Spike Lee discusses his Vietnam-era inspired film, 'Da 5 Bloods'

Spike Lee's new joint Da 5 Bloods is a war film we rarely see; it's told solely for the perspective of black soldiers.

The film follows four veterans Paul (Delroy Lindo), Otis (Clarke Peters) Eddie (Norm Lewis) and Melvin (Isiah Whitlock, Jr.). They head back to Vietnam to find the remains of their squad leader, Norman (Chadwick Boseman) and to recover a chest of gold they discovered during combat.

Beneath their jokes and camaraderie, each of them is struggling with the realities of grief, illness, divorce, addiction, regret and shame.

In an interview with the Associated Press, the Oscar-winning director says his new film was inspired by the Vietnam War, as well as Muhammad Ali's anti-war stance. Ali famously proclaimed that the Vietnamese "never lynched me".

The film premieres on Friday, 12 June. 

WATCH THE TRAILER HERE:

Compiled by Leandra Engelbrecht