As a movie star enters the political arena on the West Coast, a presidential candidate from the East Coast finds himself on the big screen. Three documentaries focusing on the life of Senator John F. Kerry and his years as a Vietnam soldier are being produced this year.
"Brothers in Arms," a 68-minute documentary film featuring Kerry and five of his crewmates during the Vietnam War was finished in New York on Tuesday night and was being screened yesterday in New York for reporters. A film about the death of one of Kerry's good friends on a swift boat during the Vietnam War is being played in film festivals across the country and will air on public television stations on Nov. 11. And the documentary filmmaker George Butler, a close friend of Kerry, is making a film about the Democratic presidential campaign.
Two books are also in the works. Douglas Brinkley, a historian, is finishing a biography on Kerry that is scheduled to be released in January. The Massachusetts Democrat is writing a book on policy that is due out Oct. 27.
Will the extra exposure coming from a flurry of multimedia ventures centering around Kerry's life aid him in his presidential bid?
"That remains to be seen," said Kelley Benander, a spokesperson for the Kerry campaign.
Paul Alexander, the director of "Brothers in Arms," said Kerry's life in Vietnam is so visual and dramatic that it's perfect for film.
Brinkley, the author of "Tour of Duty: John Kerry and The Vietnam War," said Kerry's story of a war hero turned antiwar spokesman has the threads of a fascinating narrative.
"For me, I was trying to tell a story of Vietnam, and Kerry's story is a great vehicle," said Brinkley.
What makes Kerry's story especially interesting, Brinkley said, is that the young, Vietnam hero from Massachusetts became a dynamic spokesperson for Vietnam Veterans Against the War, which Brinkley claims had a profound impact on US disengagement of Southeast Asia.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2003/10/09/kerry_emerges_on_big_screen?mode=PF
On the flip side, I think "
Hot Dog... The Movie" is available for rent at most video stores...