A great movie... if you can overlook the historical whitewashing.

Rating: 8/10 (26 January 2011)

Taken by itself, this is a wonderful movie with a compelling plot, wonderful characters played by talented actors and a balls-out performance by Gary Sinise, who in my opinion deserved the Oscar more than Tom Hanks. It is really an emotional roller-coaster of a movie that people of all ages can enjoy.
However, I'm rather conflicted about the sneaky the way the movie turns the truth inside out in pursuit of its aims. In the world of 'Forrest Gump', the Vietnam War was a just endeavor and its protesters were all drugged out, cowardly, sleazy hippies who turn innocent American farm girls into dope-dependent sluts. The social fervor of the sixties is presented as an irrational mania, and conservative norms are uncritically celebrated. The way this movie has been embraced by the hard-core right wing really creeps me out.
Still, this is one movie where the 'Willing Suspension of Disbelief' can reap big dividends.