The poster of Cận Kề Cái Chết (Close to Death) by director Bùi Thạc Chuyên. The film is scheduled to be released early next year. — Photo courtesy of Tunnels Film

HÀ NỘI — After the success of Vietnamese blockbuster Địa Đạo: Mặt Trời Trong Bóng Tối (Tunnel: Sun in the Dark), director Bùi Thạc Chuyên returns to the big screen with another historical project Cận Kề Cái Chết (Close to Death).

The film is produced by Tunnels Film and distributed by Galaxy Studio, with a theatrical release planned for the Lunar New Year holiday in 2027.

According to the distributor, the film is set during the most intense period of the war against the US. The main character is Hưng, a special prisoner, who was formerly an agent of a strategic supply network running from the North to the South. His mission is to send a large sum of US dollars to the revolution. However, to do so, he must find a way to escape from Phú Quốc prison, notorious as “hell on earth.”

Close to Death is not simply a film about an escape. It is a journey for survival where the gap between life and death is narrowed to the extreme, said its producers.

The film project is currently in the actor casting stage.

Before Close to Death, Việt Nam already had a feature about the Côn Đảo prison escape, titled Thanh Âm Vượt Đại Dương, produced by Film Story Joint Stock Company I in 2025.

Bùi Thạc Chuyên, born in 1968, is the director of many award-winning films, including Sống Trong Sợ Hãi (Living in Fear)), Chơi Vơi (Adrift), Lời Nguyền Huyết Ngải (Blood Curse) and Tro Tàn Rực Rỡ (Glorious Ashes).

His most recent film, Tunnel: Sun in the Dark, was a major success, bringing in revenue of VNĐ172 billion (US$6,5 million), according to Box Office Vietnam. — VNS