2014 CNEX 國際華人紀錄片影展

1:68.965 The Face of the Enemy     [台灣首映]

 瑞典 Sweden / 2009 / 58 min / 導演 Director：Erik PAUSER

2009 阿姆斯特丹紀錄片影展

信義威秀11/1,22:00   誠品信義11/4,11:00
 

「越戰」打了十六年之久，超過四百萬的越南人喪失性命，是美國死傷人數的六十八倍之多。然而「越戰」這個名稱只不過是美國的認知，當鏡頭轉向越南人，他們竟稱之為「美戰」，甚至稱其為第三次世界大戰。

主流歷史以西方國家角度來敘事，本片則企圖以越南人的觀點出發；這場戰爭不僅僅分裂了他們的國家，更令無數的家庭破碎……

Over four million Vietnamese died in what one side calls the American War and the other side calls the Vietnam War. A war so brutal, that it has been described as their ‘own’ Third World War by the Vietnamese. In this rare instance, it is those who lost the war that have almost exclusively written its history. Whilst countless stories have been told from the American point of view, most often reducing the Vietnamese to faceless shadows very little has been heard from the other side. The official Vietnamese line meanwhile continues to issue purely one-dimensional propaganda.

The Face of the Enemy is a unique documentary, in that it tells the story of the Vietnamese that fought in “The American” war, in their own words. In the film the veterans have the chance, often for the first time, to recall the experiences that transformed and changed their lives.

Whilst for the most part following the chronology of the war, the film focuses more on the personal stories of these characters than on the main events of the war. What did they feel when they joined the army? When they first arrived at the front? How did they see their comrades? The enemy? Their families back at home? The recollections and observations of the main characters will be supported and enhanced by a ”choir” of other characters. This choir will further establish the fact that the stories told by our main protagonists can be seen or shared by the majority in Vietnam today.