Dien Bien Phu feature lights up screens

Thumbs up: Director Nguyen Thanh Van on the set of Song Cung Lich Su (Living with History). The movie will be screened free of charge from April 26 to 30 at the National Cinema Centre. — File Photo

Produced by the Viet Nam Film Studio, the film depicts a group of young people who travel to Dien Bien after getting a strong impression through documentaries and images about the historical battle of Dien Bien Phu.

During the journey, the group ends up traveling back in time to become soldiers and civilian workers, getting a firsthand look at the hardships of battle and the determined spirit of the whole nation.

"We've tried our best to offer the most truthful angle on the historical battle of Dien Bien Phu. I don't want to talk too much about my creation. Let the audience judge it," said director and People's Artist Nguyen Thanh Van.

Among tens of films made to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu historical victory, the VND21 billion (US$1 million) movie is the only full-length narrative feature.

The crew spent two months filming the movie in the northern mountainous provinces of Yen Bai, Hoa Binh, Son La, Dien Bien and Thanh Hoa. They had to cope with many difficulties, such as finding suitable crops.

To replicate the battlefield where Vietnamese soldiers exchanged fire with French military forces, Van and his crew needed a tank that could move.

"We didn't expect to find a functioning tank, just a movable one. But we didn't have any other option than a tank that was featured in the movie Hoa Ban Do (Red Ban Flower) 20 years ago and in Ky Uc Dien Bien (Dien Bien Memory) 10 years ago," Van said. "Although it can't run, its barrel can still move. To make the tank fire, the props team has their tricks."

Audience feedback

Nguyen Ba Hung, a Ha Noi University of Business and Technology student who attended the debut screening, said he was fascinated by historical movies and this was no exception.

"I was impressed by the way the director depicted the historical event through a journey by young people. This may help the movie attract young viewers," Hung said.

Nguyen Thi Phuong Anh, a student at the National Economics University, felt inspired by the ordinary women in the movie.

"A young woman who insists on joining the troupe of voluntary civilian workers, expecting to meet her husband on the frontlines, or a young girl willing to cut off her long hair to disguise herself as a man so she can join the military troupe – for me, they are also heroines," she said.

The movie will be screened free of charge from April 26 to 30 at the National Cinema Centre, 87 Lang Ha Street. Free tickets can be picked up at the Information and Education Commission of the Youth Union Central Committee, Suite 202, Block C, 347 Doi Can Street.