“Tunnels: Sun in the Darkness”: The first revolutionary film without state funding

NDO - As part of a series of activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification Day, the movie “Tunnels: The Sun in the Dark” brings heroic and tragic images of the heroic Cu Chi tunnels, scheduled to premiere next April. This is the first revolutionary film to be produced by private investment.

Scene from the movie "Tunnels". (Photo: Provided by the producer)

In “Tunnels: Sun in the Dark”, for the first time, the war and daily life of guerrillas under the Cu Chi Tunnels are recreated realistically and vividly.

This is a film by Bui Thac Chuyen, a professional director who is always dedicated to the art of cinema. The film is scheduled to be released in theaters from April 4. According to director Bui Thac Chuyen, he has been pursuing this project for 11 years, since making a 3D short film about the Cu Chi Tunnels in 2014.

The film crew interacted with the audience at the film premiere.

This is also the first time a feature film about revolutionary war with many large, expensive settings was not produced from the State budget.

Businessman Nguyen Thanh Nam, one of the members who contributed funding to make this film, said: “We - me and my friends - want to contribute to doing something meaningful to celebrate the 50th anniversary of peace and national reunification. And the film project “Tunnels: Sun in the Dark” by Bui Thac Chuyen was chosen as “something” to do together.

Our biggest goal with this project is to help young people pay attention, learn and reflect on the Vietnam War, and at the same time introduce Americans to a different perspective on the Vietnam War than Hollywood. And if the film is commercially successful, it will continue to create interest among investors in films about revolutionary war themes.”

The film is invested elaborately in terms of setting, equipment, weapons, and materials...

The film was completed after 12 months of filming (the film started filming at the end of February 2024) and 12 months of preparation before that. The film producers spent a lot of time carefully preparing the scene for this film, including recreating the exterior and interior scenes of the Tunnels (fierce fighting scenes on the ground, on the riverbank and on the river) at Hoa Phu studio of Ho Chi Minh City Television - HTV).

At the same time, they also spent a lot of time researching and studying to create a tunnel at two large studios of HK Film to be able to film scenes depicting both daily life and intense, life-and-death battles between Cu Chi guerrillas and American "mole" soldiers underground during the fierce sweep.

Perhaps this is also the first time a Vietnamese feature film project has mobilized many heavy weapons that the US used in the war in South Vietnam at that time, such as M-48 Patton tanks, M113 ACAV armored vehicles, UH-1 Iroquois helicopters, Swift Boat (PCF) Patrol Craft Fast warships, LCM-8 small landing craft, and other types of military weapons and equipment.

Thanks to that, the confrontations between tanks, warships, and heavy weapons between the professional American army and the "barefoot and steel-willed" Cu Chi guerrillas were convincing and attractive to viewers.

The film crew at the film premiere.

“Tunnels: Sun in the Dark” features actor Thai Hoa, Meritorious Artist Cao Minh and young professional film actors such as Quang Tuan, Ho Thu Anh, Diem Hang Lamoon...

To have a compelling war film that reflects the spirit of sacrifice and bravery of the Cu Chi guerrillas at the most fierce time of the southern battlefield, the actors were very involved in their roles, sacrificing themselves with patriotism and pride in the steadfast revolutionary tradition.

To fully take on the role of Cu Chi guerrillas at that time as required by the director, the actors had to lose weight and undergo two months of rigorous political and military training at the training ground with the support of officers from the Ho Chi Minh City Command.

There were thousands of Vietnamese and foreign extras participating in “Tunnels: Sun in the Dark”. They played the roles of officers, American soldiers and other elements of the enemy in the fierce sweep such as tank drivers, ship drivers, interpreters…

The film depicts the life and fighting of Cu Chi guerrillas.

The film “Tunnel: Sun in the Dark” also has the participation of foreign experts from France, Thailand, and the US in the fields of music, smoke and fire effects, makeup, film editing, etc.

The film “Tunnel: Sun in the Dark” is the result of a successful meeting between a dedicated investor and director Bui Thac Chuyen; along with the attention and encouragement of the leaders of the City Party Committee, People's Committee, departments and branches of Ho Chi Minh City; and relevant agencies and organizations in the Central Government.

The film project “Tunnels: Sun in the Dark” is one of the typical artistic products celebrating 50 years of peace and national reunification.

The film "Tunnels: Sun in the Dark" is directed by Bui Thac Chuyen, with the participation of Meritorious Artist Cao Minh, actors Quang Tuan, Ho Thu Anh, Hang Lamoon, Nhat Y...

The film is produced by HK Films and released by Galaxy Studio.

Nhandan.vn

Source: https://nhandan.vn/dia-dao-mat-troi-trong-bong-toi-phim-cach-mang-dau-tien-khong-dung-kinh-phi-nha-nuoc-post863998.html