Prisoners of Hope

The focus of this film is on those who made the excruciating sacrifice of interment in Vietnamese POW camps and the many coping mechanisms they utilized to survive their arduous ordeal which also included their faith to endure the torment. The simple recollection of the former POW's will capture your heart. Sadly, it is a travesty that the documentary is lambasted because criticisms are hurled at the film because the interviewees expound upon how their faith assisted them with their imprisonment. The critical reception is likely from persons who are in torment about their own religious beliefs as oppose to a valuable documentary that earnestly retells the horrific account of a few brave men.

documentary about vietnam p.o.w.s reminiscing 30 or so years after they've been released. the idea is good enough and the execution wasn't

entirely bad, but it played out like a propaganda film for christianity. much of what the men were saying about surviving was framed by their religious beliefs and the documentary seemed to glorify, rather than simply present, that fact. C-, but an B+ if you're christian.

I couldn't remember why I put it in my queue until I saw on this site that it was directed by the renown Danny Schecter, which explains why I put it there at least a year ago. Curiously, however, Mr. Schecter's name is not to be found in the end-credits, unless "Bernie Hargis" (listed in the credits as Director) is a pseudonym (I "pray" that it is not).

I was a piqued at first by the relentless, somewhat syrupy score, and then when one interviewee, soon followed by another, began praising or mentioning their Christian faith, God and "Lord Jesus", etc. until all were doing so in short order--and in most of the scenes throughout--it seemed certain that this had to be some sort of Christian organizational production. Such a narrow and non-secular viewpoint doesn't square with what I know of Mr. Schecter's work in journalism, so it was a relief not to find his name in the credits of this slick, albeit earnest, though in the end, propagandistic production by the "North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention", as stated in last 7 seconds of play.

The former P.O.W.s of the Viet Kong interviewed here are for real and I trust that they actually experienced the horrors they speak of, but if a Christian faith agenda wasn't the aim of this film, it seems the producers could have found some other viewpoints from a wider selection of American ex-P.O.W.s.