SCREEN IT! PARENTAL REVIEW: RETURN WITH HONOR

"RETURN WITH HONOR"
(1999) (Senator John McCain, Jim Stockdale) (Not Rated)

Alcohol/ Drugs	Blood/Gore	Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude	Frightening/ Tense Scenes	Guns/ Weapons
*Minor	*Minor	Extreme	Moderate	Extreme

Imitative Behavior	Jump Scenes	Music (Scary/Tense)	Music (Inappropriate)	Profanity
Minor	None	Mild	None	Mild

Sex/ Nudity	Smoking	Tense Family Scenes	Topics To Talk About	Violence
None	Minor	Moderate	Moderate	*Heavy

QUICK TAKE:: Documentary: Former Vietnam POWs and their wives recall their harrowing, several-year ordeals of being held captive by North Vietnam during the 1960s and ‘70s.

PLOT:: As chronologically told by the actual men and their wives themselves, a group of former Vietnam POWs and their spouses recount their experiences of being held captive in North Vietnam during the 1960s and ‘70s, from flight school and being shot down to finally being released.
From Senator John McCain to former vice-presidential candidate Jim Stockdale and from Everett Alvarez, the first to be shot down to Robbie Risner, a Korean War ace, the men describe their harrowing, often several-year imprisonment where courage, faith, endurance and communicative ingenuity allowed the men to survive.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: Probably not, but it should be required viewing for those old enough to understand it.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: Not Rated: The documentary was not rated by the MPAA, but due to brief profanity (the "s" word) and thematic issues of POW imprisonment and torture, should be considered along the lines of at least a PG and possibly a PG-13 rating

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:: Considering what these men went through and the efforts they took to survive (courage, faith, intelligence, etc...), most parents would probably consider them to be good role models.

CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE

Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
Then read OUR TAKE of this film.

(Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).

OUR WORD TO PARENTS:: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this un-rated documentary. While much of it's delivered in a verbal storytelling fashion (rather than us actually seeing what's being described), some of the tales of torture and other inhuman treatment may be disturbing or unsettling to some viewers.
Beyond that, related bad attitudes of the captors and some actual wartime combat footage, the rest of the film's categories are mostly void of major objectionable content. Should you still be concerned with the film's appropriateness for anyone in your home, however, we suggest that you take a closer look at the detailed content listings.

ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE: A prisoner comments about pretending to pour wine to others to pass the time.

BLOOD/GORE: A pilot mentions painting a picture on his cell wall with the pus and blood from the sores on his own body (talked about, but not seen).

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE: Although we only hear accounts of it (and don't see any actual acts), the way in which the Vietnamese treated the American pilots (tortured, etc... and not as POWs but as "war criminals") showed extreme cases of both.

FRIGHTENING SCENES: The graphic stories told by the former POWs, about their cell conditions, being tortured, thoughts of killing themselves, and being lined up in front of a firing squad where the rifles were either empty or all misfired, etc... may be suspenseful in a storytelling way to some viewers.

GUNS/WEAPONS: Jet aircraft/Anti-aircraft guns & missiles/Rifles: Seen being used during the Vietnam war (actual footage).
Rifles: Carried by guards around the POW camps.

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR: Phrase: "Nuts" (crazy).
We see that one of the POWs gave "the finger" as he was photographed by his captors.

JUMP SCENES: None.

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE): A mild amount of ominous music plays during certain parts of the film.

MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE): None.

PROFANITY: At least 1 "s" word, 2 S.O.B.s, 2 uses of "Oh my God" and 1 use each of "My God" and "By God" as exclamations.

SEX/NUDITY: None.

SMOKING: We see photos/footage of several POWs smoking (one a cigar) and of a Vietnamese soldier/guard smoking.

TENSE FAMILY SCENES: Having the pilots imprisoned as POWs obviously put strain on them and their wives, some of which is touched upon in interviews.

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT: The way in which the POWs were treated for many years (including torture).
The Vietnam war.

VIOLENCE: Most of what occurs in this category is verbally described and not actually seen.
We see several instances of historical footage of jet fighters being hit by anti-aircraft fire and crashing to the ground, of a targeted bridge being hit by bombs and exploding and of soldiers shooting at a helicopter.
The pilots recount being stoned and spit upon by bystanders as they were marched through the countryside and city.
Another tells about running away and being shot down by soldiers.
The pilots talk about being tortured and tied up with ropes (and having their bodies then bent and shoulders dislocated) to the point of excruciating pain and of cutting off circulation to certain parts of the body.
The pilots then talk about being hit with rifle butts, bottles and shoes.
One pilot mentions banging his head against a wall, trying to kill himself.
There's talk of prisoners being tortured after trying to escape, and that one of them was killed.

Reviewed August 31, 1999 / Posted September 10, 1999

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