Heaven & Earth (1993) Reviews

• A new perspective to the Vietnam War

  Snatchy2000-03-20

  As he did with his first two Vietnam films, "Platoon" and "Born on the 4th of July", Oliver Stone creates a powerful tale of the devastation of the Vietnam War. What makes this movie so unique, both from Stone's earlier work and virtually every other American movie about the Vietnam War, is that "Heaven and Earth" is told from the perspective of a Vietnamese woman. This movie is based on two books of memoirs written by Le Ly Hayslip, a Vietnamese woman who grew up in a simple farming village in central Vietnam but whose life --- and those of most Vietnamese people, we can infer --- is turned upside-down by the madness of the Vietnam War. Strictly as a movie, this is a good but not great film. Even at almost 2 1/2 hours, the structure is a bit stilted in order to accommodate such an extensive story. The first 30 minutes are mostly voice-overs and the movie doesn't pick up steam until later, when scenes are allowed to flow for extended amounts of time and we become caught in the drama. Tommy Lee Jones gives another brutally realistic performance as a lifetime military man who can't leave the war behind. Hiep Thi Ly is okay as Le Ly Hayslip; not Tommy Lee Jones caliber acting, but she competently plays a very difficult role. I read she was an amateur actress only chosen after an extensive casting call, and I'm glad that they decided to go with an actual young Vietnamese woman instead of choosing a generic asian actress. It might not make a difference to most, but it certainly felt more "real" to me with an authentic Vietnamese-American in the main role. Oliver Stone shows his mastery of mood and camerawork as he jumps from the beauty of the Vietnam countryside, to the ravages of war, to the shocking (for Le Ly) wealth of suburban America. The movie occasionally drags but overall I'd still give it an 8 out of 10 because it's such a powerful and important addition to the cinematic depiction of the Vietnam War. The movie also inspired me to read the 2 books ("When Heaven and Earth Changed Places" and "Child of War, Woman of Peace") it was based on. Stone had to compress many events in order to fit the run time; for example, the Tommy Lee Jones character is a fabrication based on 3 different men (and probably meshed into one man as much for the drama such an explosive character provides as for the time constraints), while her books spend extensive time on all 3 relationships. However, the dialogue for several key scenes were taken almost word for word from her books, and I thought it captured the spirit of the story remarkably well, especially for a major studio movie. I highly recommend anyone interested in the film or in the war to read these books, and I commend Oliver Stone for making a trilogy of important films not just for cinema, but for American history.

• Thanks for showing us a different Vietnam Mr. Stone ....

  philip_vanderveken2005-06-22

  Oliver Stone has always had a special bond with Vietnam. He is a veteran of that war and the theme about a veteran trying to cope with his war experiences is a subject that comes back in several of his movies. This is the last movie in his Vietnam trilogy. His first movie was "Platoon" (1986), his second "Born on the Fourth of July" (1989) and the third one was "Heaven & Earth" (1993). In Heaven & Earth he tells the true story of a Vietnamese village girl who survives a life of suffering and hardship during and after the Vietnam war. Before she meets and marries the U.S. marine Steve Butler, she already has had an entire life behind her. She once fled for the violence of the Viet Cong, leaving her farming village for Saigon together with her mother. But soon she disgraced herself by becoming pregnant with her new master's child and as an unmarried mother, she tried to make a living by being a freedom fighter, a hustler and sometimes a prostitute. As soon as they are married, they move to the USA, but life on the other side of the ocean certainly isn't as perfect as she imagined it to be... Some people say that it is a good thing that Oliver Stone has finally made a movie that shows the Vietnamese perspective of the war and I agree, but only to a certain extend. It's true that we only get to see movies that show the American side of the story and that we need other movies that give us a broader view on the matter, but "Heaven & Earth" isn't the only 'reversed' Vietnam film. Perhaps not many people know this, but the French movie "Indochine" (1992) does approximately the same. The main difference with "Heaven & Earth" is that it doesn't talk about the 'American' period, but about the French colonial period that proceeded it and in which time the Vietnam war really started (The French had almost lost all their battles when the Americans came to help them and thereby got completely stuck into the war themselves...). But it is true, Oliver Stone has done a nice job with this movie. He has made it an interesting character study, with the war always present in the background. The acting is very good and I don't think there could have been a better actor than Tommy Lee Jones to play the role of Major Steve Butler. The other actors all did a good job too, in fact, I might say that Stone has had an excellent cast to work with and he probably got the most and the best out of them. If there is one lesser point to this movie, although only a small one, than it must be the language. The Vietnamese all start by speaking almost perfect English to each other, but when they speak to Americans their English is poor, yet when they speak to each other in front of an American its in Vietnamese. I believe it would have been better if Stone had chosen to let the Vietnamese speak their own language all the time and to speak with an accent when speaking to the Americans. But as I already said, I only see this as a minor detail and it certainly didn't spoil the good times that I had with this movie. This is an underrated movie that deserves to be seen by a great audience. I give it a 7.5/10 at least, perhaps even an 8/10.

• Forget Vietnam

  umiboozu2003-06-10

  I don't understand why most people don't appreciate this movie. I guess one reason is that it's not easy to look at your own people, US soldiers, as enemies, or at your country - in the final - as the land of fatty meaninglessnes. Or maybe they were expecting something different from Stone, something more than that history - not so unusual as someone observed - of a simple vietnamese country girl. The point, for me, is that this is not a film about the vietnam war, which is only the background. If you make the effort to forget the vietnam war, its historical and cultural legacy, to avoid being on the side of one of the armies (maybe is easier for me, being an italian), you'll discover one of the most intense movie about the family and the bonds with the earth where you belong. Stone through the story of this simple girl succeeded in telling the story of entire humankind, analizing those which are its roots, its ties, its hopes, its condemnations. Honestly, one of the best movies I've ever seen. Sincere, profound, touching. True.

• Powerful, Accurate View of the "American" War

  craigbenting2001-07-04

  I should state this up front: I'm an American who was born in 1970 towards the end of the Vietnam War and I know very little about it *first-hand*. Most of what I know is from school and the media -- the men in my family who were there just don't talk about it. My wife and my closest friend for the past 9 years was born in Danang, (central) Vietnam, in 1969 and remembers some personal experiences as a child at the end of the war and after until she escaped without her family in 1982 to Hong Kong. I've *been* to Vietnam including the areas where this movie takes place. This movie very accurately expresses a common view of the war by many Vietnamese people of the era -- that when a civil war like this occurs around you and your home with both sides there day and night your concept of right and wrong can easily change. (or heaven & earth "change places" as they put it in the movie) If you can possibly get the DVD, you can see deleted scenes including an "alternate/extended" beginning to the movie. It was actually a 30 minute clip that was cut down to be the first 5 minutes of the released movie. It's very interesting because it illustrates many basic parts of Vietnamese life (mainly rural life) as it has been for hundreds or thousands of years. Yes, this movie contrasts pre-war, war, and post-war life for the Vietnamese (for the ones who stayed there and also for Viet Kieu or overseas Vietnamese like my wife) sometimes in a ridiculously extreme way. Even though life was "idyllic" before the war and horrible during and after, the Vietnamese have fought for literally thousands of years to retain their national identity and independence not just against Americans but also the French, Japanese, and Chinese to name a few. If you've been moved by other Vietnam War movies, but haven't seen this one then you have only seen the story told from our viewpoint, which is absolutely vain. If you haven't, you must see this movie for their view of the "American" war. Hopefully it will inspire you as it did me to learn more about the Vietnamese people and their long, proud history spanning thousands of years.

• an unrecognised masterpiece

  spirou6662005-10-27

  I don't understand why this film has been rated so poorly, it really deserves better. The breath-taking landscapes, subtle imagery, the overall excellent craftsmanship alone make this movie worth seeing. The unique and very personal perspective of this movie makes it hard to keep your distance. Some scenes are rather brutal, but these scenes are necessary for telling a realistic story. Definitely no Disney family movie though. I give it a 9 out of 10, because even with 140 minutes runtime the story feels rushed and crammed. Sometimes less is more, I shall read the books now.