Fonda's 'Winter' of Redemption
Friday, December 9, 2005; Page WE34
More than 30 years after it was made, the documentary "Winter Soldier" is finally getting its big-screen release in the United States. The movie, made by a team of filmmakers, is a stark recording of Vietnam War veterans' accounts of atrocities committed by American soldiers during the war. (See review on Page 28.)
In a hotel conference room in Detroit in early 1971, former soldiers and antiwar activists gathered for what was called the Winter Soldier Investigation, named after a line in a Thomas Paine poem. One of the original financial backers of the WSI and the subsequent film based on it was Jane Fonda, who in 1971 was already known for her role as "Barbarella" but was not yet being called "Hanoi Jane." In an e-mail interview, Fonda talked about what she hopes audiences will take from the film. "In my book [her memoir, 'My Life So Far'], I call the 'Winter Soldier' chapter 'Redemption,' because I feel that is what the WSI represented for those brave men. They were asking Americans to hear them in their collective truth-telling." Among the soldiers who testified were Scott Camil, Rusty Sachs and future senator John Kerry, all of whom were members of Vietnam Veterans Against the War.
Fonda said "Winter Soldier" shows the psychological impact of the war on service personnel: "Starting with the Vietnam War we began training soldiers differently. In my book I talk about secret meetings I had with military psychologists who were really worried about what was happening to our combat personnel. 'We're turning them into killing machines,' one of them said to me. This began because the military discovered that in World War II and Korea, soldiers weren't killing enough (in their opinion), so they changed training procedures."
However, Fonda insists, "it's critical that we understand that the soldiers are not to blame. How they were trained, how their officers either gave the green light or turned a blind eye to what was happening on the ground is what matters. When you put young people into an atrocity-producing situation where enemy and civilian are commingled, where the 'other side' is dehumanized, we cannot be surprised by what these men report in the film."
Fonda insists, "We have not learned the lessons of Vietnam. The returned veterans tried valiantly to tell us what the lessons were, [but] most of us turned our backs. . . . Today the returning antiwar Iraq vets are being called 'unpatriotic.' We must listen to what they have to say."
"Winter Soldier" is at Landmark's E Street Cinema, 555 11th St. NW. Tickets are $6.75 and $9.50. Call 202-452-7672.
Sorry, Hanoi Janey...not this time.
You had your time in the spotlight, and it seriously damaged this country. Go back into your cave.
When all else fails, regurgitate Vietnam and Whiner Soldier.
It's a full court press by the anti-WOT; anti-American, leftist crowd. Fortunately, they're stuck in a sixties quagmire due to their over indulgence in themselves and the brown acid that was not specifically too good. Indeed, they are on their own trip.
That said I'm am so mad that I could spit just as they continue to spit on the men and women who tried to preserve freedom in SEA.
For those that think that being in the streets is a waste of time, this bs which is being billed as fact is why you must be there.
See you in the streets.
This slander was discredited years ago. Many of the "Vietnam vets" were REMFs who made up their stories, soldiers who never set foot in Vietnam, or people who never served at all. It is sad that this ancient lie is resurrected.
Unbelievable. These wacko's are going to use those same bloody lies of pot heads and kooks who never served yet again.
Maybe this will bring a renewed effort to have John Kerry exposed and kicked out of the Senate for having these liars testify at a senate hearing.
Re-releasing this right when the Demowits are trying to cut and run--nice timing. I see Hanoi Jane is back with her same treason.
Clapped out skunk that she is.
I bet this WP "writer" was not even born in 1972.
If this gets wide release, it will hurt the anti-WOT crowd. It will open discussion of the whole issue of the war in SE Asia. It may even help to reclaim recognition of the valor of Americans who did go to fight in the '60s and '70s.
The hippies in this film will be viewed with the same gravitas as disco dancers. Only Air America listeners will ally themselves with Winter Soldier, further marginalizing the anti-WOT crowd from mainstream sentiment in the US.
It's the end of the world as we know it...I feel fine...
They are becoming parodies of themselves now. Withthe 2004 election, American deomstrated they arent into the Viet Nam Protest era anymore. They have also demonstrated that they are sick of the left bashing the troops..
The Swiftvets (just as john O'Neil did last when Kerry called our troops terrorists) and all the rest of us veterans will come out of the woodwork to set the record straight on any proaganda piece that they may have planned.
Semper Fi'
JarheadFromFlorida
Time to send money to the Swift Boat Vets again, I guess.
This review was changed by the post. At the link here, you can see that you can review the film yourself. At first, when I posted my thread, many freepers did review...and then the spies got into it and started their lying reviews. The review you posted has been changed! Check it out.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?node=cityguide/profile&id=1113494&lat=200.0&lon=200.0&displaySearchLocation=&nm=1&categories=Movies
It will come as a surprise to most filmgoers that they've been waiting 30 years to see "Winter Soldier." But now that they have the chance, they won't want to miss it. This extraordinary documentary, having its first theatrical release, not only revisits events during the Vietnam War that have uncanny resonance today but also stands as a riveting example of pure filmic storytelling. An unadorned, black-and-white record of a three-day gathering in Detroit in 1971, "Winter
For once, I am truly without comment.
The time to have this discussion was during the election. We tried. Well, the Swifties tried, all I had to offer was my support.
The Swifites were treated like trash, not even being worthy of debate. We witnessed leftist meltdown more than once regarding this issue. The best they could do was say"Liar, liar pants on fire."
Well, now we are at war and it seems the Washington Post thinks it is time to have the debate.
Swear alert--
Bullshit, assholes each and everyone of them.
Well, I say bring it on. Let's air this out once and for all. When the dust settles, the left will be in for a shock when they realize who is still standing tall.
Jane Fonda has made a living trashing our country. Lets call her what she is, a prostitute who sells to the highest bidder. Her last customer was that nutcase Ted Turner. She is on the prowl for another cash customer.
It is all there. If memory serves me right many of the participants later denied what they said or were never really in RVN.
Corsi or someone can make a quick buck with a quick, but factual, book on this whole subject.
I must say, I'm not surprised.
I just said yesterday it's time for a resurrection of Kerry's lies. Too bad they beat the us to it. Too bad they're so good at projecting lies as truth.
The day after the election anyone could read the writing on the wall.
Americans can not continue to stick their heads in the sand and wish bad things away.
I'm just a little mad, can you tell.