It's unclear how the news of the film screening spread, but just past the range of enemy aircraft, groups of boats poured out from Giáp Nước, rowing from the south of the Ðồm River. Along a stretch of canal from the lagoon to Uncle Ba Diệp's house, over 100 meters long, the boats were densely packed against the banks. At the same time, people from Ðất Cháy came up on foot, coming down from the Thị Tường canal; nearly several hundred old and young, men and women, children, crowded the large courtyard. They were all anxiously waiting.
Before me was a large screen, looking somewhat similar to Mr. Tam Khanh's projector screen; about 10 meters in front, two or three people were diligently working on something. Two metal speakers were mounted on two tree trunks on either side, and if you paid attention, you could hear the sound of a generator placed somewhere in the corner of the garden. I don't remember if there was any opening speech or anything like that; but I remember that at the beginning, a beam of light shone directly onto the screen, thousands of bright bubbles danced, and then images of people and trees appeared, looking very beautiful and novel. So, we learned about film screenings.
When the film title "Sharing the Same River" appeared, something in my mind seemed to stop. The essays and poems I had read in the Army Literature and Arts magazine, in books, and the articles and images sent from the North to Vietnam's photo newspapers seemed to be validated by that title. The river that had long divided the North and South, a subject of love stories, poetry, songs, music, and art, appeared before me. To be honest, at that time I didn't fully understand how the characters would act, but the title "Sharing the Same River" alone evoked feelings of longing and aspiration for reunification, even the sacrifice of lives for peace, for North and South to be reunited. We ourselves dedicated all our youthful energy to that noble and sacred mission. I argue that the river in the film is inspired by the Ben Hai River because it is a witness to the division of the North and South, the boundary between peace and war, representing the will for unification and the enemy's ambition to divide, hence the saying "Sharing the same river".
Illustration: Minh Tan
But the visual appeal alone wasn't enough to truly touch the hearts of the audience. I especially admired the narrator's Northern accent; it was easy to listen to and expressive. With its range of emotions—from quiet and heartfelt to climactic and passionate—the audience felt like they were receiving the very heart of socialist North Vietnam.
The screen displayed "The End," the movie screening was over, but everyone lingered, feeling a sense of regret. On the way back to the office, the oars in my hands gently glided across the surface of the pond, as if afraid to disturb the river in the film.
We would like to thank Mr. Nguyen Van Hue and Mr. Pham Nhu Cuong, sons of our sister province Ninh Binh, for helping us understand the seventh art and for the profound impression they left on us at the beginning.
Nguyen Thai Thuan
Source: https://baocamau.vn/lan-dau-xem-chieu-bong-a132922.html
