Directed by Brian Knappenberger, Turning Point: The Vietnam War offers an unfiltered look at one of the most divisive conflicts in modern history and its impact on our identity as a country and the people of Vietnam.
Coming on the heels of Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War and Turning Point: 9/11 and the War On Terror, this iteration takes a deep dive into everything about the Vietnam War. The message throughout this series was clear: this was a war that never should’ve happened, and we never should’ve been involved. The effects of this war can still be felt as many former airmen, soldiers, protestors, and villagers give first-person accounts throughout the series. The Vietnam War could also be seen as a turning point in American culture where, for the first time, distrust in the government began to swell.
It’s difficult to find a place to begin because I learned so much through this docuseries. Spread across five episodes spanning close to 80 minutes each, Turning Point: The Vietnam War does an excellent job of conveying two different perspectives of the same information.
The American war in Vietnam began in the summer of 1964 with political lies based on false intelligence.”
Tim Weiner, Author of “Legacy of Ashes”
This is a must-see docuseries, but for now, I’d like to focus on a few of the more impactful pieces for me. Those would be The Buddhist Crisis, John F. Kennedy, and the Hanoi March.
With Vietnam divided, tensions rose due to political and religious leanings. North Vietnam was communist while the South was not. South Vietnam’s president, Ngo Dinh Diem, was a devout Catholic, but the region was very diverse, with Buddhism representing a majority of the population. The “Buddhist Crisis” took place from May 8 to November 2, 1963. The tragedy was initiated by the shootings of nine unarmed civilians in the central city of Huế. Their crime? Protesting against a ban on the Buddhist flag. A series of repressive acts by the South Vietnamese government stoked the flames of resistance, with many losing trust in Diem and his administration. That lost trust was reflected in the coup that took place on Nov. 2, which ended with his assassination.
John F. Kennedy is a polarizing character, and all I know of him is what I’ve read and been told. From a Black perspective, JFK is a name that immediately draws emotion. Of all the talks I’ve had with my father, he’s mentioned his mother, my grandmother, crying only twice. “When JFK and Martin Luther King Jr. were assassinated. Those were the only times I saw her cry.” From immediate family to extended family, people would laud this man extensively. So learning of his ultimate demise and how the Vietnam War tied into it rocked my perspective of him entirely. The docuseries detailed questionable advising, poor military decisions, and followed a decades-long pattern of sticking our nose (USA) where it shouldn’t be. When the people of South Vietnam lost trust in their government, U.S. citizens were doing the same. The coup that ended the Buddhist Crisis happened on Nov. 2. JFK’s assassination was on Nov. 22, 1963. It’s easy to see after just the first episode how handling the Vietnam War skyrocketed American resentment towards Kennedy and played a part in his demise.
The series has a long list of people who agreed to give testimony to the war’s effects, or historians to lay the groundwork and give context. The way the series was put together makes it extremely easy to digest and understand. One of the interviewees was Everett Alvarez Jr., a pilot who conducted an air attack and was captured after ejecting from his plane. He was the first American pilot captured in North Vietnam. Alvarez Jr. was a part of what’s known as the “Hanoi March”, a controversial show of power by the North Vietnamese government. They took 52 American POWs (Prisoners of War) and marched them through the streets of Hanoi on July 6, 1966. The march was met with a violent reaction from the crowd, and POWs like Alvarez Jr. were unsure if they would live til the end.
Between the hours of archival footage and the copious speakers involved, Turning Point really went for gold in this iteration of its phenomenal war series. I learned copious new terms like Free Fire Zone, the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, and the 17th Parallel. If you’re a fan of documentaries or love deep dives into history, this is the series to whet your appetite for learning.
Turning Point: The Vietnam War gets a 10 out of 10. It’s easily one of the best documentaries I’ve seen in the past five years. Not since last year’s Checkpoint Zoo have I been so moved by a documentary. The best part about Turning Point is that it’s a series, with each episode feeling like a standalone film. This is a series everyone should watch, but do so with caution if children are to watch. The language can get foul at certain points, and many visuals (both video and still images) can be disturbing. Outside of that, this should be included as a course requirement at the high school level across the country. A needless war that reshaped two countries forever, and a lesson in the importance of learning from past mistakes.
Turning Point: The Vietnam War is available now on Netflix
-Jon Jones
Photos: Courtesy of Netflix
Genre: Documentary, History, War
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Five Episodes | 1 hr, 15 mins.
Trailer: Watch
U.S. Release Date: April 30, 2025