Italian Premiere | In Competition | Best Screenplay Candidate
Vietnam, 2025, 126’, Vietnamese, English
Directed by: Bùi Thạc Chuyên
Screenplay: Bùi Thạc Chuyên, Nguyễn Thị Minh Ngọc
Cinematography (color): Nguyễn K’Linh
Editing: Julie Beziau, Thân Thị Thu Hằng
Production Design: Lê Văn Thanh
Music: Clovis Schneider
Producers: Nguyễn Chí Dũng, Bùi Thạc Chuyên
Cast: Thái Hòa (Bảy Theo), Hồ Thu Anh (Ba Hương), Quang Tuấn (Tư Đạp), Diễm Hằng Lamoon (Út Khờ), Cao Minh (Uncle Sáu)
Date of First Release in Territory: April 4th, 2025
I’ll be upfront –
Tunnels isn’t novel war cinema, but it is different. And that should be enough reason for you to see it.
I found the first point of difference in my chat with composer Clovis Schneider at his recording studio last year. At the time, the film was dominating the box office, and as many had shared with me or written on their social media that his work was a genuine standout, or “unlike anything else” even. Those impressions, apparently, matched his intention to create a sonically unique war; the oddness in the guitar was the result of the strings being plucked by a bow instead of a hand, and the special instrument currently stirring or upsetting the senses would be the đàn tranh (and Prof. Hồ Thuỵ Trang’s hands) at work. As for those times you were unsure if it was Schneider and company or the film’s Việt Cộng characters generating the soundscape? The correct answer would be the former, but they, too, were inspired by the latter’s ability to fashion something whole out of random pieces – like a bomb out of napalm bullets.
The second point of difference is the fact that Bùi Thạc Chuyên is at the helm.
Tunnels’ so-called baggage – key among them being a release window in the culturally significant month of April and being a war-related production with
fully private backing (the reported budget was 55 billion VND or 2 million USD) – had placed the filmmaker’s sensibilities in this unique spot where he must use his arthouse-rooted skills to create commercial-leaning end results. While the balancing act might prevent some from fully following the journey, or even remembering the faces, of the trio hardened leader Bảy Theo (Thái Hòa), sharp fighter Ba Hương (Hồ Thu Anh) and gentle bombmaker Tư Đạp (Quang Tuấn) during the U.S.’ Operation Cedar Falls in 1967, it may perhaps guide you to the film’s actual driving force. people.
And so,
Tunnels’ third point of difference. The most spectacular thing in the film is the soul of its characters, not the spectacle besieging them. You will still see “big” things, don’t worry – like the 250m rendition of the tunnels and convincing swirling sprays of fire – but Chuyên and crew never let them outshine what matters more. The people, as a result, are just that as they are under fire or rising above the tide. None of them feel like a monument, an idea or a song – they are just a presence, a potential memory and a vessel for music. None of them evoke the impression that they are beyond their fragile self even when they have to be strong, that they can break the limit when they have to push themselves there. Of course, this interpretation of a soldier is markedly different from the one in
Red Rain, but I know which one I prefer.
There’s also the fourth, and most personal, point of difference. This story about the Củ Chi tunnels and its soldiers is made and is told by Vietnamese. That is perhaps the finest outcome of the project, which reportedly was 11 years in the making. We
can tell our own stories, one that, as proven here, could inspire beyond us, could challenge our style and could get to the heart of the drama.
Bùi Thạc Chuyên
Bùi Thạc Chuyên is a Vietnamese director, screenwriter and producer born in Hanoi. He founded The Center for Assistance and Development of Movie Talents (TPD) in Vietnam. Some of his awards are the FIPRESCI Award (Venice Film Festival 2009) for Adrift (2009) and the Golden Montgolfiere (Festival des 3 Continents 2022) for Glorious Ashes (2022).
FILMOGRAPHY
2005 – Living in Fear
2009 – Adrift
2012 – Blood Curse
2022 – Glorious Ashes
2025 – Tunnels: Sun in the Dark