Help students love history more through movies

During the historic days of April, the film “Tunnels - Sun in the Dark” by director Bui Thac Chuyen was released nationwide and quickly became the focus of Vietnamese cinema, creating a strong attraction when bringing viewers back to the unforgettable years of resistance of the nation. In Quang Tri province, some teachers have implemented the purchase of group tickets for students to watch together. The film brings many students as well as teachers a more vivid perspective on history, adding valuable resources for teaching and learning. Through this activity, it helps students become closer, love and be inspired to learn and study national history.

Organizing for students to watch films on historical topics brings a new approach to historical knowledge through the language of cinema - Photo: HN

In early April 2025, 12th grade History - Geography students of Le Quy Don High School for the Gifted, Dong Ha City were taken by their teacher to watch the movie Tunnels at Cinemax Quang Tri . For the young generation born after the war, especially History - Geography students, this is the most vivid and intuitive way to approach historical knowledge through the language of cinema. "Tunnels" by director Bui Thac Chuyen tells the story of soldiers and guerrillas fighting in the "steel land" of Cu Chi.

The film is set after the Cedar Falls raid in 1967 - a US military campaign to destroy the base of the Liberation Army of the South. After the raid, the village was burned down, the entire ground was covered with bomb craters. However, deep underground, there was still the fighting and holding on atmosphere of the local guerrilla team led by Bay Theo (played by Thai Hoa). Although it is only a small slice in the entire history of the tunnels - a symbolic resistance work of our people, the film is enough to evoke and reflect the fighting life and spirit of the underground guerrillas in the past.

Organizing students to experience watching historical films is a creative and effective formof education , suitable for the reception needs of the majority of young people today. Through the films, students can easily visualize and approach each stage in the two resistance wars of the nation. From there, they accumulate more knowledge, life experience, vocabulary, nurture the feeling of love for the homeland and country, and the sense of responsibility to contribute to the community with their own abilities. This is also a form of innovation in teaching methods of History in schools in the direction of focusing on promoting abilities and qualities, creating an open space for students to learn and experience to memorize knowledge in the most effective way.

Mr. Phan Dinh Trinh, a History teacher at Le Quy Don High School for the Gifted, Dong Ha City, said: “When I heard about the film The Tunnels, after researching the context and content and feeling that it would be a good work on the subject of Vietnamese history, I decided to spend my own money to book tickets to take 56 History - Geography 12th grade students to see the film. Before watching the film, I gave them some information about the resistance period of the army and people of the South in the years 1965 - 1967, and briefly discussed with them the history of the formation of the Cu Chi Tunnels...

After watching the film, I also asked the students to relate it to the knowledge they had learned, organized them to discuss and self-evaluate the film on a scale like a group study session. I think, in addition to the purpose of learning, this is a meaningful activity that the students can participate in towards the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification on April 30 (1975-2025)".

Last year, Mr. Trinh and the parents also organized to buy tickets for History - Geography students to watch the movie "Peach, Pho and Piano" - a war-themed movie directed by Phi Tien Son, set in the final days of the battle to protect the capital Hanoi in 1946.

For many 12th grade History - Geography students of Le Quy Don High School for the Gifted, movie watching sessions are like an interesting extracurricular lesson, not only providing knowledge about history but also supplementing their studies in subjects such as literature, geography, civics...

Pham Ba Thanh shared: “After watching the movie Tunnels, I understand more clearly the concept of “people’s war”. The image of “soldiers” in me is no longer limited to just the main force troops or those who have to wear full uniforms and weapons, but also the simple people.

From the fields to the rivers, they were determined to fight to protect every inch of their homeland regardless of hardship. Through realistic images, from life in the tunnels, the scene of facing the enemy in the fierce bombs and bullets to the simple love and desire for peace of the young people at that time appeared. Every moment in the film moved me, helping me clearly feel the spirit and indomitable will of the previous generation.

For me, the film is not only a vivid history lesson but also a reminder that today's freedom is exchanged for blood, tears and losses of the previous generation; the younger generation must appreciate the value of peace and try harder in their studies to be worthy of that sacrifice. The experience of watching historical films also helps me have more study materials and supplement my knowledge to prepare for upcoming exams."

In addition to Mr. Trinh's class, there is also the Literature class of teacher Le Nam Linh, Le Quy Don High School for the Gifted, and many other teachers who also buy tickets for students to watch movies to serve teaching and learning. This is a model that needs to be replicated to improve the effectiveness of education in schools. "The exciting thing is that the students all watched very focused and felt part of the message that the filmmakers wanted to convey; they visualized the difficult but heroic days of our nation.

Seeing these real and touching images, many students were moved to tears. This is proof that they are not indifferent to history, but the important thing is to change the way of education, find new and more attractive ways of communication to help students be more interested and receptive.

In the near future, when Red Rain - a film about the fiery summer of 1972 in Quang Tri is released, I will continue to organize for students to watch it to innovate their approach to history and create more excitement for learning," said Mr. Trinh.

Hoai Nhung

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/giup-hoc-sinh-them-yeu-lich-su-qua-phim-anh-193326.htm