Tunnels and Bui Thac's 10-year dream Specializing in films for the day of peace

Director Bui Thac Chuyen monitors and directs the crew on set - Photo: Mi Ly

I wanted to build a battle that contained truth in it, depicting war as very harsh with its inherent brutality but the theme towards which it is directed is reconciliation.

Director Bui Thac Chuyen

In March and April, the script for Tunnels , which director Bui Thac Chuyen had devoted 10 years to, was filmed. Tunnels was filmed mainly at two locations: a simulated real studio in Ho Chi Minh City and Cu Chi Tunnels, which is mainly an outdoor setting.

In the middle of the Tunnels filming set in Ho Chi Minh City, Bui Thac Chuyen shared about the difficulties and his passion when making films about major battles in the nation's history.

TUNNEL: SUN IN THE DARK | FIRST LOOK TRAILER | EXPECTED RELEASE 04/30/2025

10 minutes of film and 10 years of dream of Bui Thac Chuyen

10 years ago, in 2014, director Bui Thac Chuyen was invited to make a 3D film project about Cu Chi tunnels.

The film is only 10 minutes long, currently being shown in Cu Chi tunnels, but it is the beginning of a relationship for the director, opening up 10 years of hard work on the script, calling for investment, and going to the South and the North to learn about reality.

Even though he was working on another film in the meantime ( Glorious Ashes , due out in 2022), the dream of a major film about the Cu Chi tunnels was always there. A thorny dream, but not an impossible one.

Director Bui Thac Chuyen on the set of the movie Tunnels in Cu Chi - Photo: CK

"I realized that the story was heroic and full of people. I interviewed some uncles and aunts who fought in the Cu Chi tunnels. The story was extremely interesting. I also studied Vietnamese and American documents about Cu Chi and then started writing the script. And the stories I found the best I put into the film," he said.

The Tunnels is a fictional film, inspired by true stories, set in 1967 after the Cedar Falls raid, but it will not be a film that is a faithful copy of reality.

Through a story with many fictional elements, Bui Thac Chuyen wants to retell the real war, showing how the tunnels operated, were structured, and functioned.

And how did the Vietnamese guerrillas live and fight in the heart of the "land of steel turned to bronze", confronting the "world's most skilled army", at that time the American army...

To show viewers that the Vietnam War was truly a people's war.

Bui Thac Chuyen started writing the Tunnels script in 2014, finished it in 2016, and almost made it into a film in 2017, but due to lack of funds, it had to wait. He said there was another party that wanted to invest in the film, but it was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

By 2022, he believes the time has come. From 2022-2024, he will focus on preparing for his filmmaking journey.

A tunnel entrance and passageway in Cu Chi tunnels built by the film crew on a real-life simulation set - Photo: Mi Ly

One of the four main investors, businessman Nguyen Thanh Nam (vice president of FPT University) said that in 2014, he met director Bui Thac Chuyen when they participated in producing a 3D film introducing Cu Chi tunnels to be shown at the relic.

At that time, Nguyen Thanh Nam wrote these lines of thoughts about the indomitable and resilient Cu Chi:

"Any foreign tourist coming to Saigon will be taken to the Cu Chi tunnels and introduced to the Iron Triangle.

They would be amazed at how they could move and live year after year in such tiny tunnels. And for what purpose?

Surprised and respectful, but nowadays people will think: It's useless for the present, how can one win in the business world by sneaking around like that?

We shrugged our shoulders and walked away, forgetting about these little farmers. How wrong we could not be! Only the American generals and leaders of that time understood how powerful and intelligent their opponents were."

10 years later, Bui Thac Chuyen and Nguyen Thanh Nam reunited when Nam became one of the film investors.

"The war our ancestors fought is a priceless treasure of knowledge that future generations need to exploit if they want to contribute to a strong Vietnam," said Mr. Nam.

The hard and meaningful filming days

To get to the day of filming, The Tunnels received support from many people. Especially the military technical element is very important for a combat film and there are many war scenes that require equipment such as tanks, planes, explosives, guns... which cannot be done without the support of the army.

"Maybe I'm lucky because I made a film about Cu Chi, a place so famous with such a heroic story that everyone feels proud when mentioning Cu Chi. When reading the script, everyone gave me suggestions to make the film more complete," director Bui Thac Chuyen shared. Having reached this stage, he said he was lucky.

He said: "All investors and crew want to make a film to be shown on April 30, 2025 and to commemorate the heroes and martyrs who sacrificed for the day of peace."

When the film was announced to start filming, some movie lovers commented encouragingly, saying they were looking forward to it.

Bui Thac Chuyen is probably the one with the most hope. He said: "I hope people will pay attention, it's a very good opportunity to be interested.

Moreover, the film also promotes national spirit. The problem is how to make it good. If we do it well, the audience will accept it.

I believe I am doing something useful, difficulties only make me try harder. I believe the script is very good, everyone who works with me loves it and is enthusiastic.

The actors were very miserable but were willing to fast for two months, go to military training to shoot live ammunition in the sun, crawl and roll around very hard, their bodies were black and their limbs were scratched.

But they are all very determined because they feel they are doing something meaningful. I feel like I am receiving blessings."

When historical films are released, audiences will pay close attention to costumes and props. Bui Thac Chuyen said there is a lot of material from both the American and Vietnamese sides. He also sought out experts and guerrillas to confirm.

But in terms of historical documents, he said that Vietnam does not have the habit or policy of preserving historical documents about costumes in a detailed and accurate manner, so filmmakers are forced to make estimates.

"For example, in this movie, I used a lot of Ao Ba Ba, but the actors still wore normal clothes because they were guerrillas and didn't have uniforms.

Some people say that guerrillas usually wear black shirts, but firstly, it's a fictional film, and secondly, the film was filmed in dark tunnels. If they only wore black shirts, no one would recognize the characters. So I let the guerrillas wear shirts of different colors and styles. At that time, people wore many types of clothes, not just "ba ba ba", he analyzed.

Director Bui Thac Chuyen and production crew at the opening ceremony of the movie Tunnels - Photo: Facebook Nguyen Tri Vien

All the actors playing the guerrillas were very thin and dark. According to the director, this physical factor was very important, he required each actor to lose weight below the minimum.

Actor Thai Hoa had to lose at least 6-7kg, determined to exercise and diet hard during Tet because he loved this movie so much. Actress Ho Thu Anh worked out and lost weight three months in advance to prepare for the movie.

Bui Thac Chuyen scientifically explains that thin people have brighter eyes because the liver does not have to secrete too much gastric juice to digest food. In the past, in pictures of soldiers or people in the past, their eyes were always bright.

Actor Thai Hoa in guerrilla costume for the role of Bay Theo - Photo: Facebook Luong Bich Ngoc

For a long time, like Bui Thac Chuyen, many Vietnamese directors have dreamed of making historical films.

There have been scripts written about great battles in the country's history, but the process of making films still seems too thorny.

And like you said, cost isn't everything. But when it comes to historical films, there are a lot of things that cost money.

For example, he initially wanted a team of consultants to do thorough historical research on the film, but it was only close to the date that he found out whether there was money or not.

But research must be done a year in advance to make a film carefully.

He analyzed: "When it comes to historical films, there are many aspects that I realize I am not capable of. I do not have the habit of researching.

Almost no one in Vietnam does fire and explosion work anymore. There are a few people who do it, but they can't do it all.

This film must invite foreign experts. Because this profession in Vietnam has no place to work anymore, in the past there were state film studios.

I know the people who made explosions and fires in Vietnam in the past were engineers, they used to play with real explosives, the explosions are beautiful but very dangerous. That is not acceptable for cinema.

Foreign experts can detonate very close, yesterday I just detonated a test explosion right in the tunnel, only about 2 meters away from the actor in the tunnel but the actor was still fine, but the explosion scene still looked terrible. To do that, foreign experts have to study and research a lot.

When filming The Quiet American , the Americans also blew up a car, debris flew everywhere while the actors were standing only 4 meters away. But I also understand that our brothers in Vietnam must have work to do in order to be good. There is no other way but to do it."

Ho Chi Minh City cares and encourages

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City, talked about the film Tunnels at the recent Ho Chi Minh City International Film Festival:

"This is a very meaningful and practical film, helping us look forward to the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the South and national reunification next year.

With such historical significance and the length of history being recreated in the film, this is not an easy task.

So how can filmmakers do it in current conditions?

It requires a lot of support, coordination and many agencies at different levels of authority."

Believe in Bui Thac Chuyen's talent

Businessman Nguyen Thanh Nam

10 years have passed, so many things have happened that I have forgotten.

But Chuyen did not forget. Last year, my friend, who introduced Chuyen to me back then, said:

"Nam, on the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the South and the reunification of the country, let's (with some friends) help him do this project together." I agreed immediately.

Chuyen came to me and said: I want to let foreign audiences, especially Americans, know about the war from the Vietnamese perspective. Hollywood has made many movies about the Vietnam War, but mainly about them, the American veterans.

I read the script with excitement. I shared my thoughts with Chuyen, the guerilla "peasants" were indeed brave. But bravery alone was not enough. Their opponents, the American and allied soldiers, were also brave, well-armed, and supported by a powerful system.

To subdue their opponents, guerrillas must also be very intelligent and creative, with a rebellious and unconventional nature. That's why I love the character Tu Dap.

Of course, a film is like a work of art, before talking about this or that message, it must be attractive enough to attract the young generation of Vietnam to the cinema. I believe in the talent of Chuyen, the cast and the production team of HKPhim and can't wait for the day the film is released.

Investor, businessman Nguyen Thanh Nam

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/dia-dao-va-giac-mo-10-nam-cua-bui-thac-chuyen-ve-bo-phim-cho-ngay-hoa-binh-20240425172026876.htm