When gratitude becomes a cultural flow

The commemoration of War Invalids and Martyrs Day on July 27 always reminds us of the moral principle of “When drinking water, remember its source”. More than 100 million Vietnamese hearts are a source of abundant affection, imbued with that moral principle, for those who have contributed to the country.

Drinking water, remembering its source is an idiom about gratitude in a figurative sense, but “drinking water”, in a literal sense, is close to biological humans, it is something that happens every day to each person. Therefore, gratitude does not only happen on a holiday written on the calendar, but needs to be reminded regularly.

78 years ago, July 27 was chosen as the day to honor war invalids and martyrs - but honoring is not something that happens or is limited to just one holiday. Therefore, cinema, music , literature..., the powerful artistic mediums need to become the way for the memory of war to continue to live in today's life. Just a few days ago, on the afternoon of July 23, in Hanoi, the film Red Rain was released in the form of a "showcase" (a meeting event to promote the film project) before the film is scheduled to be released in the theater system on August 22.

Red Rain is a tragic story about soldiers and the 81-day war in Quang Tri Citadel based on the novel of the same name by writer Chu Lai. During the introductory screening, on the film's billboard there was a line of words: Blood and bones spilled, the land and sky will be remembered! Although it has not been officially released in theaters, following the film's journey, especially when it was filmed in Quang Tri with a studio on the Thach Han River, along with the script, director, and actors being invested, the film was predicted to create a "box office fever" despite being about the revolutionary war theme. That is also what the film Tunnels did a few months ago, when it was released on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and the reunification of the country, it attracted an unexpected audience, and more surprisingly, a large number of the film's audience were young people, the younger generation!

For a long time, some films about revolutionary war are often illustrative, propaganda-oriented, less cinematic, and even associated with the "commemorative" mentality. But now, "gratitude" works have brought a new way of storytelling, more cinematic, more modern, focusing on character depth, not avoiding loss and tragedy, but still preserving the indomitable spirit and revolutionary spirit. The Tunnels is inspired by the legendary Cu Chi tunnel system during the resistance war, and the film not only recreates the miracle of the people's war but also exploits the psychological depth and human condition, so it is very convincing. What is special is that the Tunnels has created a box office fever - something that has been very rare for revolutionary war films over the past decades. It is the young people who come to this film not only to enjoy a quality film but also to express gratitude to the generation of fathers and brothers who sacrificed for today, and that young generation knows what they must do to continue writing the story of peace . After the Tunnels, next is Red Rain, continuing the same stream of gratitude to those who fell yesterday.

Sacrifice - that is also what is happening very specifically these days, when tens of thousands of soldiers are rushing into the disaster area to save people in Western Nghe An, just like they rolled around for months in Lang Nu (Lao Cai) to save people, build new villages for people after the disaster last year. And who knows, maybe one day, there will be movies telling about today, like today is telling about yesterday! The cinematographic works as mentioned do not only remind us of gratitude. Because gratitude is not just looking back but also living on, living worthy of those who have fallen. And July 27 has become and is becoming a time mark not only to remember those who sacrificed for the Fatherland, but also to reflect on how a nation behaves with its history. Remembering is not only with flowers, not only through rituals. Because if it only stops at events, it will soon fade over time. But if gratitude is part of a living culture, it will last long as a unique identity of the nation.

AN DU

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/khi-tri-an-tro-thanh-mot-dong-chay-van-hoa-post805640.html