Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry begins by juxtaposing beautiful images of Vietnam with horrific images of the Vietnam War. But though its depiction of the war is vivid--and the accounts of 2004 presidential candidate John Kerry's heroism, told by the men who served with him, are plain and free of hyperbole--it's his actions after he came back to the U.S. that stand out in this documentary. Kerry's involvement with Vietnam Veterans Against the War, for whom he became an inadvertent but eloquent spokesperson, required as much courage as facing the Viet Cong. Going Upriver gives a clear sense of the emotional and social pressures of the anti-war protests, where speaking one's mind became as powerful as firing a gun. Going Upriver's emphasis on post-war activity makes it an excellent complement to the documentary Brothers in Arms, which focuses on Kerry's swift-boat experiences in Vietnam. Though Going Upriver suffers from some soundbites that seem too tailor-made for Kerry's presidential campaign, it doesn't make other veterans feel like political props, as Brothers in Arms started to do towards the end. --Bret Fetzer