Steinesongo Too many fans seem to be blown away

Mandeep Tyson The acting in this movie is really good.

Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Jakoba True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

gogoschka-1 This is the last film in Oliver Stone's trilogy about the Vietnam war (the other two are 'Platoon' and 'Born on the 4th of July'). It is also the least known. A shame really; not only is it an excellent film, but it is also one of the very few films that show the Vietnam war from the perspective of the Vietnamese (and from a woman, at that - which makes it even rarer). Impressive, shocking, sad and beautiful - and educating. 8 stars out of 10.In case you're interested in more underrated masterpieces, here's some of my favorites:imdb.com/list/ls070242495

wakethenuns3 Heaven and Earth (1993) follows Platoon (1986) and Born of the Fourth of July (1989) to conclude director Oliver Stone's Vietnam War trilogy. Where Stone won Best Director Oscars for both previous films, Heaven and Earth proved a box-office disaster and went unrecognized by the Academy, though Kitaro bagged a Golden Globe for his haunting score. It's hard not to suspect that racism underlay the commercial failure, for where the hit movies addressed the sufferings of white American soldiers played by Hollywood stars, Heaven and Earth focused on the fundamental victims, adapting the true story of a young Vietnamese woman, Le Ly, who goes from village girl to freedom fighter to wife of a US marine struggling to adjust to life in America to reconciliation in Vietnam. Superbly made, with a stunning performance by Hiep Thi Le as Le Ly, and powerful support from Tommy Lee Jones, this is intelligent, harrowing film-making that attempts to understand and bridge the divide between nations traumatized by war.

Joseph P. Ulibas Heaven & Earth (1993) was the final part of Oliver Stone's Viet-Nam Trilogy. The story follows a Vietnamese Peasant girl named Ly Le who's idyllic life in her village is changed forever by a civil war in her country. Both sides deal horrific atrocities against her and the rest of the village. Can Ly Le weather the storm that is the Vietnam War and keep her head up? What will happen to her village as the war gets more violent and brutal on both sides? How far can the human condition be under such extremes and still remain sane? You'll have to find out by watching this harrowing film Heaven & Earth.I really like this movie, Oliver Stone is such a masterful storyteller and the acting, directing and writing kept me on edge throughout the entire film. I have to highly recommend this film. Joan Chen (who still looks hot underneath the make-up), Tommy Lee Jones, Dr. Haing S. Ngor co-star as well.Highly recommended

bob the moo In a small Vietnamese village, Le Ly finds her whole world shattered by the Vietcong and the conflict within her country. After suffering torture, abuse and rape she leaves the village with her mother and heads to Saigon. Continuing to find herself taken advantage of, Le Ly's life continues to be shaped by the influence of men, whether it is bosses and soldiers or the politicians who guide and create the wars that bring the men into her otherwise peaceful life.Opening with sweeping music, beautiful landscapes and happy Vietnamese villagers going about their happy lives in happy ways, this film immediately had alarm bells ringing. It is of course commendable that Stone completed his trilogy of Vietnam films with a story from the Vietnamese point of view and it had the potential to be clever and subtle. Sadly neither of these words get a look in here. The true story itself offers much pain, many harsh judgements and much sadness; it also offers a portrayal of male/female relationship that works well as an analogy for the countries themselves. However Stone was not the person to deliver a sensitive piece that speaks for itself – instead he seems to doubt his audience and insists on ramming it down our throats from start to finish. It is the equivalent of having him come into your home, stand an inch from your face and yell at you for 2 hours; and it is a long two hours.The cast are more or less lost in the storm that Stone creates. Hiep Thi Le gets on with portraying Le Ly by just doing the best she can to suffer convincingly. I didn't think I got to grips with her as a person but this is perhaps less to do with her performance and more to do with Stone apparently not having a lot of interest in her as such. The support cast all turn in their simple characters well enough and most can point to the screenplay in their defence – Chen, Jones, Reynolds and a few other famous faces do their thing but it is Stone that dominates every scene and the film is weaker as a result.Overall then a commendable close to the trilogy in terms of approach but not at all in terms of delivery. I could discuss the finer points of plotting and performances or the factual nature of the story but these have all been nullified by Stone's hammering delivery, that squeezes all the emotion, intelligence and importance out of the story and leaves a film that is miserable and lacking subtlety and certainly not one that deserves Le Ly's life to work with.