Blood Road (2017) Reviews

• An unforgettable journey of pass and present.

  philpw992017-06-28

  Very few documentary can grab your soul like this one does. In the beginning it was simply a bike trip through Ho Chi Ming trail, and a daughter looking for her father's resting place, but when the story goes, it becomes much deeper. In this unforgettable trip you'll see humanity and evil, compassion and love, scar and the healing. You'll see yesterday's enemy becomes today's friend. You see how children are still suffering from the remnants of a senseless war, yet no matter who you are, east or west, rich or poor... we all have the same heart, all care about our families, and all feel the same pain of war. The photography of this film is extraordinary. Many beautiful scenes of Vietnam and Lao interweave with historic stories, making you realize the connections between the pass and the present. Camera caught a lot of detail of Vietnamese daily lives as well. The story is simple and straight forward. Don't expect any twists, but due to the good editing I didn't find it boring at all. In fact I couldn't stop watching it once Rebeca started her bike trip. In some points the experience was quite touching. Highly recommended if you don't hate foreign people, hold no grudges against "commies" and ready for an emotional ride.

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• Best of the Fest Documentary at the High Falls Film Festival

  Red-1252017-11-06

  Blood Road (2017) is a documentary directed by Nicholas Schrunk. Rebecca Rusch is a woman whose father was shot down as his plane attacked the Ho Chi Minh trail in Laos. Rusch is an elite athlete in several sports. Huyen Nguyen is a Vietnamese woman who is also an elite athlete. After over 40 years, the wreckage of Rusch's father's plane is found, and there are teeth that are found with it, thereby confirming his death. Rusch and Huyen Nguyen set out to bike along the entire Ho Chi Minh trail, with the hope of finding the crash site themselves. Of course, they are accompanied by a crew of experts. This is a film of physical triumph, but also of immense sadness. The U.S. bombed the Ho Chi Minh trail continuously during the war against Vietnam. Watching the film, we get some small sense of how many huge bomb craters there are, and how many unexploded bombs still are taking their toll against innocent civilians. Another reviewer has mentioned the "senseless war," and I believe that almost anyone who sees this film will agree. The filmmakers took great pains to present an even-handed view of the situation. We get voice-over readings of letters that Rusch sent home to his wife. They are very moving. The people who planned the war against Vietnam weren't there fighting it. As always, the people in the White House and the Pentagon send other people to fight. Sometimes they return home, sometimes they don't. The scenery along the Ho Chi Minh trail is incredible, and watching this movie in a theater gave us the opportunity to appreciate it. The movie will work on the small screen. However, if you get a chance to watch it in a theater, that's what you should do. The Domino Theory was that all of Southeast Asia would become hostile to the U.S. if the U.S. forces were defeated in Vietnam. As it turned out, this didn't happen. In fact, in a way, the dominoes went in the other direction. As we watch footage of Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) we see a Starbucks sign! We watched this interesting film in Rochester's excellent Little Theatre. It was shown as part of the High Falls Film Festival-- Celebrating Women in Film. Blood Road was voted as the "Best of the Fest" documentary.

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• A beautiful tale of perseverance through love...

  stephenw-301802017-07-13

  "Blood Road" is a beautifully told story of one woman's determination to find and be reunited with her father who was killed during a bombing mission in Vietnam Nam in 1972. Although the woman, Rebecca had lost her Father in 1972, when she was 3 years old, it had been a life long wish to find his final resting place. Thus, along with a team to help her and a Vietnamese woman aiding her in her journey along the Ho Chi Min trail, they set out to find the place her Father's plane went down. The story is a tribute to the human spirit, determination, understanding, self awareness and finally....peace. It was moving and beautifully shot. All of the dialog was from the mouths of the participants and those assisting Rebecca on her long and arduous journey. This documentary does not start out as a "feel good" tale. But, for me, it ends on a very high note. One of triumph and closure for a woman who loved a Father she never really knew. A tremendous and triumphant film....terrific!

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• A fatherless orphan daughter's wish

  BasicLogic2017-07-05

  I was deeply moved by this documentary film about a daughter who went on soul searching, root finding trip on bike to trace back where her father's F4C fighter jet crashing site along the Ho Chi Ming Trail in 1972. This film is also a great journey for me to finally get the opportunity to witness the atrocity, cruelty, the absurdity and pointlessness of Viet-Nam war. The daughter, Rebeca, is a tough mountain biker, who went to Viet Nam and Laos along the Trail to pay a tribute to her father. We saw through her own eyes, her heart and her soul to know why she needed to do this and she had proved that journey indeed was necessary for one of her later chapter of life. Great cinematography, really realistic and beautiful through the production team's camera. A seamless, also perfect editing, There's only one thing I like to point out here: When visiting Huyen Nguyen's home, she should take off her hat when she said hello to Huyen's father; she should also take off her hat during the welcome dinner Huyen prepared for her. This is supposed to be the basic politeness she should learn especially when visiting an Asian family. Taking off the hat, showing respect to the elderly and needless to say, taking off hat at the dinner table should be a basic table manners, no matter in the West or in the East.

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• Inspirational and emotional story featuring strong female athletes

  sarahthomas-704302018-10-12

  Rebecca Rusch and her partner, Huyen Nguyen, were inspirational in this emotional film that brought on tears of both sorrow for the devastation of war and pride for seeing two strong women conquer the Ho Chi Minh trail on their bicycles. Highly recommended for anyone interested in mountain biking, the Vietnam War, or any active girls or women who aspire to embark on great adventures!

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