Vietnam Nurses
- Country
- Australia
- Year
- 2005
- Director
- Polly Watkins
- Producer
- Beth Frey & Lizzette Atkins
- Finance
- Film Finance Corporation Australia, SBS Independent SBS Independent
- Budget
- AUD 292,500
- Length
- 52 minutes
Synopsis
Arriving in Saigon amidst the stifling heat and the overwhelming US military presence, six young Australian army nurses found themselves hit with the reality of the Vietnam War. Based at Vung Tau at the only Australian field hospital, the nurses were little prepared for the horrific injuries they were confronted with. Even for those with trauma experience, it was a huge learning curve. From the thrill of riding in a chopper across the beautiful Vietnamese countryside to the life and death situations they faced in theatre and intensive care, the women tell the untold stories of their Vietnam War.
Impact
"Vietnam Nurses premiered on SBS Storyline Australia in September 2005. After the film was screened viewers from all around Australia joined the producer, director and two of the nurses for an online forum. This turned out to be an incredible experience. The forum opened at 9.30pm and because there were still so many people online they stayed on until Midnight. The atmosphere felt electric as hundreds of people posted messages. Besides tributes to the nurses, many were from Vietnam Veterans sharing their experiences and feelings, with some expressing emotions they'd bottled up for years:
“As I was serving in Vung Tau 67-68, this doco brought back a lot of memories, especially the day I was supposed to fly back to Aussie on R&R and TET offensive was 2 days old and I watched chopper after chopper land on the helipad next to the hospital. I had a tear then, and a flood of them tonight, scenes that have been brought back to me, and finally after all this time, emotion has poured”.
“Every time I watch anything about Vietnam it reminds me of how I have never come home. I still stay alone in my thoughts and have never managed to lay my memories to any real rest. Thank you for the sharing and frankness of your programme. It makes me realise I am not so alone in how I feel about that time.”
During the forum it was virtually impossible to read and respond to all the messages so the next day the filmmakers sat together reading all the comments again. It made them aware of the huge impact of the documentary, particularly in connecting generations; between those who had had some involvement during the war and those who had grown up with a family member who was affected by the war. We heard from whole families who had watched together, laughed and cried together. With many younger people expressing that they were deeply moved by their parent's reactions to the documentary while watching, and that the documentary gave them a new understanding of their parent and their experiences during the war.
From the daughter of one of the on-screen nurses: “Tonight was a very moving experience for me. It was both cathartic and difficult. 'Cathartic' because sometimes it's just nice to let the tears flow for an hour. And 'difficult' because…well because I guess it's always difficult to find out more in an hour about someone you cherish so much than she has been able to let you know in 32 years.”
From a son of a Vietnam veteran:“Thank you for an amazing insight into your time in Vietnam. You told your stories in such a truthful, empathetic way…my father is a Vietnam Vet and I often try to understand what he must have gone through…my father rarely talks about Vietnam but my mother tells me he often has bad dreams and flashbacks. The footage in the documentary was fascinating to watch also and gave me a better insight into just how mad the war really was. There were so many extremes between good and bad, terror and fun and you all told your stories in such a way that made this very real and moving.”
Other comments showed that the film had reminded people, not necessarily a part of the Vietnam Veterans community, of the cost of war:
“As a 36 year old male with 18 years of policing service I thought I was tough but tonight I cried and laughed. I have three sons under 6 and I pray they will never have to go to war, it's a horrible thing.”
“Watched the programme tonight – so deeply moving – teary one minute laughing the next!… I very much took to heart the message that life is fragile and that you should grab life with both hands and live it to the full.”
Many were from other nurses, both civilian and army, male and female, reflecting on their own work and expressing how the documentary had deeply moved and inspired them; and many were from soldiers, including from those who have served in later conflicts:
“Great doco and enjoyed it immensely. Gave me some insight into some of the feelings I have at the moment. I returned from Iraq six months ago today. Spent six months and a wakey there working in intensive care. I also was a bit naïve before going and came back realising the senselessness of war. I tend to get angry at times, haven't taken to grog though, but am a little more politically savy. You legitimised some of the feelings that I am working through.”
The viewer response to Vietnam Nurses was very affirming for the on-screen nurses who had so bravely revealed their own vulnerabilities and the impact of the war on their lives, and for the filmmakers, for all the hard work they'd done across the three years it had taken to complete the documentary. It showed them the powerful impact documentaries can have - judging by the ratings (one of the highest for a documentary in the SBS Storyline Australia series in 2005) and the intense online discussion response, their documentary touched a raw nerve across Australia and was a cathartic experience for those who are still suffering from the impact of the war on their lives and those of their children.