire, Silver City—you may find George Butler's documentary a welcome relief. The film makes no mention of our commander-in-chief, nor does it even acknowledge the upcoming election. Instead, Butler focuses on the soldiers who fought in the Vietnam War, and later protested it. This, of course, includes John Kerry, but by no means is exclusive to him.


We do get some brief background information on Kerry at the outset, but the story soon morphs into a more comprehensive view of Vietnam, of which he naturally seems to emerge as a central figure. By combining historical footage and photographs with interviews of friends and family, the movie makes the assertion—by implication only—that Kerry is a natural leader for the United States. Certainly the scenes of him speaking during his protest days bear this out, but many of the film's most interesting observations come from other soldiers.


For those of us who weren't around to experience the cultural changes of the late '60s and early '70s, Going Upriver provides a fascinating up-close and personal account. Combining explicit war photography with explicit testimony from the people who were there, we are confronted with a scale of wartime atrocities difficult to comprehend. We are also confronted with the aftermath, with the fact that wars don't end when the shooting stops, and with the difficulty, mixed emotions and confusion felt by those affected by it. For audience members who were there, emotions will likely run high.


Like Errol Morris' The Fog of War, the score for Going Upriver is composed by Philip Glass, who seems content to use the same brooding and ponderous tones on both projects. Butler's use of classic rock songs in other places is far more effective. But unlike The Fog of War and its subject, Robert McNamara (who appears briefly here), Going Upriver contains people willing to make meaningful and insightful statements instead of speaking in political rhetoric while music convinces you they're profound.


Perhaps the most powerful aspect of Going Upriver is its ability to resonate outside of its own period. There is no mention of the 2004 election or the Iraq War. The events in the movie took place 30 years ago, yet everyone seems to be saying things that matter right now.

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