Ed Emanuel was 17 when he went to Vietnam. He was on the plane when news broke that Robert F. Kennedy had been assassinated. Soon, he would be serving on the Vietnam War’s first all-Black special operations reconnaissance team, an elite unit that ventured deep behind enemy lines.
In Soul Patrol, director J.M. Harper brings Emanuel and other surviving members of the team together for a 2024 reunion. More than 50 years after the men served together, they sit around a table in a Florida hotel and talk about what happened in Vietnam and what they carried home. The film draws on Emanuel’s 2003 memoir of the same name. kinolorber.com
Harper moves between the reunion, scenes reenacted by actors and original Super 8 footage, much of it shot by the men themselves during their tour. The footage lets viewers see the soldiers as young men through their own cameras. In the reunion interviews, the veterans reflect on what it meant to serve in a unit whose nickname, “Soul Patrol,” could feel like a badge of belonging to some and a racial label to others.
The film also follows what was happening back home. News footage places Emanuel’s arrival in Vietnam amid political assassinations, civil rights struggles and growing opposition to the war. A speech by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. opposing the war becomes a turning point as Emanuel wrestles with what he was being asked to risk for a country where Black men still faced discrimination. The documentary also hears from the veterans’ wives and partners about life with the men after they came home.
Soul Patrol won the U.S. documentary directing award at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. kinolorber.com
Where to See it
Soul Patrol had its world premiere at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, where J.M. Harper won the directing award in the U.S. Documentary Competition. It was Harper’s second film to play Sundance, following his debut feature, As We Speak.
Soul Patrol is scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 11, at AMC BarryWoods 24, 8101 Roanridge Road in Kansas City, Mo., and AMC Town Center 20, 11701 Nall Ave. in Leawood, Kan. www.cinemaclock.com
A 7 p.m. screening is also listed that day at AMC DINE-IN Manhattan 13, 103 Manhattan Town Center in Manhattan, Kan. No Wichita screening was found as of Nov. 8. www.cinemaclock.com
Kino Lorber lists the DVD release for Jan. 5, 2027. The distributor also plans a digital release after the theatrical run. A U.S. streaming platform and release date have yet to be announced.