Portrait of journalist Le Quang Thong
One sunny summer day recently, I visited him. He is now over eighty years old, his health is also declining but he still happily sits and chats. After a few cups of tea, he rummaged through the handwritten script of the television report “The Pain of Deforestation” by the film crew including Xuan Hung - Dinh Man... in which he participated in reviewing and giving comments to complete the report.
The film won a silver medal at the National Television Festival, marking a milestone when the province had just been re-established, the TV station was still young, the filmmakers, besides the knowledge they learned at school and their enthusiasm and overcoming difficulties, had very little experience in a field that was still very new at that time, more than 30 years ago.
At that time, in addition to managing the content of an important newspaper in Quang Tri province, he was also passionate about writing. That is why he created many memorable television scripts such as “The Stork Returns in July” and especially the television series “When Will the Boat Cross the River Again” whose title is as haunting as an endless rhetorical question.
When I asked him what motivated him to create this film, a TV series set in the war in Quang Tri, or more precisely, Vinh Linh, his hometown, he replied: “At that time, during the resistance war against the US, like many others in Vinh Linh, I participated in the fight and assisted in the fight. During the day, I was at the anti-aircraft artillery position shooting at American planes, and at night I went to evacuate the wounded. Everyone lived in dangerous and difficult circumstances.
During fierce times like 1968, I returned from carrying the wounded, my shoes not off my feet because if my superiors ordered me to go, I would go. Almost everyone has experienced near-death experiences. Once, an American bomb accidentally blew off a section of an anti-aircraft gun, and I was right next to it, but luckily I escaped death. It was because of experiencing war that I was urged to write something about war.
But I wanted to not only describe directly, focusing on the story of sacrifice and death, what I struggled with was how to express the desire for peace , only peace can truly bring revival and happiness, without peace nothing can be done. It is a song about peace, love and happiness through reflecting the fierce war. And I started writing the script "When will the boat cross the river again?"
Hien Luong Flag Tower - Ben Hai - Photo: TN
The film's content is not complicated and is quite familiar with war stories. O Hien, a female militiawoman in Vinh Linh in the medical evacuation team, every night she and her teammates braved bombs and bullets to the South bank to pick up and transport wounded soldiers to the North bank, then safely transferred them to the rear.
From her work, O Hien fell in love with a wounded soldier from Hanoi named Thanh. And their love blossomed. Thanh broke up without knowing that he had left a bloodline in Hien. And in the harsh and difficult war situation, O Hien's pregnancy was not a small matter and O was disciplined. O Hien's child grew up to be a reporter, and then by chance fate brought the young journalist to meet her father...
A happy ending when a new bridge is built makes many viewers satisfied, to answer the question which is also the name of the film: "When will the boat cross the river again?" That is a simple summary, but the film's development with its structure and many vivid and emotional details.
The film was produced by VTV in 1996, with a script by journalist Le Quang Thong, directed by Tran Quoc Trong, music by Trong Dai. The main character at that time was very young, non-professional actress Truong Thuong Huyen, who was later awarded the title of Meritorious Artist by the state.
Actress Thuong Huyen in the role of O Hien in the movie "When will the boat cross the river again" - Photo: PXD
The film was shown on VTV1 and VTVT4 and then Quang Tri TV station and was well received by many viewers. According to journalist Le Quang Thong, director Quoc Trong conducted a survey in the early years, and at times the film was shown with a number that was considered a record.
For artist Thuong Huyen, this film won the Vietnam Cinema Association Award in 1996 and the Gold Award at the National Television Festival in 1997. In 2022, this film won the A Prize for Literature and Arts on the occasion of the "50th anniversary of Quang Tri's construction and development".
The film “When will the boat cross the river again” with the script by author Le Quang Thong has added a link in literature and art from war to peace, adding a humane message about the land and people of the homeland Quang Tri.
Pham Xuan Dung
Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/nha-bao-le-quang-thong-voi-nhung-kich-ban-truyen-hinh-194416.htm
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