AllMovie

Raising the Bamboo Curtain is a two-tape set that attempts to introduce viewers to the realities of postwar Southeast Asia, presenting the people of the region and offering an exposition on what the future may hold for an area torn asunder by war for the last four decades. Narrated by Martin Sheen, this first episode, Awakening Vietnam, returns American eyes to the scenes of great national tragedy and offers hope that after all these years something resembling friendship might rise from the ashes. The vibrancy of cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City offers evidence that Vietnam is a country on the verge of becoming an economic force.