Heaven and Earth (1993)

3rd Oliver Stone film about Vietnam

Director:  Oliver Stone.

 

Designed as a third film whose focus is Vietnam. The first two were Platoon and Born on the Fourth of July. 

 

It was based on the life of Le Ly Hayslip who wrote an autobiography titled  When Heaven and Earth Changed Places.   In the film she is portrayed by Hiep Thi Le.  It begins when she is seven years old in a beautiful rural village, where the culture is dominated by an appreciation of nature and Buddhism.  First, the Communist insurgents invade to do battle with the French in 1954. Later, the U.S. forces occupy the village during the day, while the Viet Cong come back at night.  Eventually she is captured by South Vietnamese troops and she is tortured because they think she is helping the V.C.  Her mother (Joan Chen) takes her dowry and bribes a government official so that Le Ly will be freed.  Returning to her village she is soon captured by the V.C., and she is accused of collaborating with the government and being a traitor. Then she is raped.

 

She and her family move to Saigon, where she undergoes a sort of culture shock due to the modern society she encounters as well as the sheer number of people. She and her sister become employed by a well-to-do family. She is misled into thinking that the husband cares for her. She becomes pregnant, and the wife discovers her husband’s infidelity and becomes enraged. The family is forced to move back to their former village. Once they return, the story is altered a bit, and she finally meets Steve Butler (Tommy Lee Jones), a Gunnery Sergeant in the Marines. Although she rejects him at first because she is tired of the relationships she has found. However, she falls in love and Butler moves her and her children to the U.S.  Later, due to his background and his participation in the war, he becomes violent. They separate, but after a period,  she tried sincerely to reconcile with him. Steve commits suicide. Many years after the experience, she takes her children back to Vietnam to show them where she grew up.

 

It was shot primarily in Thailand, and her village and its environs were built on a gigantic set. Le Ly’s father is played by Haing S. Ngor (The Killing Fields).  The result is an extremely powerful statement that was TOTALLY forgotten and panned by the critics.

Author's Note

If you'e interested in film, please see the other films covered in My Writing.