In Vietnam, police and military wield films, clash in theatres

Vietnam is witnessing an unusual fight between its police force and the military over two films. A country whose audience is mostly swayed by romances or comedies is now buying tickets for two action movies.

Earlier this month, a war period movie made by Vietnam’s military topped all charts and throned the box office, pushing the usual comedy and romantic movies down. The movie, called “Mua Do” (“Red Rain”), captures the battle between Communist forces and the American-backed South Vietnamese army during the Vietnam War.

Since its official release on August 22, “Red Rain” has grossed 613 billion dong (approximately $23 million) as of September 12, according to Box Office Vietnam. It is now the highest-grossing film in Vietnam’s history, earning more than twice as much as major Hollywood blockbusters like Avengers: Endgame—Vietnam’s most successful foreign film, which earned 280 billion dong.

‘Cried my eyes out’

The movie quickly became a fan favourite, with many people having seen it twice and theatres playing frequent shows. A moviegoer told Nikkei Asia, “I cried my eyes out the whole night and the following weekend after watching the movie. I am extremely grateful to the generations of fathers and grandfathers who sacrificed their youth and blood for the nation’s independence and peace. When I look up at the sky now, I truly appreciate how beautiful it is. Peace is more precious than ever.”

The film is adapted from a novel of the same name by Chu Lai and portrays the Second Battle of Quang Tri, which occurred in 1972 and was ultimately won by the US-backed South Vietnamese forces.

According to Vietnam’s Communist Party-led government, during the 81-day conflict, US and South Vietnamese forces dropped 328,000 metric tons of bombs on a 3-square-kilometre area, equivalent to seven times the destructive power of each atomic bomb the US dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

New movie dethrones Army’s film

But the film has now been dethroned by a movie produced by the country’s police force and based on a 1978 plane hijacking, called “Air Battle”.

In a country that usually favours romances or comedies, the action flicks’ success suggests a possible new frontier for Vietnamese cinema, similar to China’s penchant for nationalist blockbusters.