The movie was filmed in Vietnam and Thailand last year, and will be released by Netflix on June 12.
Directed by Spike Lee, the iconic, polarizing filmmaker, Da 5 Bloods chronicles the story of four African-American veterans who return to contemporary Vietnam to find the remains of their friend who was killed during the war, in addition to a trunk full of gold.
The film stars Chadwick Boseman, who plays Black Panther in the Marvel movies; Clarke Peters and Isiah Whitlock, Jr. of The Wire fame; Norm Lewis and Delroy Lindo.
In major news for Vietnamese cinema, Ngo Thanh Van, who has emerged as the country's most prominent actor, plays Hanoi Hannah — a prominent wartime broadcaster — and is featured in the trailer. Johnny Tri Nguyen is also in the movie, though he is barely recognizable in the preview.
A rare sighting of Johnny Tri Nguyen. Photo via Paste Magazine.
The 2:51 clip is packed with war iconography, including planes spraying Agent Orange, helicopter gunships strafing villages, President Nixon, the Kent State protests, Ho Chi Minh and more, in addition to depictions of modern Saigon and a scene apparently set inside the Apocalypse Now nightclub, all set to 'Time Has Come Today' by The Chambers Brothers.
The director previously told Vanity Fair that the plot will also examine the experience of black soldiers fighting in Vietnam at the same time that Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated.
Given Lee's political leanings and oft-incendiary films, it is unlikely that this will be a traditional American war movie, but viewers can find out for themselves in a few weeks.
Check out the trailer below:
[Top photo via Thanh Nien]
