Watch Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam For Free

Sorry, this movie sucks

Memorable, crazy movie

I wanted to but couldn't!

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

This film presents the Vietnam War from the American perspective and primarily from the perspective of ordinary American soldiers. It is chronological and describes essential events to put the soldiers' stories into context. While it might help viewers to know basic facts about the war beforehand, the film stands alone. I think this would be an excellent film to show students when discussing, for example, the Cold War.This film is a remarkable documentary because it presents various sides to a complex story in such a short running time. I think the film succeeds because it simply reports the truth. I am not American and appeals to American patriotism or God's blessing of America tend to roll my eyes, not make them tearful. But this film makes the lives of these guys plain to a universal audience.Once the film started, I was so captivated that I ignored the narration and never even thought about who was speaking. I was only grateful the filmmakers chose people practiced in reading text clearly. Ignore the famous names connected to this film. That's not the story at all. The images and music, however, are part of the story. But not front and centre. That place is reserved for the ordinary words of ordinary Americans.

Nothing can capture the hopes and fears of the brave soldiers who fought and died for freedom like their own words. Take that and add the documentary films and photos taken in Vietnam and you have a reality that no fictional movie can capture but that hundreds of thousands went through every day, doing what they do best in a place they'd rather not be. The actors reading the letters manages to capture the sincerity and the emotions of the people writing them.Highly recommended.

I grew up with the Vietnam war being a major part of my life from the age of 9 to the age of 19. I have tried to get my daughter to understand what it was like having lost my father at 9, then having my oldest brother enlist six months later and when he returned, my second brother was drafted near the end of the war. It still affects us to this day in our jobs, our feelings, our survival skills, and how it molded all of us. It wasn't until she saw this film that the entire war sunk in and she could relate to it. Bless her high school English teacher for making them watch this and read books on the Vietnam War. She came home and said "Mom, I couldn't believe those kids were just like us! They were just 18, 19 yr. old and had to go through that! Some of the boys look just like boys in my class! Now I know why it so affected you. You and your brothers were all kids." More high schools should use this film to teach kids about Vietnam. She borrowed it from her teacher and I watched it with her again. I narrated what was going on at our home during the various time lines so she could understand that from 9 to 19 I lived with this everyday, effecting my entire life and I never left the USA!

Dear America, is most certainly one of the really great war films, and this is because nearly everything is real, all footage and the letters read are real, the only things that aren't authentic are the actors voices, however these are some of Hollywoods finest so believing them to be the actual soldiers, mothers, nurses is easy.It is more a documentary then a film, but the presence of the actors gives it a cinemeatic feel.Accompanied by a great soundtrack (has there ever been a Vietnam movie with a bad one) this is one of the most moving and poignent movies you will see, it is through its realness that ones gets a feel of how bad war really is, it is probably one of very few war movies that really makes you fear war, because there is no adventurous sub plot, just some letters from young guys, most of whom just want out.The final letter really sums up the entire movie, and I would have to say this is one of the most moving pieces of film ? I have seen, this is then followed by Springsteens Born in the USA, which brings a fitting conclusion to the film