I have been a big fan of these brave men since I was a kid, and this movie shows why. This documentary has all the excitement of a Hollywood movie. The men and women of the AVG (American Volunteer Group- their official name) travelled to China under a variety of false idententies. Their Visas listed them as mechanics, clerks, musicians, even circus performers. The Japanese found out they were en route and threatened to blow these ships out of the water. There's an element of the spy movie here. Spoiler Alert When they finally got to Asia, they had to live through 115-degree days, insects, no electricity, bad food, and still learn to fly and fight. They had to do this with obsolete planes, no spare parts, and no hope of outside help. When they finally did engage the Japanese, the did so with deadly ferocity, and in 6 months racked up 297 kills, with a loss of only 18. That record stands today as the best ever. There's the action movie part.
There's even a section how an American nurse falls in love with one of the flyers- The quiet sensitive one. Now, in the typical war movie, you know this guy wouldn't have long to live. Unfortunately, in this case, life imitates art, and the flyer is killed on a mission, leaving the nurse widowed and pregnant. There's the love story.
The final part deals with these people trying to get home after the AVG is disbanded, and all the rigmarole they had to go through just to return. There's a lot of comedic elements here.
All-in-all, a wonderful movie to watch. Even better, it's all true, and told by the people who really lived it. Would that Hollywood could write scripts this good
There's even a section how an American nurse falls in love with one of the flyers- The quiet sensitive one. Now, in the typical war movie, you know this guy wouldn't have long to live. Unfortunately, in this case, life imitates art, and the flyer is killed on a mission, leaving the nurse widowed and pregnant. There's the love story.
The final part deals with these people trying to get home after the AVG is disbanded, and all the rigmarole they had to go through just to return. There's a lot of comedic elements here.
All-in-all, a wonderful movie to watch. Even better, it's all true, and told by the people who really lived it. Would that Hollywood could write scripts this good
