Vietnam War Is Brought to Back to Life in New Documentary 'In Country'

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Charles Ford, one of the subjects of In Country, a new documentary about Vietnam War re-enactors.

At the apex of its popularity in the ‘80s, Sylvester Stallone’s Rambo franchise was both celebrated and condemned for essentially refighting the Vietnam War on Hollywood’s terms. Now, thirty years later, the new documentary In Country— which is currently available to rent or purchase on iTunes and Amazon Instant, as well as through the film’s official site — focuses on a group of men who are literally refighting decades-old skirmishes from that generation-defining conflict. Using the forests of the Pacific Northwest as their battleground, the soldiers of the Oregon-based Delta 2/5® re-enact Vietnam War campaigns with period-appropriate equipment and tactical strategies.

While many of the members of this makeshift army are civilians whose day jobs include brewery manager and high school student, several are actual military veterans. Three Delta soldiers served multiple tours of duty in Iraq, and one of them is seen re-deploying to Afghanistan during the course of the documentary. Two Vietnam vets are amongst the company’s ranks, as well — including Vinh Nguyen, a former solider for the South Vietnamese Army, which fought alongside the United States in the conflict.

The participation of these active and retired soldiers makes these particular re-enactments stand apart from the Revolutionary War and Civil War re-creations the general public is more accustomed to seeing. “Revolution War re-enactments stand in as a kind of history,” says Meghan O’Hara, who directed In Country with Mike Attie. “This functions differently, because these people exist and remember the Vietnam War.  That was one of the things that interested us: how back does something have to be in history to become ‘History’ with a capital ‘H’?”

The filmmakers add that the blurred lines between past and present (not to mention reality and re-creation) extended to the way the Delta members approached their roles. “Civil War and Revolutionary war re-enactors often say ‘I’m this historical figure,’ but these guys don’t re-enact actual individuals,” O’Hara explains. “They re-enact a time and place, and from there they add their own personalities.”

That results in several charged moments in the documentary — scenes in which you can’t necessarily tell whether the participants are expressing their own opinions, or the opinions of the time. For example, while addressing the Delta troops in his role as staff sergeant, Joel Kinney, remarks to Nguyen, “Sorry our leadership in this country let you guys down.” Later on, Kinney — who grew up as a self-described “army kid” — leads a crash-course in the culture and tenor of the times for the new recruits, reserving a moment to take a swipe at “hippie culture” for affecting military morale. “It was like the floodgates opened,” he tells the assembled recruits. “And you had all these things, most of them not good.” (Though he walks that criticism back a little bit later on, describing the peace and love as not being “that bad.”)

“In those moments, it’s definitely Joel’s point of view,” says Attie. “He’s really passionate about honoring the veterans.” O’Hara adds that Nguyen similarly brought a lot of his own experience to bear. “I think Vinh, maybe uniquely, is playing himself,” confirms O’Hara. “The things he expresses in the film—I don’t think there’s any filter between the past and the present.”

Attie remembers first learning about the existence of Vietnam War re-enactors when he was an undergraduate history student at Vassar College, and later pitched the idea to O’Hara while they were enrolled in Stanford University’s MFA filmmaking program. The production itself encompassed two of Delta’s large-scale reenactments as well as several training “boot camps.” During that time, all vestiges of the modern world are stripped away in order to more effectively transport participants back to the rice fields of Danang or the forests of the A Shau Valley as they existed in the ’70s. To aid with that, no present-day observers are invited to watch the recreations, and the filmmakers say that they had to dress as Vietnam War-era news correspondents in order to maintain that all-important aura of authenticity.

Given the controversial place the Vietnam War still holds in contemporary American history, one might expect that In Country might inspire mixed reactions in audiences. But the directors say that the screenings they’ve attended haven’t been marked by any angry debates about the war or the notion of re-enacting it. “Initially, some [veterans] were turned off by the idea of re-enactments, but they were impressed by the tribute,” says Attie. “We’ve had one Vietnam veteran who has become a big advocate for promoting the film. He feels it does a good job dealing with the shared experience he had.”

And though it seems unlikely now, the directors don’t rule out the possibility that there one day might be a documentary devoted to re-enactments of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. “People always love this stuff,” says O’Hara. “Right now, the greater culture has no idea what these guys are experiencing. If there ever is a point where we start to wonder what happened those to men, there may be.”

In Country is currently available on VOD. Watch the trailer below: