Immortal films about August Revolution and National Day September 2

The August Revolution in 1945, under the wise leadership of President Ho Chi Minh, brought about many historic victories. On September 2, 1945, at Ba Dinh Square, President Ho Chi Minh read the Declaration of Independence , giving birth to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (now the Socialist Republic of Vietnam).

"Vietnam has the right to enjoy freedom and independence, and in fact has become a free and independent country. The entire Vietnamese people are determined to mobilize all their spirit and strength, to sacrifice their lives and property in order to maintain that freedom and independence," quoted from the Declaration of Independence drafted by President Ho Chi Minh.

Making a film about the August Revolution and National Day September 2 is a difficult requirement for many filmmakers, especially in terms of script. Up to now, documentaries and films about this topic have become "rare", because of their small quantity and timeless values.

Rare documentary about National Day September 2nd

Thirty years after President Ho Chi Minh read the Declaration of Independence, the film Independence Day September 2, 1945 directed by People's Artist Pham Ky Nam was produced and released (in 1975).

Black and white footage of people holding hands and singing the song "Die Fascist" and declaring independence surprised and moved many Vietnamese people.

The most special part of the film Independence Day September 2, 1945 is the 5-minute long image of the historic moment when President Ho Chi Minh read the Declaration of Independence - taken by a cameraman whose identity remains unknown. Few people know that these 5 minutes of precious footage were given to Vietnam by a French friend.

The voice of President Ho Chi Minh resounded at the moment of Vietnam's birth, with the image of the red flag with yellow star fluttering in the wind at Ba Dinh Square, evoking proud and sacred emotions.

People's Artist Nguyen Nhu Vu - Former Acting General Director of the Central Documentary and Scientific Film Studio shared: "When watching these films, we were all surprised because we had heard and read a lot about September 2, 1945 in the media, but seeing the vivid images was truly the first time."

Documentary photo of Ba Dinh Square on September 2, 1945 by French photographer Philippe Devillers (Photo: Documentary).

In 1974, a group of Vietnamese artists went to France to make a film about Uncle Ho during his time in France. Before leaving, the head of the group - journalist Hong Ha, director Pham Ky Nam and cameraman Nguyen Nhu Ai were instructed by Politburo member - Chairman of the National Assembly Standing Committee Truong Chinh to try to find a documentary about September 2, 1945.

In France, the group asked Dutch documentary director Joris Ivens for help. After much effort, Joris Ivens found a friend who could help the group bring the precious images of Independence Day back to the country.

Nearly 60 years later, on the occasion of the National Day on September 2, 2005, the public was able to watch the next documentary, called Historical Day by Russian director Vladimir Echourine.

The film is nearly 25 minutes long, with many documentary images of Hanoi red with flags, banners, and hundreds of thousands of people pouring into the historic Ba Dinh Square, welcoming the Resistance Government back to the capital and the people of the whole country...

In 2010, TFS Film Studio of Ho Chi Minh City Television produced the documentary Vietnam National Flag, directed by Pham To Hoang. The film recreates important moments in the nation's history, especially National Day September 2.

Excerpt from the film "Independence Day September 2, 1945" (Video: People's Army Cinema).

Classic movie: "August Star"

After 31 years since the birth of Vietnam, Vietnamese cinema has had a feature film called Sao Thang Tam (produced in 1976). The film was directed by Tran Dac, filmed by Do Manh Hung, depicting the glorious resistance war in history.

Until now, after 47 years, Sao Thang Tam still retains the breath of the heroic August Revolution era. The film deserves the mission of marking the nation's history through cinema.

And it can be said that, up to now, no film has truly reflected the days before the August Revolution in 1945 and the terrible famine at that time like Sao Thang Tam .

Not only does it affirm a strong development in Vietnamese cinema, the film also recalls a heroic milestone in history, making viewers appreciate the value of independence and freedom.

"August Star" - a classic film about the successful August Revolution (Photo: Feature Film Studio I).

In fact, Sao Thang Tam was directed by Tran Dac and took the main plot from the memoir Nang Hung Yen by writer Ha An. The memoir records the story of Mrs. Nguyen Thi Hung (Nguyen Thi Uc (1920-1993).

Tran Dac used Mrs. Hung as the model to create the image of female revolutionary soldier Nhu. The villain Kieu Trinh was modeled after female spy Nga Thien Huong.

The film consists of two episodes: Spring Storm and Autumn Resurrection, performed by actors such as Meritorious Artist Thanh Tu, artist Dung Nhi, Meritorious Artist Duc Hoan...

The role of a female officer named Nhu made Meritorious Artist Thanh Tu's name shine in the film industry. When director Tran Dac chose Thanh Tu to play Nhu, almost everyone was afraid that she would not be able to fulfill the role, because the artist had a beautiful modern face and was a "star" of the Hanoi drama stage at that time. But she successfully completed a role of a lifetime.

The character Nhu by Meritorious Artist Thanh Tu in the movie "Sao Thang Tam" (Photo: Document).

To play the role of Nhu - a girl with many fates, Thanh Tu said: "I had to try hard to portray the character of Nhu because at that time, I was young, new to the profession, and had no experience. But I just played the role honestly, without much technique."

For Thanh Tu, Sao Thang Tam is a beautiful memory in the artist's life. Time may change, but the historical mark and historical witness are still remembered in the work. The role helped the artist win the Golden Lotus Award for Best Actress at the 4th Vietnam Film Festival in 1977.

Playing the role of Kien, Dung Nhi - an amateur in cinema at that time had to analyze the character day and night, working with the director to be able to fully transform into the character.

But Dung Nhi realized that his luck was playing the role of an intellectual young man who had many similarities with him in real life. In the film, Kien's mother was the male artist's biological mother. Thanks to that, he received a lot of guidance from his mother in acting.

Dung Nhi in the movie "Sao Thang August" (Photo: Document).

Artist Dung Nhi said that the film was filmed in 1975-1976, when the country was experiencing political turmoil, so the film crew had to overcome many hardships.

"At that time, there were still enemy planes, so when the alarm went off, the film crew was filming but each person ran in a different direction to hide in the bunker. The lighting crew had to put all their reflectors on the ground," said the actor.

Besides, the recording equipment was also rudimentary. The crew used film cameras to film, and according to the State regulations at that time, each actor was only allowed 2.5 takes. Almost all actors tried to do one take to save film.

The filming equipment was imported second-hand from Russia and Germany, so the sensitivity of the film was low, forcing the crew to shoot on sunny days. Many scenes in the film take place under the moonlight, but were actually filmed during the day.

Excerpt from the movie "August Stars" (Video: Documentary).

According to Dung Nhi, in order to have the most realistic scenes to recreate the famine of the year At Dau, the directing team mobilized about 20 beggars from all over Hanoi to act as actors. In the film, there was a skinny old man living near Buoi market who was invited to act. But when the film was released, his children and grandchildren asked the crew to cut that scene because they saw how pitiful their father was.

With the big scene of people rising up to seize power, the film crew had to ask the city government to mobilize thousands of people from state agencies, teachers, students, and artists. Among those extras, there were also colleagues who were teachers of artist Dung Nhi, they wanted to go to the film set to see how their teacher and colleagues acted.

Taking material from reality, the film depicts many unforgettable images for the audience. That is the scene where Ms. Nhu meets a hungry grandmother and grandchild, scooping rice that has fallen under a dry banyan tree, the wind blowing fiercely. Canh Kien is wounded, looking up at his sister - the one who indirectly caused the Japanese to shoot at him with eyes that are both painful and resentful, haunting the audience. The dialogue in the film is simple but touches the hearts of the audience.

A scene from the movie "August Stars" (Photo: Vietnam Feature Film Studio).

Up to now, perhaps no film has successfully reflected the turbulent days before the August Revolution in 1945 and the terrible famine of that year. The work was later selected to be screened at the Moscow International Film Festival in July 1977. Every year, in August, Vietnam Television always re-broadcasts the film as a way to recreate and pay tribute to history.

However, if expanding to the historical context of 1946 and 1947, Vietnamese cinema has two more films: Living Forever with the Capital (TV series), written by Le Phuong and Trinh Thanh Nha, directed by Le Duc Tien and Nguyen The Vinh. The second film is Hanoi in Winter 1946 (feature film), written by Hoang Nhuan Cam and Dang Nhat Minh, co-directed by Dang Nhat Minh, Pham Nhue Giang, Thai Ninh, and Vu Quoc Tuan.

Content: Huong Ho

Photo: Document

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