Thành viên:Halezun/The Girl on the River (1987)

The Girl on the River (Vietnamese: Cô gái trên sông) is a 1987 film written and directed by the Vietnamese director Đặng Nhật Minh, with a soundtrack composed by one of the most beloved musicians in Vietnam, Trịnh Công Sơn. Through an entangled love story, the film implies a disillusionment in changes promised by the revolutionary. It also criticizes press censorship and may include reference to the arrest of intellectuals in the Nhân Văn–Giai Phẩm affair. The film won the Silver

Lotus, and the leading actress Minh Châu won the Award for Best Actress at the 1988 Vietnam Film Festival. In 2017, The Girl on the River and another film written and directed by Đặng Nhật Minh, When the Tenth Month Comes, were converted to DCP (Digital Cinema Package) by a French company named Dissidenz. The film was heavily criticized by a high-ranked official in the Vietnamese government and was only screened at one festival before disappearing in official screenings in Vietnam.

Plot

The film opens with an interview between two women - Nguyệt, a "reformed" ca ve, and Liên, a journalist. Nguyệt was a ca ve working on a boat on Hương River in Huế (a city in central Vietnam) during the Vietnam War. She was consistently pursued by Sơn, a soldier of South Vietnam who had loved her since when they were students. However, she did not return his feelings. One day, a wounded Viet Cong soldier (South Vietnam soldiers who work for the North) climbed on her boat and asked for her help. She fell in love with him, nurtured him, sheltered him from his enemies, and took him to meet his comrades. He promised he would come back for her, then disappeared. Two years later, North Vietnam won the city of Huế. The soldier of South Vietnam begged Nguyệt to run away with him, but she refused, thinking that staying in Huế will help her meet the Viet Cong soldier again. She indeed met him, but he refused to recognize her. He is now a high-ranked official in the city government, and she eventually knew his name was Thu. She left with a broken heart, got hit by a car, and was hospitalized. She met Liên, the journalist, in the hospital. After that, the audience learnt that Liên was actually Thu's wife. When Liên was about to finish the report and fell asleep on her desk at home, Thu accidentally read it. He recognized himself in the story and prohibited the newsroom from publishing it. At first, Liên did not understand, but when she found out the truth about her husband, she left him and tried to meet Nguyệt again. Nguyệt is now leading a happy life with the South Vietnam soldier. Liên told Nguyệt that Thu was dead during the war.

Reception

The film was heavily criticized by a high-ranked official in the Vietnamese government because the war hero is portrayed as ungrateful while the enemy is faithful to his love (implying “the people”). However, The Girl on the River still made it to the 1988 Vietnam Film Festival held in the city of Đà Nẵng (another city in central Vietnam). Although there is no official record of box office, as recalled by Đặng Nhật Minh, the film was enthusiastically welcomed by Đà Nẵng audience. According to Minh Triết, the director of the Central Film Distribution, so many people bought tickets to see the film that the profit made from it covered all costs of the festival. Due to political controversy, the film was only awarded the Silver Lotus award, causing a wave of discontent among the audience. After this festival, the film disappeared in Vietnam, although no official document ordered that it must be banned.

As written in Đặng Nhật Minh's memoir, The Girl on the River was bought by the German Democratic Republic to screen with German dubbing. This version was later screened on the TV channel ARTE in April of 2005, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Vietnam's Reunification Day.

Awards

The film won the Golden Lotus for Best Feature Film and the Award for Best Cinematography at the 1988 Vietnam Film Festival. Minh Châu won the Award for Best Actress.