Debt with history
In 2017, the war film "Dunkirk" (Vietnamese title: Dunkirk Exiled) caused a fever in the Vietnamese film market. "Dunkirk" by director Christopher Nolan is set in World War 2.
At the end of May 1940, about 400,000 soldiers of the Allied army (France, England, Belgium) were concentration by the German army on the coast of Dunkirk, posing a danger. However, with Putin's most controversial decision in history to "not attack to the end", the British government called for a rescue operation and brought nearly 300,000 soldiers out of Dunkirk across the Manche Strait back home.
Dunkirk was invested with about 100 million USD and earned nearly 530 million USD, creating a fever at the box office. Dunkirk received a storm of compliments for its unique three-dimensional storytelling (on airplanes, on land and at sea) that turned Englands historic flight into an emotional story on screen.
Dunkirk made a big impact when it came to Vietnam. At that time, the question of the historical debt of Vietnamese films was raised with filmmakers. In a country, when war has become a part of history, when two great national defense wars with so many legends wrote the national image before the world... but there could not be a film that touched the audience's emotions for decades.
When asked about the debt to history, many directors gave different reasons to prove the difficulty of films with the theme of war and history.
Of which, the biggest difficulty is the cost. Director Bui Tuan Dung said, "war films need a lot of money". For this reason, for a long time since the late 1990s, private companies have almost "held" the topic of historic war. With the goal of recovering capital quickly and making big profits, private films pursue comedy topics, psychology, psychology, horror... to easily sell tickets.
War and historical films are produced in small quantities, often by state-owned film studios under state management on the occasion of each anniversary of historical events.
There have been countless tragedies, when films ordered by the state have been criticized for their old scripts, dry filmmaking style, and assumptions. Even films with state investment in a record amount of millions of USD (at that time) such as Memories of Dien Bien, Live with History... could not sell tickets. The film fell into a slump. To the point that Living with History cannot sell 1 ticket in 1 screening fee surveyed by reporters.
The sluggish and disadvantaged scenes of war and historical films ordered by the state have become an endless topic of controversy, lasting for decades. A series of difficulties were raised, mainly revolving around two decisive factors: the need for more million USD in funding, to the "lack and weakness" of good war scenarios.
The boost
After a long time of almost being at a standstill of the Vietnamese war film industry with a historical debt on the shoulders, the two films "Red Rain" and "Dia Dia Dia: Mat troi trong bong" have appeared as a turning point.
geopolitical: Sun in the dark is produced by the private sector, released in theaters during the days of the whole country towards the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South, National Reunification and Red Rain was released on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of National Day on September 2.
The success of the two war films comes from many factors, including "time, location, humanity". The influence of the programs honoring national pride and patriotism has resonate, helping "Red Rain" and " Earth" to be strongly supported by the audience. To be fair, if it had been released at another time, it is uncertain whether "Red Rain" would have had the success it is now.
However, it cannot be denied that the elaborate investment, combined with an open and new script in the way war films are made, has brought a big plus to Red Rain and Geography in 2025.
If The Earth is real and rich in cinematic, Red Rain is an emotional film, built tragically and elaborately, with a tolerant and humane perspective on the fate of soldiers on both sides of the front line.
Watching "Red Rain" can be seen, a new approach to human fate in war. Instead of the worn, collective, forced, and often- seen heroic struggle, Red Rain has gone deep into the fate of each individual, on both sides, when facing the war.
It is the fate of each individual that has brought its own color to the common pain of the whole nation. "Red Rain" brought tears to the audience, achieved a revenue miracle, and created an explosive effect because it brought a true picture of human fate, of the common pain of the nation, of the separations - disruptions in a tragic war.
Moreover, "Red Rain" and "Land of the Galaxy" are expected to be a breakthrough for the war film genre - which always faces countless difficulties. There are still many battles that need to be told, the debt to history is still there on the shoulders of Vietnamese filmmakers.
After "Red Rain" and "Die Thuong", it is hoped that more producers will invest in the war and historical film genre.
So that the audience does not have to wait until anniversaries and major holidays to watch war films, to laugh like they did with Red Rain.
