Seven films on President Ho Chi Minh

A scene in the film “Thau Chin in Xiem” (Thau Chin in Siam) with Manh Truong playing Ho Chi Minh (Photo: courtesy of the film producer)

Hanoi, VNA - On the occasion of the 134^th anniversary of the birthday of President Ho Chi Minh (May 19, 1890-2024), VietnamPlus introduces seven films about the late President. Each film tells a story in a period in the President’s life and revolutionary career.

1. “Hen Gap Lai Sai Gon” (See You Again in Sai Gon) by Director Long Van based on screenplay by Son Tung, produced in 1990

“Hen Gap Lai Sai Gon” is the first feature film about President Ho, which was made on the occasion of the centenary of his birth. It depicts the time the young patriot Nguyen Tat Thanh (the name of Ho Chi Minh at that time) lived with his family in Hue and then left for Sai Gon to look for ways to go abroad in search of the path to salvage the nation.

With a lively and emotional depiction of the youth of the leader, the film inspired and kick started more films about the revolutionary cause of President Ho Chi Minh.

In the film, People’s Artist Tien Hoi played the main role. He was said to be the most successful actor playing the role of Ho Chi Minh. Following the film, Hoi also took up the role of the late leader on the stage.

Actor Tien Hoi (left) plays Nguyen Tat Thanh in the film (Photo: courtesy of the film producer)

2. “Ha Noi Mua Dong Nam 46 (Hanoi in the Winter of 1946) by Director Dang Nhat Minh based on screenplay by Dang Nhat Minh, Hoang Nhuan Cam, produced in 1997.

The film tells the story of President Ho Chi Minh’s efforts to negotiate autonomy for Vietnam from French colonialists amidst a series of escalating events in the winter of 1946. It follows three young Vietnamese men and shows how the political situation of the time affected the average person.

Tien Hoi played the role of the leader in the film (Photo courtesy of the film producer).

3, “Nguyen Ai Quoc o Hong Kong (Nguyen Ai Quoc in Hong Kong) by Director Nguyen Khac Loi and Yuan Shiji (China) based on screenplay by Huu Mai, produced in 2003.

The film follows the journey of Ho Chi Minh from Hong Kong to Shanghai and then to the Soviet Union to escape from the hunt of French agents and the Chiang Kei-shek administration. It highlights the legal case of Nguyen Ai Quoc in Hong Kong, in which the leader was illegally arrested by the British imperialists in Hong Kong and he was only released after an arduous legal battle.

The role of Nguyen Ai Quoc in the film has earned People’s Artist Tran Luc the Most Favourite Male Artist title at the Mai Vang (Golden Ochna) Awards in 2003. The film won the special prize at the 14^th Vietnam Film Festival and another special prize at the 2003 Golden Kite Awards.

A scene in the film (Photo courtesy of the film producer)

4. “Vuot Qua Ben Thuong Hai” (Across the Shanghai) by Director Trieu Tuan and Fan Dong Yu of China based on screenplay by Ha Pham Phu, Le Ngoc Minh and Chinese author Jia Fei, produced in 2010.

The film is seen as the second part of “Nguyen Ai Quoc o Hong Kong (Nguyen Ai Quoc in Hong Kong), made with a budget of 15 billion VND, with 11 billion VND sourced from the State budget.

It portrays the life of Nguyen Ai Quoc in 1934 when he came from Hong Kong to Shanghai to try to make contact with international revolutionary movement. The film spotlights the innate traits of a leader of Nguyen Ai Quoc and praises the contributions to the Vietnamese revolutionary cause by Vietnamese patriots in China and the assistance that several historic figures gave to Nguyen in Shanghai.

Actor Minh Hai (right) plays Nguyen Ai Quoc in the film (Photo courtesy of the film producer)

5. “Nhin Ra Bien Ca” (Looking Towards Sea) by director Vu Chau based on the screenplay of Nguyen Thi Hong Ngat, produced in 2010.

The film was made on the occasion of the 120^th birth anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh. It focused on the period from 1910 to 1911 when Nguyen Tat Thanh was a student at Quoc Hoc Hue school in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue. He was later forced to leave the school after he assisted farmers and small traders in avoiding heavy tax. After that, he became a teacher at Duc Thanh school in Phan Thiet in the central province of Binh Thuan.

Actor Nguyen Minh Duc plays the role of the young teacher Nguyen Tat Thanh (Photo courtesy of the film producer)

6. "Thau Chin o Xiem” (Thau Chin in Siam) by director Bui Tuan Dung based on the screenplay of Dinh Thien Phuc, produced in 2015.

The film, made on the occasion of the 85^th founding anniversary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, follows Ho Chi Minh’s political activities in Thailand (Siam is the old name for Thailand) during 1928-1929.

Under the name of Thau Chin, the leader built the support base for and worked for the merge of the three communist organisations - the Communist Party of Indochina, the Communist Party of Annam and the Federated Indochinese Communist Party. At the same time, he also approached Vietnamese in Thailand to popularise patriotic ideology, solidarity, and the will to fight for national independence.

Actor Manh Truong was chosen for the main role in the film (Photo: courtesy of the film producer).

7. “Nha Tien Tri” (The Prophet), by director Vuong Duc, based on the screenplay of Hoang Nguyen Cam, produced in 2015

The role of Ho Chi Minh in the film was played by People’s Artist Bui Bai Binh.

The film details the life of the President from 1947 to 1954 during the war against French colonialism. It recounts the President's time in the Viet Bac Resistance War Base (located in northern provinces of Cao Bang, Bac Kan, Lang Son, Tuyen Quang and Thai Nguyen), as the country's first president who led Vietnamese people in their struggle for national independence./.

The film depicts the historical period when President Ho Chi Minh leads the nation in the struggle for national independence. (Photo: courtesy of the film producer)

VNA