Path to War (2002, United States)
Categories: political movies
Path to WarDirector: John Frankenheimer
Czas: 165 minut
Laguages: English
Categories: political movies
Path to WarDirector: John Frankenheimer
Laguages: English
After elections US president Lyndon B. Johnson hopes not to get involved in Vietnam conflict, but his advisors steer him towards more and more extreme solutions to the South East Asia problem.
In 1964 Lyndon B. Johnson wins the election and continues his presidency, this time not as someone, who replaced assassinated John F. Kennedy, but as a clear winner elected in democratic elections. For him it is a new opening - he has great plans to reform education and health care and the last thing he needs is to get entangled in war. But the situation in Vietnam is still tense and reluctantly he has to deal with it - United States can’t just allow to the country being taken over by the communists. The advisors, among them Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, who Johnson inherited after his predecessor, and General Westmoreland insist that limited operation in Vietnam is inevitable to keep the control in the region. Reluctantly Johnson authorizes additional troops to be sent to South East Asia, but this is just the beginning of the escalation that later became Vietnam War.
Political drama based on true events - Lyndon Johnson, contrary to what he promised during the elections, agrees with his advisors that American intervention in Vietnam needs additional resources. That first step was easy, but with each day he gets more and more entangled in a hopeless conflict in South East Asia. Irish actor Michael Gambon played the part of Lyndon Johnson and managed to build a portrait of man who lost control over his life and presidency. The film accurately shows the insanity inside US government when they were pushing their forces into Vietnam without any plan or logical reasoning. With each scene we see how the galloping paranoia and bad decisions make the situation even worse, but still all people involved pretend they are in complete control. Perhaps not most impressive film ever made, but Path to War is a well made political drama that explains the insanity behind Vietnam War.
Our rating
6.4
Film value
7 / 10
Realism factor
4 / 5
Adventure factor
1 / 5
Historical accuracy
4 / 5
Path to War
John Frankenheimer
director
Daniel Giat
screenplay
Michael Gambon
as Lyndon B. Johnson
Donald Sutherland
as Clark M. Clifford
Alec Baldwin
as Robert McNamara
Bruce McGill
as George Ball
Felicity Huffman
as Lady Bird Johnson
Gary Sinise
as George C. Wallace
Tom Skerritt
as William Westmoreland
John Aylward
as Dean Rusk
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