A movie about the Vietnam War adapted from the book "When Heaven and Earth Changed Places". It was directed and produced by Olvier Stone and is the third in the Vietnam Trilogy consiting of Platoon and Born on the Fourth of July.
This movie, whereas Platoon and Born on the Fourth of July, take place from the view of soldiers, takes the point of view of a Vietnam native. Le Ly is the main character in Heaven and Earth. We follow Le Ly from early childhood to maturity and motherhood.
A breif syopsis of the film states that Le Ly was caught between a vicious war between the Viet Cong and the South Vietnamese army. She was raped by one side and tortured by the other. She then leaves to become a prostitute in Saigon. She meets up with Sgt. Steve Butler by running with his pre-payment for her "services". He eventually catches her, and instead of beating the living snot out of her, he falls in love. They empathize with eachother, to quote Le Ly, "Different skin, same suffering", and fall in love. Le Ly and Sgt. Butler marry and move to San Diego, California. Le Ly grows in her independence much to the disapproval of Sgt. Butler. He wants her to be a housemaker, not an entreprenuer. They frequently fight, and eventually Butler shoots himself in his van. Le Ly returns to Vietnam to visit her father's house, accompanied by her children. The film then ends with a 3-4 minute monologue narrated by Le Ly.