TV series offers fresh angle on Dien Bien Phu
Audiences can expect to enjoy a new angle on the historical battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954 when a new TV series airs next month.
Unlike most other films about Dien Bien Phu that focus on praising its stirring victory, the upcoming series will centre on humanism as well as the private lives of ordinary people who joined the war.
Filming for the 25 episode series titled Duong Len Dien Bien (Road to Dien Bien) started in January.
The series is about a young man who left Hanoi to fight on the frontline, where he met and fell in love with a beautiful civilian worker. Stories of patriotism, and a love between a man and a woman are all presented through this woeful and majestic love story.
Alongside the Road to Dien Bien, the director of the series, Bui Tuan Dung, had worked on several other war-themed movie productions. The feature Nhung Nguoi Viet Huyen Thoai (The Legend Makers), which he directed, won the Golden Lotus Award at the National Film Festival last October.
"In my opinion, whether the movie is about war or not, it must express the ‘humanism', which can create the value for the movies. In the Road to Dien Bien, the war has been used as a background for the love story. However, their love through the war is different in peace time, and they are bound together through a mutual love for their country," Dung said.
He added: "It doesn't matter what the subject of the movie is, we always want to capture the audiences imagination. In the Road to Dien Bien, we have invested a lot of time and effort to develop the conflict between different characters and create impressive scenes.”
"Our crew also focused on music and special effects – two other important elements that perfect a movie production," he said.
Alongside experienced actor Hoang Hai, who also starred in Dung's award-winning The Legend Makers, the upcoming Road to Dien Bien features talented actresses Huyen Trang and Diem Huong, and young actors Manh Truong and Quach Thong.
The crew includes famous cameramen Ly Thai Dung and Vu Quoc Tuan, special effects expert Phan Trong Bich, and designer Vu Anh Tu.
A production of the Vietnam Film Studio, the series is scheduled to air on VTV1 from the second week of April.