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The Crater by David Bradbury
Between 12 May and 6 June 1968, Australian troops in the 3rd Battalion were engaged in the major but little-known Battle of Coral–Balmoral at Bau Hang in Vietnam. Twenty-six Australian soldiers lost their lives, 100 were wounded, and over 300 North Vietnamese army troops died. Brian Cleaver, then 20 years old, was one of a group of Australians that killed 42 of the Vietnamese soldiers in an intense and terrifying engagement. Their bodies were buried in the bottom of a huge bomb crater in an unmarked mass grave. From 2002, Cleaver, still suffering post-traumatic stress disorder, returned to Vietnam six times in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to locate the bodies of these fallen Vietnamese troops.
This documentary-drama seamlessly weaves together footage of Cleaver’s search for the crater with former comrades, interviews with Australian and Vietnamese veterans, combat footage, skilful re-enactment and North Vietnamese hill tribe music. It is a moving film that engages with both the futility of war and the complex process of reconciliation.