In Vietnam, after a battle in the jungle, Captain Keene (Beau Bridges) is captured by Ho (Liem Whatley), an educated Vietnamese commanded by Colonel Tuong (Haing S. Ngor). Although recently losing his father, a teacher killed by the Americans, Ho does not have the feeling of vengeance in his heart and treats the prisoner with dignity, inclusive saving his life. In the end, there is a retribution from Keene to the attitude of Ho. I have never heard anything about this movie. Based on the diary of an unknown Vietnamese soldier (Ho), this excellent movie is indeed a gem, which shows both side of the war with dignity and in a pacifist view. Americans and Vietnamese are presented as human beings, through the character of Captain Keene and Ho. Most of the narrative of Beau Bridges is in `off', when he describes each situation, including his feelings. Ho is a seventeen years old teenager fighting to protect his country against the invader, and Captain Keene is in the war because he is a soldier who follows orders. The dialogs in this movie are intelligent, specially between these two characters. Further, it shows the Vietnamese as persons, defending their invaded country, and not as animals, acephalous beings or numbers, like in most of the films related to the Vietnam war. It is great the way the story is disclosed, showing both sides basically at the same time. The cast and the direction are very sharp and it is amazing the lack of publicity about such a good story. I bought this unknown VHS from a rental for about US$ 1,00 (it was used). However, the lesson of life in the end of the story is priceless. Captain Keene develops himself as a man and learns that in front of his weapon, there was a human being. Before I forget, in the beginning of the story, Captain Keene is presented as a man who speaks Vietnamese language. Therefore, indeed, when the locals speak in `English', actually they would be speaking in their language. Captain Keene is able to understand them and also to maintain a conversation with Ho. Therefore, there is no problem the fact that the movie is spoken in English. It is common sense that Americans usually do not like and are not used to read subtitles, and I believe that was the reason why the story is not spoken in another language. My vote is eight.
Title (Brazil): `Triângulo de Ferro' (`Iron Triangle')
