Vietnam (miniseries)

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Vietnam
Genre mini-series
Written by Chris Noonan
Terry Hayes
John Duigan
Directed by Chris Noonan
John Duigan
Starring Nicole Kidman
Barry Otto
Nicholas Eadie
Composer(s) William Motzing
Country of origin Australia
Original language(s) English
Vietnamese
No. of episodes 5
Production
Producer(s) Terry Hayes
George Miller
Doug Mitchell
Running time 5 x 2 hours
Broadcast
Original channel Network Ten
Original run 23 February 1987 – 27 April 1987

Vietnam is a (1987) Australian TV mini-series, and made in a DVD which released in the early of 2009, directed by Chris Noonan and John Duigan. It stars Nicole Kidman, Alyssa-Jane Cook. Kidman has won AFI and Logie Award [1] for her role in Vietnam. .[2]

Plot

Set in the 1960s to 1970's about Australia's involvement in the Vietnam war. On the homefront it mainly focusses on the Goddard family - Douglas (Barry Otto), Evelyn (Veronica Lang) and their children Phil (Nicholas Eadie) and Megan (Nicole Kidman). At the age of 15, Megan is only interested in boys, hanging out with her friends and going to parties, and has to deal with her annoying older brother Phil winding her up! When she meets the charismatic Serge she pretends she is at University so she can go out with him.

The announcement of Australia joining the war in Vietnam rocks the family as Phil is enlisted and leaves to fight for his country. His family say an emotional farewell to him. Once in Vietnam, the soldiers are pushed to their limits and beyond, dealing with landmines, civilian casualties, capture and the other horrors of war. The war puts a massive strain on his family back at home too - Douglas Goddard works in the Government and is involved in policy and decision making regarding the war, which creates tension between him and his family. As Megan grows up and gets closer to Serge, she begins to feel frustrated at not being allowed her independence at home, so runs away to Sydney where Serge is at Uni.

Much to the embarrassment of her father, Megan and her friends become publicly involved with anti-war demonstrations, and Megan begins to challenge her father on his war policies. The family are re-united - on the surface - when Phil returns home on leave. Once her annoying older brother, Megan and Phil are now happy to hang out with each other, and go to a club together with friends. But it doesn't last long, as Phil has to return to Vietnam. Megan becomes increasingly frustrated with her father up to the point where she moves out and goes to live with Serge. Serge and Megan are key figures in anti-war and draft resistance protests. Her parents separate, and Megan introduces her mother to her new friends involved in anti-war protests, allowing the two to relate to each other in a new way and develop a real bond.

Meanwhile, on the frontline in Vietnam Phil is continuing to deal with endless horrors, and is seeing more of his friends die or become injured. When he is able to come home to Australia, he doesn't make contact with his family, and for months they are left without news of his safety. Now an important part of the Vietnam anti-war protests, Megan is asked to take part in a radio interview about her groups efforts. Megan is informed and assured and answers questions with confidence. But she is rocked to her core when a man calling himself Tom calls up and immediately recognises the voice - it's her long lost brother Phil. Megan struggles to retain her composure, and tries to defend her protests when her brother questions her support of the troops. When he hangs up, she breaks down. Following the end of the war, Megan and her parents are able to be civil to each other again, and have a mutual respect for each other.

Cast

Production

The project was filmed in New South Wales, Australia, and Phuket in Thailand, presumably in 1986. Kidman was just 19 years old at the time, and Kennedy-Miller, the producers of the series, would later cast her in Dead Calm. Vietnam features a host of high calibre Australian television actors. Veronica Lang, Barry Otto and Nicholas Eadie made up the Goddard family, playing Megan's mother Evelyn, father Douglas and older brother Phil, respectively. Barry Otto is a 5-times nominated Australian Film Institute actor, who built up a solid body of work since his debut in the mid 1970s. He was recently seen in Australia in the small role of Administrator Allsop. Playing Evelyn is Veronica Lang, an English actress who was a familiar face on TV screens in England and Australia from 1965. She starred in Winners alongside Nicole in 1985, playing Alison Trig. Both Barry Otto and Veronica Lang also starred in Aussie soap A Country Practice, in which Nicole also appeared. Playing the pivotal role of Phil, Megan's older brother who gets drafted into the army, is Nicholas Eadie.

Release and Reception

The first episode of Vietnam aired in Australia on 23 February 1987, and received some strong reviews from the Australian press. Reviews praised the shows accuracy in portraying society's changing attitudes towards the war, as well as the family dynamic and character development. "There is much to admire and little to criticize in Vietnam. Personal relationships inside and outside the family and the shift in society's attitudes have been penetratingly and evocatively observed. All the characters, including the South Vietnamese for once, have been given an empathetic point of view," wrote The Age on the day of the shows premiere. The paper added that, "The direction elicits absolutely involving performances from a top-drawer cast who endow the piece with subtle flourishes and delightful finishing touches." In another review a few days later, the paper highlighted Nicole and Nicholas Eadie as the strongest points within the show - "Especially fine are Nicholas Eadie as Phil, beginning as a finely crafted ordinary bloke and ending as a man who has experienced too much, and Nicole Kidman as the little sister who grows up. It is their relationship, brother and sister, which holds the whole thing together." To many it is considered one of Australia's greatest television series.

Vietnam aired in the UK in 1988.

DVD Release

  • Australia released - PAL/Region 4 DVD. (Not US DVD player)
  • Multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD (USA/Canada: Languages: English (Dolby Digital 2.0)
  • Multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Subtitles)
  • Widescreen (1.78:1) 3 DVD

See also

References

  1. ↑ Nicole Kidman
  2. ↑ Ed. Scott Murray, Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995, Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p246

External links

Films directed by John Duigan
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