Short film

A Refugee from Vietnam

1979 · 4 min

A short, chilling montage that sets a notorious image against a quiet suburban life, leaving you unsettled.

Directed by: Walter Heynowski, Gerhard Scheumann
Genres: Documentary
Starring: Nguyen Ngoc Loan

Overview: After becoming notorious world-wide for a bloody killing, Nguyen Ngoc Loan, former general and chief of the South Vietnamese police, moved to the United States and opened a restaurant outside of Washington, D.C. Contrasting images from these two phases of his life are intercut.

Your rating is saved. See your suggestions, or find titles like this one below.

Rate it, and Mesmero finds titles that feel like it. You do not need an account.

Search YouTube for a trailer

Add to a list: A Refugee from Vietnam

In the UKNo streaming, rental or purchase options known.

Directed by: Walter Heynowski, Gerhard Scheumann
Genres: Documentary
Starring: Nguyen Ngoc Loan

In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone: darkstrength 3 of 3
bleakstrength 2 of 3
satiricalstrength 2 of 3
cynicalstrength 1 of 3
Pacing: brisk, 3 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention: engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes: violence
war
media
guilt
identity
Places: suburbs
Era: contemporary
Audience: adult
Form: documentary
true story
Content intensity: Gore mild
Language none
Violence strong
Sex none

All scales, 0 to 10

Scales, 0 to 10
Scale	Value	0 to 10
Action	1
Horror	4
Humour	1
Realism	9
Romance	0
Tension	6
Darkness	8
Complexity	4
Emotional weight	7

Titles like A Refugee from Vietnam

Movie

Phoenix

1979

A sober, talking-heads reckoning with state violence, grim and didactic, asking patience as testimony piles up against atrocity.

Same director: Walter Heynowski · Dark, bleak · about violence and war · documentary

Also: Same director: Walter Heynowski
Via: dark
bleak
violence
war
documentary
Pacing: measured
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 66 min

Details

PhoenixHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Devil's Island

1976

A sober, harrowing documentary that confronts you with cruelty and injustice, leaving a heavy and angry impression.

Same writer: Walter Heynowski · Dark, bleak · about violence · documentary

Also: Same writer: Walter Heynowski
Via: dark
bleak
violence
documentary
Pacing: measured
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 61 min

Details

Devil's IslandHidden from your suggestions.

Short film

Entrance Free

1976

A terse, sombre museum walk through war's debris, turning exhibits into a quiet indictment of distant power.

Same writer: Walter Heynowski · Dark, satirical · about war and guilt · documentary

Also: Same writer: Walter Heynowski
Via: dark
satirical
war
guilt
documentary
Pacing: measured
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 11 min

Details

Entrance FreeHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Der Dschungelkrieg

1983

A sober, slow-moving documentary that asks you to sit with grim political realities and think.

Same director: Gerhard Scheumann · Dark · about violence and war · documentary

Also: Same director: Gerhard Scheumann
Via: dark
violence
war
documentary
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 90 min

Details

Der DschungelkriegHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

The Little Girl with Napalm, History of a Photograph

2010

A haunting, sobering documentary that lingers on the human cost of a single iconic image.

Dark, bleak · about war and media · true story

Via: dark
bleak
war
media
true story
Pacing: measured
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 58 min

Details

The Little Girl with Napalm, History of a PhotographHidden from your suggestions.

Short film

Night and Fog

1956

A solemn, unflinching meditation on atrocity that juxtaposes serene present-day ruins with harrowing archival footage, demanding quiet reflection.

Dark, bleak · about violence and war · documentary

Via: dark
bleak
violence
war
documentary
Pacing: measured
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 32 min

Details

Night and FogHidden from your suggestions.

Short film

Filmavis

1969

A short, sobering essay film that confronts you with distant cruelty and leaves a lingering unease about what people choose to ignore.

Dark, bleak · about violence and war · documentary

Via: dark
bleak
violence
war
documentary
Pacing: measured
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 10 min

Details

FilmavisHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

P.S. to The Laughing Man

1966

A sober, quietly furious documentary that lays out evidence with cold patience, letting testimony and archival images build a slow sense of moral indictment.

Same director: Walter Heynowski · About violence and war · documentary