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Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry
Generally favorable reviews
Based on 31 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 17 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info
Genre(s): Documentary
Written by:
Joseph Dorman
Douglas Brinkley (novel Tour of Duty : John Kerry and the Vietnam War)
Directed by: George Butler
Release Date:
Theatrical: October 1, 2004
DVD: October 19, 2004
Running Time: 92 minutes, B/W / Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: Not Rated
Starring Ben Affleck (narrator), and John Kerry
This documentary takes an inside look at John Kerry, where he has come from, and how these roots have driven him forward in his public life. (ThinkFilm)
Also On Metacritic
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Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington
It's not a hasty, knocked-together promo job--though it is clearly pro-Kerry.
Read Full Review >Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman
It's obviously meant to help his presidential candidacy - why release it a month before the election, otherwise? - and for the first 7 minutes, it plays like a campaign commercial about young John's integrity, hard work and humble roots.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold
It's a partisan campaign film, of course, but a subtle one.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader J.R. Jones
The most powerful and telling image is a black-and-white still of Kerry burying his face in his arms after he threw his ribbons onto the Capitol steps; it's a moment true enough to cost him the presidency.
Read Full Review >Dallas Observer Robert Wilonsky
It's hagiography, yes, but also powerful and poignant.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten
Butler's film hopes to confront our national battle fatigue so that we may move on.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Ty Burr
Begins and ends as a fulsome Kerry campaign bio along the lines of the famed Bill Clinton convention short, "The Man From Hope."
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Jonathan Curiel
An unabashed paean to Kerry's character at a time in the presidential election when Kerry's character is being questioned. It's also a riveting film.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen
The older John Kerry, today's candidate, is conspicuous both by his absence (he's not interviewed here) and by the contrast between then and now, between the hero he was and the politician he's become. That contrast gives the film a nostalgic yet palpable sadness.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
His film is pro-Kerry, yes, but the focus is on history, not polemics, and provides a record of the crucial role of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War.
Read Full Review >Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez
Guaranteed to engage the decided and undecided alike, regardless of party affiliations.
Read Full Review >New York Post Lou Lumenick
Butler's film still manages to accomplish what the candidate's foundering campaign has utterly failed to do.
Read Full Review >Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern
Makes an eloquent case for John Kerry's courage, both during and immediately after his service in Vietnam.
Washington Post Desson Thomson
It's one view of Kerry that seems to have been lost in the present acrimonious shuffle.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Dana Stevens
Going Upriver is a small, valuable contribution to the continuing project of sorting out and making sense of Vietnam, a war that, among other things, opened a fissure at the heart of American liberalism that has yet to heal.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias
When it steers away from campaign-ad testimonials and considers Kerry's moral awakening in Vietnam and beyond, Going Upriver features some tremendously powerful scenes.
Read Full Review >Village Voice J. Hoberman
I got a charge out of Going Upriver, but as more than one person has noted, the movie's ideal spectator would be Kerry himself.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Ann Hornaday
A lucid, emotionally affecting portrait not just of one man but of his times.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Ethan Alter
While the film is unabashedly pro-Kerry --Butler and Kerry are longtime friends -- it isn't simple hagiography; it's also a portrait of Vietnam War-era America.
Read Full Review >The Hollywood Reporter Frank Scheck
A clearly partisan effort -- director George Butler is a longtime Kerry friend and supporter -- the film is nonetheless bound to have some political impact, thanks to its powerful depiction of the young Kerry.
Read Full Review >Newsweek David Ansen
It's hard not to be impressed by Kerry's courage and calm leadership--and to wonder if that guy will show up again.
Read Full Review >Portland Oregonian Marc Mohan
Someone should send him (Kerry) a copy, if only to remind the senator of the days when he was willing and able to speak with the courage of his convictions, and when he had a lot less to lose.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Jack Mathews
Does an excellent job of telling Kerry's side of it.
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer Daniel Rubin
The film leaves the viewer with a more vivid sense of Kerry the man, portraying him as admirable, if not lovable.
Read Full Review >Variety Todd McCarthy
Butler is in no way a hot-headed or contentious piece of agit-prop, unlike so many other election year documentaries; like Kerry himself, the film speaks to the mind, not the emotions.
Read Full Review >New York Magazine Peter Rainer
It underscores, with ample footage from his rallying speeches and his 1971 testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, just how important it was for the antiwar movement to be represented by someone like Kerry.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan
This is the biggest surprise of all -- it's hard to watch Going Upriver without wondering, frankly, what became of the young John Kerry, who comes off so exceptionally well in this film.
Read Full Review >LA Weekly Ernest Hardy
The film won't likely change any minds, but there's a taut political essay beneath the blatant campaigning.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 9.1 (out of 10) based on 17 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Kim R. gave it a10:
It is September 2005, and I cried at the end of this film from an overwheming sense that we have all made a terrible mistake - this man should be in the White House - as our President.
Amaria gave it a 10:
Some view this film as a flambouyant election propaganda. Perhaps it is. But it cannot be helped that there are no skeletons in his closet, no cobwebs in his mind, no poison on his lips, no deception in his heart. Though this movie is much more than a move in the presidential election game -- its a touching narrative of the vietnam & post-vietnam era, and it reminds us of the strength we Americans have claim to; we had to have been a proud, intelligent and empathic people to have survived such turbulent times. And call it what you will, but as this documentary will show, there is no mistaking that John Kerry was and remains a stand up American.
Cate V. gave it a 10:
I was lukewarm on Kerry before but this shows that there is a real, fire-breathing person in there somewhere. I'm definitely off the fence now. Inspiring and heart-breaking. We were all so young. Great for current students.
Jeff L. gave it a 10:
Substantive, well-made, surprisingly moving documentary about the Vietnam-era experiences of the man who would one day seek the Presidency. Like many young men of his generation, Kerry was inspired to service by John F. Kennedy's exhortation to "ask what you can do for your country." Kerry's brave and honorable service, however, also made him a witness to U. S. policies he considered abhorrent, leading to his opposition to the war when he returned home. Perhaps the most gripping parts of the film are dedicated to his work as a founder of the group Vietnam Veterans Against the War, a position which earned him praise from the left, TV interviews with the likes of Dick Cavett, and the suspicion and ire of the Nixon Administration (who, at one ironic point, fear he may become the next Ralph Nader!) One could simply see this as a perfect rejoinder to those infamous, loathesome "Swift Boat Vets" ads taken out against Kerry's Presidential bid; that would underrate the film, however, because regardless of one's politics, this should simply be viewed as one of the great, essential documentaries (along with the classic Hearts and Minds and the recent Oscar-winner Fog of War) about that particularly incendiary and divisive era of our all-too-recent past. Notably, the film makes little or no mention of Kerry's later political career, with only some still photos at the end filling in some of the blanks.
Mark B. gave it an 8:
Engrossing, frequently moving documentary by George Butler about Presidential candidate John Kerry's Vietnam and post-Vietnam years that will be seen by one side of the political spectrum as a wholly justifiable attempt to counterbalance the very conveniently-timed negative spin Kerry has gotten on this area of his life, and by the other side as a blatantly propagandistic movie-length campaign commercial. (And even if it is, so what? At least viewers have to choose to seek it out and watch it, rather than having a perfectly good evening of CSI or Everybody Loves Raymond endlessly interrupted.) Certainly voters of either stripe--and especially the undecideds--can and should embrace this movie for the simple fact that, in the middle of an incredibly dirty and negative election campaign, it dares to make its case by presenting an overwhelmingly positive view of one of the candidates rather than spending most of its time flinging offal at the other. (I may be wrong on this, but I don't think that George W. Bush is even mentioned once.) Perhaps the best reason to appreciate the film is to put politics aside for a couple of hours and enjoy it as an invaluable historical document. One-of-a-kind moments include a Gold Star mother joining Vietnam vets in throwing away her son's medals (or is it ribbons? I get them confused too); a recording of a noticeably threatened and intimidated Richard Nixon and H. R. Haldeman who, in essence, describe the young Kerry as "Damn, this guy's GOOD!" and a Dick Cavett Show faceoff that tracks the early stages of a Luke Skywalker/ Darth Vader conflict between Kerry and fellow vet (and recent bestselling author) John O'Neill. It's interesting that filmmaker Butler's most famous earlier effort was the three decades-old Pumping Iron, the bodybuilding documentary that gave "the Governator" his first widespread notice in America and was the first step in a long road that ended in the usurpation of California's highest office--and could result in that largely Democratic state being delivered gift-wrapped for Bush. I don't know whether Butler is Cathoilic or not, but perhaps Going Upriver is his act of penance.
Katy gave it an 8:
Moving and thought provoking look at what the Vietnam war was and the climate of our country during those years. The timing of the movie's release is the only thing that made it feel like election-related propaganda. This story is important to watch, regardless of how one feels about Kerry, because the groupthink of the U.S. Government during the early to mid-1970s is something we should conscientiously avoid in the years to come. Very very good film.
Charles G. gave it a 10:
I was moved to tears on several occasions. I was overwhelmed by the deep love John Kerry has for this country. During the hornet's nest that was Vietnam and the subsequent anti-war movement he was unwavering, passionate and driven while at the same time being contemplative and polite; i.e. the same man he is today. Please see it.
