84C MoPic (1989) User Reviews

Unique and powerful

[LtCol_Kilgore · 8/10 · 5 January 2002]

This is a unique film. It not only is filmed from a first person POV, but it didn't glamourize war as even humanist films do. There is not too much action yet the film is still fascinating. Instead, the film features what soldiers do in between all the glamourized gunfights. The soldiers camp out, quietly hike, interact and create tension amongst each other and also grow closer, scout out Vietcong positions, and talk about home. This is the most realistic depiction of Vietnam missions in film. The action is mostly incoherent, making it more realistic. There isn't any plagarized, motivating score (Pearl Harbor) set to dozens of soldiers running in slow motion. There are a few gunshots out of the jungle and a man goes down. THe film is emotional and powerful, a great war film.

8/10 or ***1/2 stars out of ****

Engrossing War Film

[gooseman1 · 8/10 · 21 April 2005]

The acting is first rate, with Richard Brooks delivering the the goods as OD, the defacto leader of this group of recon soldiers.

The first person perspective throughout the movie adds to the impact and lends a realism that conventional cinematography wouldn't have been able to pull off.

The violence (it IS a war movie) is very realistic and disconcerting, which further involves the viewer in the movie. Moreso, this movie investigates the personal dynamics of the group of soldiers, set into the horror of the situation.

In retrospect, the story and characters are really nothing you've not already seen. The stereotypical archetypes are represented, the redneck, the scared short-timer, etc, but while you watch this movie, the combination of a documentary style filming and first person perspective, combine to make this film feel new and refreshing. Granted "Blair Witch" had a similar feel, but this pre-dated that film by 10 years and pre-dated "The Last Broadcast" (from which the "Blair Witch" was nicked) by 9 years.

If you can find a copy of this film. Settle in, crank it up and immerse yourself in it. It isn't the same as "the real thing": it isn't even close, nothing is. But it does let you glimpse into the world, without the fake slo-mo sequences, mood enhancing soundtrack, and trappings that separate you from "real life", and you can actually almost believe this IS a documentary.

Better than the Blair Witch Project

[lot49 · 8/10 · 14 August 1999]

This 1989 mockumentary employs a simple premise: a combat photographer known as "Mopic" (Byron Thames) accompanies an infantry squad on a patrol during the Vietnam War. We see the story through Mopic's lens. (Except for the POV, it's similar to the second half of "Full Metal Jacket.") The soldiers are often scared, frustrated and fatigued. They are trying to reach a village where a helicopter can take them out of the jungle, but they are delayed by the Viet Cong. The enemy is an unseen, menacing presence in the jungle -- until a Viet Cong soldier is captured. The actors were unknown in 1989, but Richard Brooks would later play Assistant District Attorney Paul Robinette in "Law and Order."

Surprisingly good Vietnam picture

[davethorne700 · 23 August 2002]

Vietnam war film shot in 1st person POV. It really works and you feel that you are right there with the platoon who are on a recon mission in the jungle bush of Vietnam. This effort is surprisingly good and is more gritty and realistic than most war movies out there (not mentioning a few big budget titles). The acting is top notch and the original way it was filmed (over 10 years before Blair Witch) makes this one a gem to own in your vhs/dvd collection. I liked this film a lot and highly recommend it to any fan of 'Nam titles.

"Get that thing out of my face"!

[lost-in-limbo · 6/10 · 13 June 2014]

Something like this might not look original now, but back when it was released it was probably refreshing and innovative. An army cameraman (code-name Charlie MoPic) films a small recon platoon to record the procedures of combat situations in the jungles of Vietnam. Think of its low-budget (and it shows) and especially competing with Vietnam war films of the late 80s like "Platoon", "Full Metal Jacket" and "Hamburger Hill". Looking for a different angle to set it apart… which I don't know how successful it was, as I only heard of the film for the first time a couple months back. It does remind me of the TV show "Tour of Duty", which if I remember correctly had an episode using this concept.

Still "84 Charlie MoPic" is quite a personal, gut-wrenching and gritty look into the exploits on the front-line. It doesn't shy away either, giving the characters plenty of time to bond and open up with their differing perspectives. It's driven by its dialogues/characters, as it's in the details, commonplace but realistic. Sometimes a little slow and meandering, but those looking for constant action will be hugely disappointed, as when it occurs its only minor and the Viet Cong are kept mainly unseen, but it does have impact because we feel every inch of pain, discomfort and disorientation the soldiers encountered. This is where the intensity arrives from; the chemistry and respect between the men. That when they start getting picked off in quick concession, the intimate styling crafted gave it a more grounded sense that played to its strengths. It's primal, instinctive, as their combat training makes little headway in their quest for survival. There are no rules in this war, where danger is always there. The performances are raw, but believable and well-delivered by a bunch of no names. The low-scale handling gives it an organic, but tight and humid touch Written and directed by Patrick Luncan, he makes good use of the one idea concept and lets it flow accordingly to achieve maximum effect.

A solid effort

[bluebottle1 · 7/10 · 22 July 2005]

As I recall, this was one of those movies that probably deserved a great deal more exposure than what it really got. It's timing was unfortunate. It came along on the heels of "Platoon" and "Full Metal Jacket" and even "Good Morning, Vietnam," so the various views of the Vietnam conflict had largely been done to death in the space of a few years and by much higher profile and higher budget filmmakers. The U.S. went from ignoring the conflict to a nationwide confession of guilt in the space of a year or so. Anyway, this was a good effort. It's low budget, but worthwhile, and, as the previous poster noted, the technique was the "first person" sort used in "Blair Witch" but done many years before that movie ever appeared.

Low Budget, Great Movie

[Bayjohn · 10/10 · 16 February 1999]

Despite the obvious low budget, this film is definitely worth watching. The unknown actors are superb with the materials and situations they are given and make the reality of the Vietnam War come through in a very real fashion. In terms of scale, this is no "Saving Private Ryan", but it does have the same dramatic impact on the viewer. Highly Recommended!

fascinating experimental filmmaking

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 14 September 2015]

84C 'MoPic' is a military cameraman filming a Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP) mission during the Vietnam War. LT is a lieutenant new in country and eager to climb the military ladder. OD (Richard Brooks) is a wise sergeant. Easy is short. With Pretty Boy, Hammer and Cracker, the group encounters the enemy and dangers along the way.

This is what is today referred to as found footage movie. The movie is filmed through MoPic's camera point of view. What I love the most are the little insightful moments of the cat and mouse game with the North Vietnamese. Some of the 'talk' with the group gets a bit too written. Asking Cracker about his black leader is too on-the-nose. The low budget doesn't interfere too much. It forces the movie to focus on the small group. The action isn't as compelling as one would expect because it does get confused. In a way, it's more realistic but less cinematic. This is a fascinating experiment in filmmaking.

Excellent movie - true to life at that time

[allenhfreeman01 · 9/10 · 16 October 2005]

I have never seen another movie presented in this way. The closest film presentation, similar to this, I can remember seeing before is the "You Are There" series, with Walter Cronkite, that we used to see in school during the 50's and 60's. I liked those and I liked this. I personally think this is a tremendously underrated film. In addition, this movie happens to be about my old unit (An Khe-1969). Many of the experiences presented are similar to what my experiences were at that time. This film paints a realistic picture of one segment of the war in Vietnam, and it is NOT a pretty picture. But, it very effectively demonstrates the closeness that develops among men in combat as well as the fear and drabness we lived with. It would probably be a good demonstration film for new military servicemen. I was cast back to that time. It was effectively presented and very well acted. The technical adviser did well because I saw no errors in techniques and equipment. If you want to see what recon could be like, see this film.

a grunt's eye view

[mjneu59 · 6/10 · 15 November 2010]

Patrick Duncan's debut feature arrived late in the cycle of Vietnam War films but offered a unique perspective of the conflict, with no '60s nostalgia, no Heart of Darkness allegorical significance, and no coming-of-age baptism by fire. The film instead consists entirely of footage shot by an Army cameraman assigned to follow a six-man reconnaissance unit behind enemy lines, in effect making the audience another member of the patrol. It's a fascinating way to depict warfare at its most intimate and vulnerable level, without the crutch of big budget production values, but Duncan's faux-documentary technique sometimes works against itself because, strictly speaking, this isn't a documentary, and some of the dialogue sounds all too obviously scripted. The film works best when the camera is simply eavesdropping, showing how their proximity to death bonds each soldier together regardless of race or rank, and capturing like no other war film the tense ambiance of patrolling through hostile territory.

rip off

[martin_humble · 2/10 · 14 November 2001]

A 1989 Vietnam War drama that does not work at all. With a story and dialog quite similar to the one found in Full Metal Jacket this movie seems meaningless. The acting is OK, but the lack of impressive acting is too great. Only minor scenes are exciting but mostly the movie is slow and uninteresting. Not recommended at all, not even if you are in to Vietnam movies. 2/10.

The Best Small Unit Warfare Movie Ever

[Alex-372 · 10/10 · 29 March 2003]

84 Charlie Mopic (84C Mopic) is the best movie ever made about small unit warfare. If that's what you're into, you're golden with this mock documentary about a LRRP/Ranger unit. A cast of unknown actors (Richard Brooks of Law & Order, Glenn Morshower of CSI, Christopher Burgard, Nicholas Gascone) generate extraordinary performances.

The difference with other movies is that it gives a lot of attention to the detail of going on a small 5 man, 5 day mission as the LRRPs did. There is a lot of attention paid to noise discipline, and when enemy shots ring out, you have to work out for yourself from where. The enemy is seen up close only once in this movie.

There is no heavy handed treatment of "politics" as in Hamburger Hill, no lots of nonsense like in Platoon, just five (seven) guys who are thrown together and have a job to do, and hopefully come through alive.

If you like it, you may also like Sniper, with Tom Berenger and Billy Zane.

A Powerful But Flawed First Person Depiction of the Vietnam War

[zardoz-13 · 6/10 · 17 October 2008]

Long before "Cloverfield" earned praise for the immediacy of its approach to a "Godzilla" horror story by shooting from the perspective of a handy cam in the fist of a survivor, writer & director Patrick Sheane Duncan's "84C MoPic" pioneered this novel technique. This 95-minute, low-budget Vietnam War movie with its largely unknown cast boasts the distinction of being helmed by a 'Nam veteran. Deane emphasizes authenticity by lensing everything from the view point of a combat photographer. Indeed, the camera serves as the film's point of view, and Patrick maintains this point of view from fade-in to fade-out.

Unquestionably, the conceit of "84C MoPic" is nothing short of brilliant. A combat photographer (Byron Thames of "Johnny Dangerously") films a reconnaissance unit choppered into the bush as a training film for the military. Deane's distinctive film then has not only an immediacy about it but it also contains a clever rational for its artless artistry. The closest thing in real life to "84C MoPic" is John Houston's World War II documentary "The Battle of San Pietro." Everything is seen from the camera and the camera is constantly in the rear because no cameraman would expose himself to enemy fire by standing in front of his own troops. The hand-held, cine'ma ve'rite' style of film-making fuels the realism of "84C Charlie MoPic." The soldiers do nothing in this movie that isn't thoroughly believable. The procedure of bagging and tagging a body hammers home hard the lack of glamor. "84C MoPic" manifests few pretensions and the character never argue about the validity of the Vietnam.

If genuinely artistic photography were the only necessity for a great movie, then Deane's film would have amounted to a classic. Unfortunately, despite the excellence of Deane's first-person, in-your-face technique, "84C MoPic" provides only intermittently entertainment as an action-packed war story. Deane populates his screenplay with relatively bland, one-dimensional characters that rarely engage our sympathy. They lack charisma. Since we never become emotionally attached to any of them, the ones that die generate little concern for us. The G.I. humor is old and stale. Ultimately, despite some tense moments of combat near the end, "84C MoPic" is not memorable in the least. None of the characters stand out and the enemy is rarely seen. Deane occasionally undermines his powerful atmosphere of realism by having his camera running during a dangerous moment. Would anybody seriously risk their life by photographing an unsuspecting enemy who might hear the sounds of film whirling through their camera?

Primarily, Deane's screenplay is an anthology of war story clichés. "84C MoPic" replicates the World War II movie cliché that the unit contained an ethnic collection of oddballs. Alas, these guys are bland, and the story is for the most part boring. There is the guy with less than a month to go before he is shipped home but is paranoid about his chances of survival. There is the green, inexperienced lieutenant, LT (Jonathan Emerson of "Graveyard Shift"),who couldn't find his own dog tags with his hands in broad daylight but volunteered for combat to earn a promotion. There is the angry black man simply named OD(Richard Brooks of NBC-TV's "Law & Order") who threatens to kill his superior officer. There is a backwoods North Carolina redneck,Cracker (Glenn Morshower of "Black Hawk Down"), who turns a blind eye to the black man and considers him a true brother, something that he admits would never happen back home. Each character addresses the other by their nicknames: 'Pretty Boy,''L-T,' 'Cracker,' and 'OD.' The performances are ordinary enough.

Nobody hams it up, but they don't make much of an impression. There is nothing incredibly gory. The closest to real violence is the scene where an enemy sniper targets Pretty Boy. The sniper keeps on shooting the soldier and nobody can come to rescue. At one point, the soldier even tries to blow himself up with a hand grenade. Although the story is neither original nor dramatic enough, "84C MoPic" deserves three silver stars for its technique and its interpretation. The irony of the ending is a neat touch. Mind you, this movie isn't as memorable as "Apocalypse Now," "The Deer Hunter," or "Platoon," but it is worth watching.

Altogether, "84C MoPic" still qualifies as a unique film that is too realistic for its own good. Surprisingly, given the potential of the premise, nobody has remade it with a big budget for special effects.

Great central idea but the execution is very lacking

[Red-Barracuda · 4/10 · 26 May 2015]

84 Charlie Mopic was a latter day entry in the late 80's cycle of Vietnam War movies. By this point in time there had been so many of these films that the sub-genre was running out of ideas. For that reason it seems likely that film-makers had to come up with new methods of presenting this material. To this end, 84 Charlie Mopic adopts a decidedly different approach in that it takes the form of a docudrama shot from a first person perspective via the video footage of a combat journalist sent out with an American platoon on a reconnaissance mission in the jungle. You have to remember that this was a very early example of the found-footage genre which was popularised a decade later by The Blair Witch Project (1999) and which has become very common place since. And while this was not the first film to use this technique, it was still very uncommon at the time and from this perspective has to be considered a commendably original approach.

Having said this, I just wish I could say I liked the movie more. On paper, it sounds like a good concept that has considerable potential. In practice it doesn't really work so well. It's very low budget is always obvious and it never really feels like we are ever in Vietnam, it looks more like a forest in the American Everglades or something. Not only this but it is very slow-paced and relies on dramatics far more than on action. Nothing wrong with that but the problem is that for this to work the script has to be decent but sadly for the most part the dialogue is fairly poor and the characters are not especially well defined, not helped by quite mediocre acting. Don't get me wrong, it has moments of interest, such as a tense interview scene which illustrated how racial differences that are an issue in civilian life cease to be relevant in the context of a combat platoon. There is also a dramatic scene in which an enemy soldier is captured and the manner in which this is dealt with showcases the ugliness of war; while the ending of the film worked quite well even if it was a little sudden. So, there are good moments in this movie, yet for the most part I found it to be a plodding and overly limited production. I give it credit for ideas but its execution was very lacking.

One of those Sundance gems

[oldskibum2 · 16 March 2001]

Much of the credit for the genuine feel of this film should go to two former Marines who had "been there, done that": Russ Thurman and Dale Dye. Dye's method of running the actors through a mini-boot camp helps raise this film to the level of "Platoon" and "Saving Private Ryan", his more widely-known achievements. Seen largely through the eyes (or lens) of the handheld camera of the mostly-unseen "Mopic", it gives viewers a different perspective on bonding that happens when men put their lives into each other's hands almost daily. Its ring of truth comes from endless tiny details that only former grunts would ever notice. When someone asks this former Marine which are the best Viet Nam films, "84 Charlie MoPic" and "The Odd Angry Shot" are at the top of a very short list.

A good cult war movie

[sincitybrant · 7/10 · 11 September 2002]

While it may not be the first war movie shot from a first-person

camera perspective, it's certainly the first and only one I've seen

and I like the whole Mo Pic documentary feel of the film. I don't

think this is a great movie or a great war movie, but it sure is

interesting and I like to watch it every now and then. From my

understanding of Vietnam and the military though, certain things

were highly unrealistic in terms of what characters say, but it's

easy to get past that. The plot moves right along and this movie is

NOT predictable. It's a smart low-budget (I'd assume) movie that

achieves what it sets out to achieve; a definite must-see for any

war film fans.

Early POV Movie

[view_and_review · 7/10 · 12 February 2020]

With so many Vietnam movies being done in the 80's, "84c MoPic" had to do something to differentiate itself. In that respect this movie was done POV style which was rare if it was done at all. I can't recall a movie as early as 1989 being done POV style though it would become very popular ten years later with "Blair Witch Project."

"84c MoPic" follows a small band of soldiers navigating the brush of Vietnam. Their mission is not entirely clear, but one thing is clear: they want to survive. They're led by OD (Richard Brooks). He's as tough as they come and precisely what the group needs to stay alive. MoPic (Byron Thames), short for motion picture, is the cameraman there to capture everything. It's really about the various personalities that one could see in Vietnam more than the tactical aspect of it.

But this is a movie about the Vietnam War so it wouldn't be complete without firefights and deaths. The firefights are brief but fatal and by movie's end you will be saddened.

Realistic depiction of American patrol on Vietnam

[kiph-2 · 9/10 · 20 December 2000]

Comparing this with my other favorite war movie, MASH, I'd call them both "naturalistic." They show humor and horror side by side, long stretches of tedium and short bursts of terror, without relying on an artificial plot or stereotyped characters. But 84 Charlie MoPic is much more realistic.

I was not in combat or in Vietnam, but I was in the Army at that time. Several of my Army friends had jobs making films exactly as shown in 84 Charlie MoPic. This is as accurate a picture of an American combat soldier's experience in Vietnam as any I can imagine. The first time I saw it, I was totally taken in, thought it was an actual documentary until the very end.

Incidentally, 84C or 84 Charlie is (or was) the code for the "military occupational specialty" of Motion Picture Specialist.

Let Down By The Budget

[Theo Robertson · 6/10 · 28 August 2013]

This is a curious mixture of good and bad . By 1989 the Vietnam war film had been blazing across cinema screens for over ten years and audiences were growing of tired of this genre in much the same way as America became literally tired of the ongoing conflict in South East Asia 20 years earlier . We'd already had the home front movie with THE DEER HUNTER and COMING HOME , war as expressionist horror film in APOCALYPSE NOW and black comedy in FULL METAL JACKET and GO TELL THE SPARTANS . You can see writer/director Patrick Sheane Duncan trying to do a grunts eye view of the conflict but is limited by budget so tries a new twist on this by having the entire action filmed as stock war footage

What Duncan does manage to do is convey the absurdity of tours of duty . In the Vietnam era American individual soldiers would complete a tour of duty then would be replaced by another individual soldier . What this meant that American units would be entirely composed of soldiers would have differing tour lengths with some men almost completing their tour while their colleagues had several hundred days till the " wake up " which meant a complete lack of unit cohesion with the veterans in the unit having undisguised contempt for the newbies which they'd describe as FNGs' . The film illustrates this very well with the de facto platoon leader OD having little respect for the new LT and the camera team

What the film doesn't do very well is giving a sense of time and place . Again the budget is the problem and at no time did I get the impression I was watching something take place in Vietnam in 1969 . Some people have argued that WE WERE SOLDIERS and THE GREEN BERETS were also set in the central highlands and wouldn't feature the dense humid jungles that's perceived as being a geographical feature of South East Asia but even so you're conscious that it probably wasn't filmed too far from the Burbank Studios in California and despite the use of strong language it has a look and feel of a TVM and for a film purporting to be true to life film footage it's not nearly stylised enough and it's difficult to believe this film influenced the likes of THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT , CLOVERFIELD and other lost footage film

Amazing infantry movie

[bfishbine · 10/10 · 12 July 2006]

When I first watched this film I was in the 82nd at the time. It looked like an Army uncut documentary. My friends and I watched it several times looking for errors. The only error we could find (and it was a stretch) was the helicopter in the final scene had modified landing skids that were not developed till later. That helo also had a red checklist that probably would not have been used.

The boots were tied right and worn-out in the right places. The rucks were heavy and carried like people who did that a lot. They wore their equipment right and each had the fitness level of an infantryman. The short-timer caught the spirit of what it meant to be short. Our short timers said the same stupid comments. "I'm so short I could halo off a dime" is funny the first time you hear it, not the 50th.

Every squad seems to have the same people in it. This movie captured that to a "T." They talked way to much for a LRRP unit but it makes sense if you put grunts in front of a camera.

Hands down one of the most realistic war movies ever made. In subtle ways this captures what it is like to be a grunt.

My Karma ran over my dogma!!!

[pkzeewiz · 3/10 · 10 April 2010]

Watched this blindly knowing nothing about it and it wasn't too bad.

Shot as a documentary, but it's not a documentary. All the story is completely made up and its about a camera man and a Lt. following soldiers out into the field on a mission. These soldiers are a tight knit group of green berets who do the dirty work most are scared to, but as you see as the film goes on these guys are as scared as anyone else is and they suffer and deal with the worst things the war has to offer. From casualties to killing men they have never seen, to surviving through the night this movie tells their tale.

Writer/director Patrick Sheane Duncan did an extraordinary job here in my opinion. In his career he has touched on war before as well as music. His writing credits include Mr. Hollands Opus, Elvis the miniseries as well as A Home of our own. His direction here is meant to be that of a shaky nervous cameraman and one would expect to see a film like Cloverfield or Blair Witch BUT far from it, this movie does a perfect job of feeling like a documentary and feeling like a real motion picture at the same time. Not once was the camera shaky or hard on the eyes, it was very steady.

The production here was well for a Vietnam movie, it was made two decades after the war but captured the essence well. The actors weren't familiar faces which helped with the documentary feel. All these men portraying soldiers did and a great job in my opinion.

I liked a lot of things about the movie too, like how they showed the fear these men had, they didn't make them out to be arrogant heroes, they made them out to be honest and brave yet scared. Another good thing was race. In the field there is no black or white you are all brothers and this film touched on that nicely. I always find flaws in these movies and there were many little ones but it's to be expected. things like how well groomed these guys stayed and how clean their clothes were day after day, stuff like that does honestly makes me mad.

The movie was good for a first watch, if you like dramas you will like it and if you like war movies it'll be a good one to check out. To me it did get extremely slow after the first ten minutes and didn't get laced with action until the last 30, which were great... 3 out of 10 stars.

One Of The Best Movies About Vietnam

[carol-160 · 9/10 · 23 May 2005]

This low-budget movie packs a maximum impact. The cast of no-names eliminates the predisposition to the glorification of war associated with many big name "war" actors. I have rarely seen a film about small-unit dynamics as well done. Every part is well-acted. Of interest are the relationships between the draftees, the enlisted lifer, and the opportunistic Lieutenant. The tension, confusion, and boredom of combat operations is captured in excruciating yet tender detail. The film conveys a good sense of the terrible waste of the Vietnam war. This movie is down, dirty, and real. If you are a war film buff, this one is a must see!

One word to describe this movie... s**t.

[Pop2Dog · 1/10 · 4 June 2013]

God! The dialog is awful! Truly terrible!

It doesn't feel real, which is the first and last nail in the coffin for a "found-footage" kind of movie. All the characters are badly written. The things they do, like smoke cigarettes while in the jungle on LRRP- which would give any enemy close by notice they were there, are stupid.

There is not a single character you care about. The ending is crap, and is just annoying.

5 Minutes in and you are begging for these clichéd, awful characters to trip a huge mine and blow everyone to pieces.

Badly written. Badly directed. Badly acted.

S**t.

Probably the most realistic of all the Viet Nam movies

[rdylla · 9/10 · 14 October 2006]

As a Viet Nam veteran, I saw this movie on cable approximately 1 year after it was made. I was actually under the impression that this film was a documentary and not a movie. The realism and events were common place in "NAM". Not for the faint of heart. The film depicts a LRRP ( Long Range Reconisance Patrol) on one of its missions. It very vividly describes the terrain, problems, booby traps and other adverse conditions met by our troops during the Viet Nam Campaign. It also informs the viewer of some of the tactics used by the Viet Cong, the North Vietnamese Army and the U.S Forces during this war. It brings the thoughts, emotions and feelings of the patrols members as events occur during this patrol.

For training purposes, a camera is taken on a "routine" patrol in Viet Nam

[bux · 10/10 · 9 October 1998]

Sit down in front of the screen and see the Viet Nam war the way it REALLY was. A grim, gripping story of a 'routine' scouting patrol in the jungles of Southeast Asia. Sure there are the stereotypes, but here they only serve to examine the divided loyalties and strange bed fellows created by an un-popular war. The cast of virtual unknowns add to the reality, and they handle the acting chores flawlessly. This one is not for the squeamish, or those prone to RVN flash-backs!