Pomiędzy niebem a ziemią

There’s a lot of people on this website who claim that this is the weakest Oliver Stone movie from Vietnam. Well, it depends… Oliver Stone decided to film this movie from the other half of the world’s point of view. He tells a story of a Vietnamese family who are harvesting their little field in Vietnam, living their ordinary lives, when all of the sudden, the revolution comes onto their little field,followed by the French who destroy their field to make it ready for the American invasion. It mustn’t have been easy, hats off to Oliver Stone for deciding to film his Vietnamese trilogy as objectively as possible in all of the regards. The gorgeous shots of the amazing hill-filled Vietnamese scenery take the movie’s quality to new heights. And once you get sick of them, Tommy Lee Jones appears on the screen. Now we’re talking about the second half of the movie where Tommy Lee showcases what is probably his best acting performance I’ve ever seen. It all falls into place and the ending is an incredibly realistic affair that makes the viewer’s skin crawl with fear as they realize just how fragile the human soul is and just how easily it can be manipulated. (06.06.2013)

After the famous film Platoon, Stone returned to Vietnam to capitalize on his personal experiences with the Vietnam War. This time, he attempted to capture the war conflict through the eyes of civilians - a young girl from the countryside whose family is threatened by pressure from both sides. Loyalty is demanded by both the government and the Viet Cong and in the interest of victory, they can act absolutely ruthlessly. Despite his left-wing beliefs, Stone looks at the Viet Cong without illusions and shows the raw reality of war from the perspective of those who have nowhere to retreat and how to defend themselves. The Vietnamese part is great and the director is on familiar ground here, using the exotic beauty of Vietnamese nature and the unique charm of the main protagonist played by Hiep Thi Le. The love romance she experiences with the American officer is also great, surely thanks to Tommy Lee Jones' charisma. The melodramatic elements, which I am usually sensitive to, did not bother me at all this time. The problem is that the film does not end with the failure of the American intervention, and Stone lets his heroes travel to America. However, the two parts of the film do not understand each other at all. The American part occupies a significantly smaller portion, and it is rushed, terse, and emotionally unconvincing. While the same protagonist is at the center of Stone's attention, it suddenly turns into a feminist manifesto, conflicting with the previous war drama in some ways. Nevertheless, I'll give it 4 stars and a 75% overall impression because 2/3 of the film is a five-star affair. (19.06.2017)

Oliver Stone looks at the Vietnam War for a third time, this time through the eyes of civilians in the cross-fire. Inspired by the true story of a Vietnamese refugee leads the viewer through all of the lying that attempts to justify needless provocation by one or the other side of the conflict. The closing scene where the excellent Tommy Lee Jones comes sauntering in shows the real face of war. Arms trafficking, money and territory - what else is war about? And it’s nobody’s and at the same time everybody’s fault. Both sides of any conflict represent evil. That’s food for thought, especially right now. (21.09.2022)

From the outset, Oliver Stone shrugs off all the criticizing and moralizing that so grates on my nerves in some of his films, and delivers an evocative, haunting and emotionally charged story of a young woman in the midst of a raging war inferno. He puts great effort into depicting Vietnamese culture and customs and directs very sensitively and skillfully. The first hour is significantly better than the second. (06.06.2005)