teb@stat.Berkeley.EDU (Thomas E. Billings) (09/20/89)
THE ABANDONED FIELD -- FREE FIRE ZONE
A film review by Thomas E. Billings
Copyright 1989 Thomas E. Billings
Synopsis:
A young Vietcong couple, with their infant son, live an idyllic life in a
swamp. They are relentlessly pursued by U. S. Air Force helicopters, which
they frequently hide from. An amateurish propaganda film; this stinker is so
bad it's good!
Vietnam (English subtitles), black and white, 1979, 90 minutes.
Director: Nguyen Hong Sen
The film begins with scenes of the young couple climbing trees, singing
silly songs to each other that are a mixture of romance and propaganda. We
soon learn that they are Vietcong, living with their infant son in a swamp, an
abandoned rice field (the "abandoned field" of the title) that is located in a
free-fire zone in the Mekong Delta.
There follows various scenes of domestic tranquility, interspersed with
scenes of the helicopters searching for them. The couple seem to be skilled at
hiding whenever the helicopters come near. The man and his Vietcong comrades
occasionally go on forays, which seem to turn into exercises in group hiding.
The U. S. forces, from aerial photos, determine that there are people
still living in the free-fire zone. They then set out to clear the zone of the
Vietcong. This sets the situation for a climactic battle between the Vietcong
and the U. S. helicopters.
I was surprised and disappointed by the film. The program notes described
it as "...unnerving and compelling in its subjective camera-eye view of
war...." After seeing it, I would describe it as alternately boring and
laughable!
The film has very serious technical flaws. Subtitles are frequently
missing or displayed too fast, too early, or way too late. The photography is
out of focus far too often. Also, the infant steals the show in a number of
scenes by staring at the camera and making faces. This is natural for a baby,
but hasn't the Director ever heard of retakes? [Sarcasm alert: perhaps the
Director wants to emulate "one shot" Edward Wood, Director of PLAN 9 FROM OUTER
SPACE. Should this be called PLAN 9 FROM VIETNAM?]
Additionally, much of the editing is choppy and severe. Even worse, in
the major "battle" scenes, the two opposing groups appear to be operating
alone, in separate areas, and the film spliced together. Needless to say, the
editing is very amateurish indeed.
Much of the dialogue is unrealistic; some of it is quite ridiculous. The
portrayal of U. S. Air Force officers (by Vietnamese actors) is stereotypical,
thoroughly stupid, unbelievable, and (unintentionally) frequently funny! The
U. S. Air Force is portrayed as a bunch of drunken, philandering deviants and
cowards who shoot their helicopter guns at random.
The film is openly propagandistic in every way. Such a film could be very
offensive, if cleverly done. However, this film is so ridiculous and poorly
done, that the only thing that might offend you is the film's own stupidity!
The audience frequently laughed at the film, though probably not where the
Director might expect laughter. Overall evaluation: gives PLAN 9 FROM OUTER
SPACE some competition in the worst film category. Fans of trash movies might
want to check it out.
Remark: this film is in limited distribution as part of "The Vietnam Film
Project," a touring exhibition organized by the UCLA Film and Television
Archive, with assistance from The Asia Society (New York) and the East-West
Center (Hawaii).
Reviewer: Thomas E. Billings, Department of Statistics
University of California, Berkeley
Reviewer contact: teb@stat.Berkeley.EDU