
Vietnam - Hearts, Minds and Souls
Vietnam's communist government calls it a new American invasion, not soldiers this time but evangelical missionaries converting the population to Christianity. Thirty years after the war ended, Hanoi depends on US investment even as it fights to keep out the ideas that come with it, chiefly freedom of religion. The film tracks the arrest of Dr Quang, one of the country's most prominent Protestant leaders, jailed three months before filming on charges of crimes against the state; his wife explains that officials fear him precisely because people would rally behind him. American missionaries describe religion as a tool capable of interrupting or overthrowing the communist system, while accounts from Christian communities describe beatings and jail as the price of open worship, with persecution reportedly increasing rather than easing. Interviews mix state officials, missionaries, and believers on the ground, building a picture of a government that beat the US Army but is unsure it can beat a Bible.