In 1968, when Emile De Antonio’s, documentary on the Vietnam War, “In the Year of the Pig”, was released, the war was still raging with no real sign of an ending in sight. That fact makes the documentary notable, as the producers did not have an ending to portray. When seen in this light, I felt that this was cinema’s contribution to the anti-war movement going on at the time.
Like all documentaries, regardless as to how much a director tries to show unbiased viewpoints, the true beliefs of the filmmaker always get relayed in the final film. Antonio, who was very left wing does not even try and attempt to show both sides of the story. The movie gives the impression that Ho Chi Minh, the North Vietnamese leader was a saintly man revered by the entire population, while showing the Catholic Ruler Diem as a cruel dictator. While all the facts stated in the film are true, it is the selection of which fact to emphasize and which ones to ignore that results in a biased presentation.
The movie makes use of interviews and public announcements of key people and journalists spliced together alongside real footage of the war. In addition, there are sparse segments of American combatants making statements that give the impression that the American Army were cruel killers. For example, the famous still photo of a US marine with the statement, “Make war not Love”, on his helmet.
The film attempts to give an historical context to the conflict beginning with the defeat of the French in the first Indochina war. A lot of emphasis is made on colonialism, which is the true base to the cause of the many years of war. Unfortunately, there is no mention made throughout the film of the military support of China and the Soviet Union to the communist Viet Cong, nor is there any mention of the Viet Cong invasion of Laos and Cambodia. Two actions that precipitated American bombings in those countries and the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people.
There is power in the images shown in the movie and the message being sent to stop interfering with what the majority of the Vietnamese people desire is very clear. The movie is a very one sided perspective where no attempt to portray any negativity on the preferred side is made. That of course is because it would have defeated Antonio’s goal of helping to bring about the end of the war. That is a noble goal, that many people may think justifies using cinema as its tool of propaganda.
1001 Movies before you die 