A vicious, angry, mature, and tonally conflicted framing of the Vietnam War and the socio-political strangleholds it rips away from Black America.
Amidst the biggest civil rights movement in history, Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods comes to Netflix and works as a callback to America’s history as it relates to our current events. A relevant, taut, war epic that delivers a whole new meaning to war films through the stunning visual language of Lee and cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel.
I’ll openly admit that I haven’t experienced enough of Spike Lee’s filmography, but every film thus far has made a massive impact to the point of inspiration. His style is the biggest standout and remains emblematic of his personality. Lee is someone who can be funny, but when given the right moment, can be someone who lends a voice to very serious discussions. When he lends his voice it’s usually honest, a little funny, but very blunt and provocative in the best way. It’s not harsh beyond having to grasp the reality of what it is he’s saying, nor argumentative, it’s informative with a willingness to educate. His work is a direct outlet for that, and Da 5 Bloods is another incredible example of the power his speech holds.
What begins with a speech from Muhammad Ali’s iconic refusal to fight in the Vietnam War for “big powerful America”, is a moving montage of America and Vietnam paralleled during the stages before, during, and after the war. This glimpse into this era is brutal in its imagery, but it sets the tone for the narrative. It’s a flashback to a time that feels so distant, but America, more specifically Black America, is still suffering from the consequences the government put upon them. Forcing Americans to fight in this war they never had to is something that deeply affected the current and future generations of it’s participants. Which is ultimately the main focus for Spike and the drama he puts his characters through. What initially appears as a get back together story for a group of guys who experienced war and trauma together, eventually that war and trauma becomes their reality once again.
Their visit to the Vietnam forest where they marched together, fought against the enemy together, experienced loss together, met them once more as if they never left it. For Delroy Lindo’s Paul, this takes that physical form in his character. A MAGA hat toting, Trump supporting Black man who is shaken and fractured. In an Oscar-worthy performance, Lindo’s Paul is a force that resembles the contradictions of America’s systems. Where that belief in America’s greatness is all but a mirage of empty promises and lies. Similar to that of the regimes during the Vietnam War. This brings into question the legacy of America’s “greatness”. If it ever was great at any point, or if the promise of “Making America Great Again” is a continuing promise of making America a land of empty promises for the oppressed. There is a deep, ingrained layer from Spike that seems to also take into consideration America’s vicious obsession with respecting our troops.
This obsession stems from America’s glorification of war heroes through various forms of art. How their sacrifice and loss provides a semblance of entertainment to pander to the unbroken and heroic. Spike reframes the legacy of Vietnam veterans and the lack of respect or admiration people claim they have for them. It seems as if that respect and adoration is only given to the people who look like them. Especially if you note how their return back to America was met with more violence, bloodshed, and brutality as if no sacrifice for their country was ever given. This is amongst many, many ideas and concepts that Lee includes in an aggressive, tonally conflicted film that could end up transcending the idea of what war films can be about all together.
It’s no surprise that Spike Lee has put together another film that greatly captures and parallels two eras of America that showcases a favoritism to one America. Da 5 Bloods is a visceral crusade down a winding path into the maze of the Vietnam jungle. Where its characters reach the heart of it and escape with whatever semblance of themselves that they can. They face a reality full of conflict, camaraderie, betrayal, and eerie reflections to America. How the sweeping vistas of Vietnam harness the crushing and breathtaking grips of America’s socio-political fists that stranglehold the characters up to death’s doorsteps. An inescapable truth lies within Da 5 Bloods, and it’s one that is as blunt and unsubtle as it chooses to be, and if you can’t untangle your mind to notice how our distance from the past isn’t that far at all, then you’re subject to being another enforcer for America that is eliminating the freedoms the country can offer to all people. Spike Lee wants America to wake up, and hopefully this is the alarm that rings the loudest.