During the 2004 presidential campaign, Vietnam suddenly became newsworthy again. Between John Kerry campaigning as a war hero, the Swift Boat Veterans tearing him down, and John McCain campaigning for George W. Bush as an unchallenged war hero, a war more than 30 years old suddenly became more relevant than the one we were actually fighting. In 2006, we had an entirely different breed of political candidate: veterans of the Iraq War running for various seats on anti-war platforms. And now we have US generals speaking out against combat strategies that would have baffled characters in a Joseph Heller novel.

This Friday, January 12, at 8pm, Hallwalls presents a single screening of Sir! No, Sir!, a timely documentary by David Zeiger that turns the spotlight on the anti-war movement among American GIs serving in Vietnam. If you thought the only demonstrations against that war occurred on college campuses and in the streets of our major cities, or if you thought the only soldiers who openly protested it had, like Kerry, already been discharged, you’ll find this an illuminating piece of work.

Zeiger covers a wide variety of characters and subjects in 85 minutes. We’re introduced first to individuals who refused to carry out orders they objected to, knowing they’d be court-martialed, then increasingly larger groups. Particular attention is paid to the underground press; the film points out nearly 300 anti-war newspapers were published on US military based around the world.

Jane Fonda provides star power, both in archival footage and in brief contemporary interviews. “Hanoi Jane” is shown performing (with Donald Sutherland) for wildly receptive and enthusiastic troops; she comes off as sort of an anti-Bob Hope. If, like me, your awareness of Fonda’s activism comes from smug comments heard on talk radio or television, you’ll likely find these images as jolting as I did.

Zeiger succeeds in portraying important historical aspects of Vietnam that have been either forgotten or suppressed, and he does so with startlingly fresh material. I once worked at a stock footage agency in New York City, where I pored through literally hundreds of hours of archival war footage for numerous A&E and History Channel episodes, and I was struck by how much of Zeiger’s footage I’d never seen before. If I have one complaint about the film, it’s that it’s too brief; as soon as one anecdote becomes emotionally involving, the film jumps to another.