TV, FILM & RADIO
Fire and fury
Da 5 Bloods / Netflix, streaming now
Even today, 45 years after the fall of Saigon, the trauma of the Vietnam War remains vivid in the US. It was a conflict that, as recorded on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC, claimed the lives of 58,318 Americans. Yet not all parts of American society were affected equally. African-American troops – many of whom were posted to the front line after being drafted – made up a disproportionate number of these casualties.
The experiences of four such troops lie at the centre of director Spike Lee’s searing and satirical feature for Netflix. It begins with veterans Paul (Delroy Lindo), Otis (Clarke Peters), Melvin (Isiah Whitlock Jr) and Eddie (Norm Lewis) meeting in Ho Chi Minh City. It’s the
