New vitality of revolutionary war films

War-themed films are a particularly important part of Vietnam's revolutionary cinema heritage, having proven their historical, cultural and artistic value over time, as well as their contributions to enhancing mutual understanding between the two sides of the front line, thereby healing the wounds of war and strengthening friendly cooperation.

The appeal of cinematic dialogues with the past

The lyrics of the song “If the war is over and I haven’t come home yet, mom, cheer up, you have a heroic son…” have certainly become familiar to many people in recent days. These are lyrics from the song “What could be more beautiful” by singer Nguyen Hung - the actor who plays the role of a soldier fighting to protect Quang Tri Citadel in the movie “Red Rain”. The song expresses gratitude to the children who sacrificed for national peace , dedicating their youth to the Fatherland so that future generations can live in freedom.

The appeal of the movie "Red Rain" to a large audience outside the theater.

It must also be affirmed that perhaps no song associated with a revolutionary war film of Vietnamese cinema, as soon as it was released, has made a large audience know it by heart like "What is more beautiful?" On September 10, the song ranked number one on Vietnam's Billboard Hot 100 for 3 consecutive weeks, as well as being the champion of all platforms in Vietnam before that: Apple Music top 100, Spotify's Daily top songs, YouTube's Top songs Vietnam, iTunes' Top songs and those of Lan Song Xanh, NCT, Zing MP3...

Along with the song's popularity, the movie "Red Rain" produced by the People's Army Cinema, premiered on August 22, has not yet "cooled down" in theaters to this day.

According to Box Office Vietnam, as of the morning of September 13, “Red Rain” (English name: “Red Rain”) has earned nearly 620 billion VND in revenue, ranking 67th in the Top movies with the highest box office revenue globally in 2025. This ranking of “Red Rain” is expected to change as the movie is still showing and its revenue is constantly increasing. This good news extends the “historic” achievements of “Red Rain”, as it is the highest-grossing Vietnamese movie of all time, the first and only Vietnamese movie to surpass the 600 billion VND mark in box office revenue, as well as a movie by a female director - a movie about the Vietnamese war history with the highest revenue ever.

Actor Nguyen Hung, author of the song "What's more beautiful" plays soldier Hai in the movie "Red Rain".

Before the impressive milestones of “Red Rain”, most managers and people working in the Vietnamese film industry seem to have “joy in their hearts again”. According to Director of the Cinema Department Dang Tran Cuong, the success of “Red Rain” is also a signal that Vietnamese audiences, especially the young generation, are not indifferent but are always ready to welcome and accompany revolutionary war films.

“The characteristic of war films is that they require large financial investments, far exceeding the number of commercial filmmakers today. However, the success of “Red Rain” and before that “Tunnels: Sun in the Dark” shows that films about the Vietnamese revolutionary war can step out of the scope of “historical and artistic values” to attract the public. In particular, many young audiences are beginning to be interested and have a need to learn about the nation’s history through quality cultural products. Therefore, it requires a film project that is both entertaining and conveys the nation’s cultural values,” said Mr. Dang Tran Cuong.

Motivation for filmmakers to go the long way

The success of revolutionary war films in the past 2 years, first of all is the "boost" from "Dao, Pho and Piano", then "Tunnel: Sun in the Dark", and now "Red Rain" were all chosen to be released on the occasion of the country's major holidays, helping the films create emotional and media resonance. At these times, the heroic memories of the nation are rekindled, creating a "fertile ground" for war films.

However, to attract audiences, especially young audiences today who are willing to spend money to buy tickets to the cinema - even watch the film 2-3 times, the decisive factor is still the quality of the work, which combines a good script, rich in emotions, impressive images, attractive music , acting...

According to Lieutenant Colonel, Meritorious Artist Dang Thai Huyen - director of "Red Rain", war, with its fierceness, sacrifice and loss, has always been a topic of intense attraction for filmmakers, because of its rich material and the tragic and heroic stories hidden deep in each land and each person. The attraction of this topic is so strong that a female director of the "8X" generation always keeps coming back to it, wishing to retell the historical story with her own perspective and cinematic language.

The image of the rows of seats paying tribute to martyrs during the screening of the film "Red Rain" at Quang Tri Citadel by the film crew deeply moved the audience.

“We receive both compliments and criticism, but they are all constructive. The film crew and I personally always acknowledge and thank the audience for observing, listening, and giving feedback. Those comments help us have more material to enrich the next project.

For example, many veterans said that the film only depicts a part of what they experienced, not as fierce as reality. When filming, we consulted many documents about the Citadel battle, recorded by war reporters, and listened to witnesses. However, the crew determined that the work is a feature film, an art, with elements of fiction and imagination. The important thing is that the film inspires viewers, so that they can feel the slices of war, of history. Through that, the audience is motivated to learn more about the 81-day and night battle in Quang Tri and related events.

After “Red Rain” was released, when we held a gratitude screening at Quang Tri Citadel, the relic management board said the number of tourists coming here had increased dramatically. The novel “Red Rain” by Colonel and writer Chu Lai was also a bestseller. I think the film has fulfilled its mission, which is to evoke gratitude and pride,” director Dang Thai Huyen confided.

War, with all its losses, sacrifices and aspirations for peace, has always been a major theme in art, especially cinema. After the reunification, Vietnamese filmmakers have constantly researched and innovated to reflect war not only as an epic but also as a humane and profound journey about people, about memories and reconciliation.

The images in the movie "Tunnels: Sun in the Dark" are the life and fighting process of guerrillas in Cu Chi during the resistance war against America to save the country.

The film genre on revolutionary war has made its mark with valuable works domestically and internationally such as: "The Wild Field" won the special prize at the Moscow International Film Festival (Russia) in 1980; "Don't Burn" won the audience award at the Fukuoka Film Festival (Japan); "When Will October Come" was rated by the American Film Institute as one of the best films in Asia...

Director, Meritorious Artist Bui Tuan Dung shared: “The greatest emotional value of a war film’s message is to remind that peace is sacred, the eternal dream of all nations. A truly good war film always carries a message of forgiveness, solidarity, love for the Fatherland, and compassion. A good war film does not direct thinking, but opens up viewers to think about history, humanity, and the nation and ask themselves questions with life philosophies.”

Many filmmakers also agree that the time has come for war films to no longer be a “forbidden zone” but a land where filmmakers can present their own personal perspectives and views, touching on the hidden corners of war that no one has explored before. This is also the issue raised at the workshop “Vietnam’s war film imprints since the country’s reunification”, within the framework of the Da Nang Asian Film Festival held last July.

Poster introducing the revolutionary war film "Red Rain" by People's Army Cinema.

According to Ms. Ngo Phuong Lan, President of the Vietnam Cinema Promotion and Development Association, over the past half century, Vietnam has had about 100 films on the subject of war. Films produced after the country's reunification have many similarities, but also many differences compared to war films produced by Vietnam during the war. Watching and comparing war films produced by Vietnam will reveal bright spots, imprints and things that we can look back on, to confidently enter a new creative stage, orienting the future in the context of cinema becoming an important cultural industry.

“War and revolutionary films are the key tasks of the People's Army Cinema in general and mine in particular. I think this is a golden time, when audiences are increasingly interested in major national events and related products such as movies, art programs... That is a good thing, creating motivation for artists. Because after all, every work is born to serve the people,” said director Dang Thai Huyen.

Director Pham Hoang Nam optimistically commented that Vietnamese cinema, especially cinema about revolutionary war in the digital media era, has made great strides in recent times, especially after the phenomenon of "Red Rain" invested in and produced by the People's Army Cinema. It is possible to think about further and higher destinations to improve the profession, along with bringing films about Vietnamese revolutionary war to the world.

qdnd.vn

Source: https://baolaocai.vn/luong-sinh-khi-moi-cua-phim-chien-tranh-cach-mang-post881979.html