VietNamNet Bridge – A week-long retrospective of films by one of Viet Nam’s foremost directors, Dang Nhat Minh, started yesterday evening (Aug 8) at the Ha Noi Cinematheque with the film Bao Gio Cho Den Thang Muoi (When the 10th Month Comes), which was selected by CNN as one of 18 all-time best Asian films.

Loss and sacrifice: A scene from the film "Bao Gio Cho Den Thang Muoi" (When the Tenth Month Comes), which will be screened tonight at the Hanoi Cinematheque at 7.30pm.—www.hiff.org

Minh was recently honored in Hollywood by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and is the only Vietnamese director to achieve world-wide recognition.

This series was curated by Dutch poet and Professor Dick Gebuys, who has been writing a book about Dang Nhat Minh and his works. Gebuys will be present to answer questions after each of the screenings, and Minh will also join some of the discussions.

“I hope that my book will be published next December. The book talks about the biography and life of the film director, with my own research and investigation,” said Gebuys.

“I have great admiration for Minh. I am very interested in Vietnamese culture and therefore love his films, which are very touching and interesting to many generations of Vietnamese people,” he said.

Entry is free or charge. All films are screened in Vietnamese with English subtitles, starting at 7.30pm at 22 Hai Ba Trung Street.

The films will be shown in the following order, from Monday through Saturday: Bao Gio Cho Den Thang Muoi (When the 10th month come), Co Gai Tren Song (The girl on the river), Thuong Nho Dong Que (Nostalgia for the countryside),  Ha Noi Mua Dong (Ha Noi Winter 1946), Mua Oi ( Season of Guavas), Dung Dot (Don’t Burn).

Made in 1984, the 90-minute When the Tenth Month Comes is one of Minh’s most successful films. It won a special jury prize at the Hawaii International Film Festival 1985, and a Golden Lotus at the Viet Nam National Film Festival 1985. A haunting portrait of one woman’s struggle with loss and personal sacrifice during the war, the film is considered by many local and international critics to be the greatest Vietnamese movie ever made.

Several of Minh’s other films also won important prizes at national and international film festivals.

VNS