French director Oliver Lorelle’s ‘Ciel Rouge’ (Red Sky), which is set in Vietnam in the early years of the Indochina War and shot entirely in Vietnam’s northern mountainous areas, will be shown in mid-July in France and in October in Vietnam.

The film tells the story of a French soldier committed to pacifying an unknown country made up of dense forests and spectacular mountains. 

His ideals collapse when he is forced to torture and kill a young Vietnamese woman, who is fighting for national independence.

In order to escape carrying out his orders he decides to flee with her on an unpredictable journey to the heart of the jungle. 

Crossing the forests and hiding in breath-taking natural surroundings, the two unlikely partners distance themselves from the world and the war. Left to their own devices, they discover who they really are.

Ciel Rouge’s filming locations include Ba Be Lake in Bac Kan province and the spectacular mountains of Ha Giang.

Unlike previous French films about the war in Vietnam such as ‘L’Amant’, ‘Dien Bien Phu’ and ‘Indochine’, Vietnam’s striking nature is a major theme and the war is only a background story to accentuate the tale of love between the two main characters.

The film crew, including director Oliver Lorelle, main actress Audre Giacomini and well-known Vietnamese actress Nguyen Thi Chieu Xuan, will hold a talk with the audience in Hanoi on June 28 at the French cultural centre L’Espace.

Nhan Dan