Bui Thac Chuyen: I considered putting hot scenes in the movie Tunnels

After the early media screening on the afternoon of March 31 in Ho Chi Minh City, the director talked about the scenes that put him under pressure. One of the most notable scenes was the "hot" scene in the tunnels of Ba Huong (Ho Thu Anh) and Tu Dap (Quang Tuan) - a pair of soldiers from a guerrilla group who stayed in Cu Chi in 1967 when the enemy swept in. The director said he carefully considered putting this scene into a film about war.

"I wanted to highlight the vitality of people during wartime, they still yearn to find each other amidst bombs and bullets. Many people after watching the film wondered why I filmed that scene, but it is one of the film's messages when honoring humanity," said the director. Bui Thac Chuyen hopes the audience understands his intention before this segment.

The love story of the main characters is portrayed with the meaning: In times of sorrow, there are still romantic and lovely things. The director has returned to the Cu Chi historical relic site many times, meeting with veterans. He heard that in the past, soldiers extended the tunnel by digging a new well (2-3 m long), about 7-10 m from the old well, then dug horizontally, meeting in the middle. Bui Thac Chuyen imagined a scene in the dark, under an oil lamp, a young man meets the girl he loves with a face covered in mud. He planned to include this detail in the film so that the audience could understand more about love during wartime, but the work was quite long so it had to be cut.

Director - screenwriter Bui Thac Chuyen. Photo: Thanh Huyen

Bui Thac Chuyen said that for more than 10 years, he has been pursuing the project because of his obsession with the war in Cu Chi. He wants to convey on the big screen a tragic but heroic period before the historic victory on April 30, 1975. "I hope people will have more perspective to understand how our fathers' generation sacrificed for the country to be what it is today," the director said.

The plot revolves around a group of 21 guerrillas who stayed in Cu Chi after the Cedar Falls raid (1967). Captain Bay Theo (played by actor Thai Hoa) and his teammates were assigned to protect the area for the strategic intelligence group. However, their communications were discovered by the enemy. The guerrillas fell into a dangerous situation, facing many raids. The project commemorates the 50th anniversary of the country's reunification, and is a war film made from socialized budget.

Director - screenwriter Bui Thac Chuyen, 57 years old, was born in Hanoi. In 1995, he studied at the Faculty of Acting, Hanoi University of Theatre and Cinema, becoming an artist of the Vietnam Drama Theater. In 1997, he studied directing, attracting attention with Cuoc xe dem - the first Vietnamese work to win an award in the Cinefondation Short Film category at the Cannes International Film Festival. In 2005, his film Living in Fear won many domestic and international awards.

In 2022, Glorious Ashes - a film adapted from Nguyen Ngoc Tu's novel - won many awards at home and abroad, including the Golden Lotus at the 2023 Vietnam Film Festival. In parallel with making films, Bui Thac Chuyen teaches cinema. In 2002, the director founded the Center for Supporting and Developing Cinema Talents (TPD), Vietnam Cinema Association.

Kim Ly (According to vnexpress.net)

Source: http://baovinhphuc.com.vn/Multimedia/Images/Id/126096/Bui-Thac-Chuyen-