Army cinema studio agrees to huge movie project

Red Rain is made by director Đặng Thái Huyền (left). — Photo giaoducthoidai.vn

HÀ NỘI – A motion picture Mưa Đỏ (Red Rain) is the largest project by Việt Nam People’s Army Cinema within the last ten years.

The script was penned by popular writer Chu Lai which is about 81 days and nights of the North Vietnamese soldiers fighting against US troops to protect Quảng Trị Ancient Citadel in the central province of Quảng Trị.

Lai wrote the script and sent it to the studio ten years ago. However, it requires a large budget to produce the movie meeting the scale and content.

Lai is a prolific author who has won the people’s respect for his famous stories about war and the post-war era. He also spent ten years as a member of a special task force with the Việt Nam People’s Army.

Not only reflecting the fierce battle of Vietnamese soldiers and people to protect the citadel, other issues such as the Paris Agreement negotiations and Việt Nam’s aspirations for peace and unification will feature in the movie.

On July 20, 1954, the Geneva Accords, which brought peace to Indochina, were signed, temporarily dividing Việt Nam into two parts, pending general elections.

The northern part of Quảng Trị from Bến Hải River upward was administered by the Democratic Republic of Việt Nam, while the southern part from Gio Linh District downward was controlled by the Sài Gòn administration.

Quảng Trị Town, including Quảng Trị Ancient Citadel, became an important military, political and socio-political centre for the Sài Gòn administration.

The movie will feature comradeship, family bonds and human love.

“It is an interesting and moving story,” said the studio director Nguyễn Thu Dung.

“It took ten years to adjust the script and it was approved by the Ministry of National Defence. It is great for the movie makers.”

It is not easy to recreate the historical context and heroic atmosphere in a movie, Dung added.

“Making historical films is difficult and historical war film is even more difficult,” she said.

“This is the first project that the studio has invested into reconstruct the battlefield background with an area of ​​up to 50 hectares.”

The movie will be made by director Đặng Thái Huyền whose war and post-war movies are popular such as Người Trở Về (The Returner); Đất Lành (Gentle Land), Vũ Khúc Ánh Trăng (Dance of Moonlight), among others.

“We want actors to feature image of Vietnamese soldiers who sacrifice their youth to protect independence of the national,” Huyền said.

“Many young actors were cast showing that the movie project has gained attention from young actors.”

The movie will be shot mainly in the central Quảng Trị and other scenes in the central province of Thừa Thiên Huế, Hà Nội and Paris.

The project aims to celebrate a series of the national holidays including the 80th Anniversary of the Việt Nam People’s Army Foundation, the 35th Anniversary of the National Defence Festival and the 80th National Day in 2025. – VNS