Da 5 Bloods (2020)

 

Da 5 Bloods is streaming on Netflix.

Da 5 Bloods brings an interesting perspective of the Vietnam war as it is remembered and told from the point of view of four Black Vietnam war veterans. It is directed by Spike Lee so of course the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement occurring at the same time are used to tie into current political events. 

Da 5 Bloods are Paul (Delroy Lindo), Otis (Clarke Peters), Melvin (Isiah Whitlock Jr.) and Eddie (Norm Lewis). They reunite for the first time since the war in Ho Chi Minh to bring home the remains of the fifth blood Stormin’ Norman (Chadwick Boseman) and the treasure that is buried close to him.

There are glimpses into how the Vietnamese are still affected by the war years later, but the main focus are the veterans. There could have been more commentary about this, but at least it’s not a glorification of the events. 

Da 5 Bloods is masterful. The main story line is the most interesting and engaging as it is and I think would have worked fine without the need to bring Jean Reno in to up the ante.

The lead performance by Delroy Lindo is incredible. He is not a character that is easy to like and yet you understand exactly what has brought him to this place from guilt he has never worked past to the frustration of fighting for a country that still hasn’t treated him as an equal. The film opens and closes with speeches from the Civil Rights Movements and news footage and photos are interwoven throughout the film tying past struggles to present struggles. 

Lee uses these struggles to also show how it can affect familial relationships. We see one paternal relationship through Otis. He meets up with a Vietnamese woman named Tiên (Lê Y Lan) whom he had a relationship with during the war and realizes he fathered a daughter with her named Michon (Sandy Hmong Pham) and she has grown up facing unspeakable racism in her home country.

The father/son relationship that is the focus of the film though is that between Paul and his son David (Jonathan Majors) who shows up unexpectedly to Vietnam wanting a share of the treasure for himself.

Marvin Gaye serves as the soundtrack for the film as we follow the Bloods into the Vietnamese jungle in their search. The film occasionally flashes back to the Vietnam war and the experiences the Bloods face whether they are bonding with each other or seeing the horrors of war as they fight for their lives.

What I loved about the flashbacks is that the same actors play their character tying in the recurring theme of the past affecting the present. Paul’s PTSD is difficult to watch and eventually it leads him down a heartbreaking spiral that leads him to break off from his son and his friends hurting most of them in the process. The ending isn’t a happy one, but it’s not entirely sad either.