J.M. Harper’s Soul Patrol is a compelling account of the Vietnam War’s first Black special operations team, told 50 years later. An onslaught of mixed mediums, it is fascinatingly incomplete in certain moments, fully realized in others. The survivors reunite and reminisce, brought together by fellow member and author Ed Emanuel, who wrote the 2003 book Soul Patrol: The Riveting True Story of the First African American LRRP Team in Vietnam. “We survived the war, but there was no peace,” Emanuel says at one point. In another scene, one veteran reflects on the soldiers taking leave in Thailand at a hotel with a pool. He recalls swimming in the water and “trying to wash Vietnam off of my body.”
These are the most fascinating moments in Harper’s film: the interactions and remembrances the veterans have years later as they slowly find comfort in each other’s company. There is so much in their faces and their short, punchy phrases. These are Black men who survived against all odds. They mourn the ones that didn’t make it to this meeting, gone too soon. The doc tells us of the shocking lack of news coverage that these Black special operations teams were given by the media at the time. Most Americans would’ve been surprised to learn how essential they were to the fight. And while there is striking archival footage––photography and film alike––there is not quite enough. It’s something of an irony.
Harper renders creative reenactments in an attempt to bridge the gap. They unfortunately lack much tension—its drama feels stilted, never living up to the existing footage or the men’s own voices. In fairness, this is quite a high bar to clear. Each member wrestles with some version of guilt or shame, still doing their best to understand why they fought in the first place. Why they felt the need to defend a country so dead-set against defending them and those that looked like them. It’s a provocative question with no good answer. The reunion and their shared bond, their devotion to one another, emerges as reason enough.
Harper does good work here, building on a sturdy portrait of these heroes over a 100-minute runtime. Too often do documentaries of this kind play like homework. Despite good intentions, subjects are presented as just that: subjects to be studied. Soul Patrol pushes past such parameters, fleshing out the histories of each team member, flaws and all. It’s not enough to remind fellow Americans that these men were there. They were young, they were scared, and brave, and hopeful. And they lived for each other.
Soul Patrol premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.