The Whistleblower of My Lai (2018) User Reviews

My Lai through the prism of art

[cafergy1952 · 9/10 · 28 October 2019]

How do we express the horrors of human atrocity? Direct documentation of unspeakable incidents runs the risk of failing to allow us to respond with humaneness. The Whistleblower of My Lai wisely avoids the objectivity of documentary narration and instead relates the atrocity of My Lai through the prism of art. As the Kronos Quartet struggles with the difficulties of producing a My Lai opera, a magical transformation results: moved to tears of understanding.

Intense and unforgettable

[johnlove-3 · 10/10 · 17 April 2019]

I just saw this amazing film at the Ashland Independent Film Festival in Oregon. It's impossible to say which is more dramatic and compelling - the tragedy of pilot Hugh Thompson following his heroism; the immense horror of the My Lai massacre; or the inside portrait of composing, rehearsing and performing the opera itself. The Kronos Quartet is absolutely unbelievable. Jeanne Powell's review is spot on; I totally agree.