Spike Lee’s ‘Da 5 Bloods’ Drops on Netflix, Centers on Black Veterans’ Vietnam War Experience
Oscar winner Spike Lee (“BlacKkKlansman,” “Do the Right Thing”) directed and co-wrote “Da 5 Bloods,” his second war film, which premieres today on Netflix.
The military drama stars Delroy Lindo, Clarke Peters, Chadwick Boseman, Norm Lewis and Isiah Whitlock Jr. as Vietnam War vets.
The movie is also part of the streamer’s Black Lives Matter collection.
“Da 5 Bloods,” shot on location in the jungles of Vietnam, revolves around four black veterans on a twofold mission. It’s decades later, and they return to Vietnam hoping to retrieve the remains of their fallen comrade. They are also determined to find the gold they buried long ago.
In addition, the multilayered “Bloods” addresses the irony of black soldiers fighting for the U.S. abroad as black Americans fought for their rights at home. The movie used archival footage, a favorite technique of Lee’s, to juxtapose images of civil rights protests with Radio Hanoi’s broadcasts taunting soldiers.
Cinephiles will note the director’s cinematic nod to “Apocalypse Now” and “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.” Lee’s first war film, “Miracle at S. Anna,” is set during WWII and chronicled the Army’s all-black division.