A scene in Bình Minh Đỏ (Red Dawn) that will open the film week on December 18. — Photo courtesy of Vietnam Film Association

HÀ NỘI — A series of seven movies themed on Vietnamese soldiers will be screened during a film week that will take place from December 18-21.

Cinemagoers will have a chance to understand more about Vietnamese soldiers’ life, their concerns and inner feelings when the wars are over but the mental and physical wounds remain.

The screenings are part of the celebrations of the 78th anniversary of the establishment of the Việt Nam People’s Army and 33rd anniversary of the National Defence Day (December 22). It is organised by the People's Army Cinema and Cinema Department, in collaboration with many state film production units.

The week aims to express gratitude and honour the glorious history and the tradition of patriotism of the Việt Nam People's Army.

The series of movies will be shown at either 2pm or 8pm from December 18-21 at Lý Nam Đế Cinema, located on 17 Lý Nam Đế Street, Hoàn Kiếm District.

Bình Minh Đỏ (Red Dawn) by directors Nguyễn Thành Vân and Trần Chí Thành will open the event at 8pm on December 18. The film, produced by the Vietnam Film Association, won the 22nd Vietnam Film Festival jury award in Huế City in 2021.

Film shown in the following days include Đừng Đốt (Don’t Burn) by internationally-famed director Đặng Nhật Minh, Truyền Thuyết Về Quán Tiên (The Legend of Quán Tiên) by director Đinh Tuấn Vũ, Những Người Viết Huyền Thoại (The Legend Makers) by director Bùi Tuấn Dũng, Mùi Cỏ Cháy (The Scent of Burning Grass) by director Nguyễn Hữu Mười, Lính Chiến (Soldiers) by director Nguyễn Mạnh Hà and Người Trở Về (The Returner) by director Đặng Thái Huyền.

Among them, Soldiers and The Returner share the same theme of soldiers in peacetime. The first is the story about the friendship and comradeship of soldiers from wartime to peacetime, implying many valuable lessons to the young generation. The second tells about the life of a female soldier returning from the war facing many difficulties.

All the veterans depicted in both films reveal their concerns and confidants when the war is over, but their mental and physical wounds remain forever.

The rest of the series are all set in the years of the American war in Việt Nam, told through the perspective of women.

Specifically, Red Dawn reflects the view of the first female truck drivers to transfer arms, food and medicines to battlefields along the Trường Sơn Trail during the Tết Offensive Campaign in 1968.

Meanwhile, Don't Burn is adapted from the war diary of female doctor-martyr Đặng Thùy Trâm, which she wrote from 1968 until two days before sacrificing in 1970, and The Legend of Quán Tiên are the narratives of three beautiful young female militias who are torn between mission and instinct, patriotism and personal affection, sacrifice and personal life.

Both exploiting the theme of soldiers in the brutal 1960s, The Legend Makers reveals the numerous hardships and dangers that Vietnamese soldiers had to overcome to build an oil pipeline all the way from the north to supply the fighters in the south, and The Scent of Burning Grass weaves together the diaries and memories of North Vietnamese soldiers who fought in the ferocious 1972 battle of Quảng Trị.

The film week is open for free. Lý Nam Đế Cinema has a capacity of 210 people and will accept guests until all seats are occupied. — VNS