A Soldier's Sweetheart (1998)

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Thomas Michael Donnelly directed this Vietnam drama, filmed in New Zealand and adapted from Tim O'Brien's short story, "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong," about a group of army medics in Vietnam. Rat (Kiefer Sutherland) narrates the tale seen in flashbacks: Rat's buddy Fossie (Skeet Ulrich), after… More Thomas Michael Donnelly directed this Vietnam drama, filmed in New Zealand and adapted from Tim O'Brien's short story, "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong," about a group of army medics in Vietnam. Rat (Kiefer Sutherland) narrates the tale seen in flashbacks: Rat's buddy Fossie (Skeet Ulrich), after learning about a unit that pooled money to bring in a hooker, manipulates the black-market to import his hometown girlfriend, innocent teen Marianne (Georgina Cates). The M*A*S*H-like unit is pleased by her presence, but Marianne finds the war carnage fascinating; she experiments with small-arms fire, goes wandering off into dangerous territory, and becomes friends with a unit of Green Berets, much to the dismay of Fossie. Just when he's on the brink of sending her home, she sets forth on an all-night patrol with the Green Berets. This film and Donnelly's The Garden of Redemption, another war drama, are two/thirds of a planned Showtime trilogy. Locations in New Zealand. Shown at the 1998 Seattle Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi