In 2010, Vietnam Feature Film Studio received a film order about the 81 day and night battle of the fiery summer of 1972 in the ancient citadel of Quang Tri. This was the most fierce battle of the 1972 Spring Summer Campaign.
Poet and veteran Le Ba Duong's poem has touched the hearts of many generations of readers: Boat to Thach Han... paddle gently/The river bottom is still there, my friend lies/At the age of twenty, it became waves. /Peace on the shore forever for thousands of years...
Director Huu Muoi said that when he started working on the film project "The Smell of Burning Grass" , he visited the ancient citadel of Quang Tri and met veterans who participated in the fierce battle in 1972. Old soldiers, when returning to visit ancient battlefields, always told each other, when coming to the ancient citadel, to tread lightly, so as not to hurt those who had fallen, because the soil in the ancient citadel is all the bones and blood of martyrs...
When reading the letters sent by martyrs to their families and relatives and reading the diary "Forever 20" of martyr Nguyen Van Thac, director Huu Muoi could not hold back his tears.
The script "The Smell of Burning Grass" was inspired by the late screenwriter Hoang Nhuan Cam from the diary "Forever 20" of martyr Nguyen Van Thac.
At the time of its launch in 2005, the diary "Forever 20" became a phenomenon in the publishing industry, when released in large quantities, attracting a large number of readers, creating a trend of reading "Forever". forever 20" for many generations.
"Forever 20" was compiled and partly excerpted from the diary of martyr Nguyen Van Thac. The diary was written from October 2, 1971 and ended with the last line written at Dong Loc Junction on June 3, 1972.
After marching to Dong Loc Junction, martyr Nguyen Van Thac decided to send the diary back to his brother and then continued to march into the Quang Tri battlefield.
Martyr Nguyen Van Thac sacrificed on July 30, 1972 - the fiercest day of the 81 days and nights in Quang Tri ancient citadel. When he died, martyr Nguyen Van Thac was 20 years old (1952-1972).
In the film The Smell of Burning Grass, director Huu Muoi took details from martyr Nguyen Van Thac's diary "Forever 20" to build a plot where the character Thang writes a poem to his girlfriend and promises to meet in September. April 1975.
"In a letter, martyr Nguyen Van Thac sent his girlfriend Nhu Anh, he wrote: "On April 30, 1975, I will answer your question, what is happiness?". Mr. Thac wrote this sentence twice. And no one can explain, why did he know that April 30, 1975 was the day of complete victory? In the film, I intended to build the character Thang with the image of Mr. Thac. I built Thang as a young, normal man who loves poetry. Not someone who can predict the future. I also skipped the 30th and only dared to set April 1975 as the appointment date. Mr. Thac predicted too accurately, if put into the movie, sometimes it would be forced. But it's so magical, no one can explain it" - director Huu Muoi said.
“The Smell of Burning Grass” revolves around four characters Hoang - Thanh - Thang - Long, who are University students who put away their pens, left the lecture hall to follow the call of the Fatherland, to support the Quang Tri battlefield. 1972.
They represent an entire generation of young people who sent back their youth to fight selflessly for their country, "They lived and died/Simplely and calmly/... But they made the country" (Excerpt from Country, Nguyen Khoa Diem).
