Southeast Asian Wednesday Movie: Vietnam

Enlarge image

Now in its fifth year, the Southeast Asian Wednesday Night Movie continues to build a loyal following of regular film attendees from both the university and local communities.

The series has showcased, often for the first time in Hawai`i, more than a hundred subtitled films which span the diverse and dynamic landscape of cinema in Southeast Asia.

Join us this Wed., April 1 for a screening of...

When the Tenth Month Comes
Bao gio cho den thang 10

Directed by Dang Nhat Minh
Vietnam, 1984, 90 minutes
Vietnamese with English Subtitles

A haunting portrait of one woman’s struggle with loss and personal sacrifice during the war, When the Tenth Month Comes is considered by many critics to be the greatest Vietnamese movie ever made.

In the final days of the war, a beautiful young widow, Duyen, faces a daily struggle to take care of her young son and ailing father-in-law, all the while hiding from them the fact that her husband has recently been killed in battle.

Keeping her secret burden to herself, she is befriended by the village schoolmaster, Zhang, who agrees to fabricate letters from her dead husband in order to spare her family sorrow. As their friendship deepens, Duyen and Zhang find themselves drawn closer to intimacy—a dangerous relationship if Duyen is to maintain her charade.

The title of the movie refers to the month in which the Day of Forgiveness occurs; a time when, it is said, that departed souls may visit loved ones still living.

The film resonates beautifully with the traditional Vietnamese precepts of duty and sacrifice, combined with aesthetic influences from centuries of traditional poetry, literature, and theater. Although this was the first post-war Vietnamese movie to be shown at foreign film festivals (winning several awards), the film has seldom been shown in Vietnam since it was produced in 1984.

more info | interview with the director

Ticket Information
Free and Open to the Public

Event Sponsor
Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Manoa Campus

More Information
Paul Rausch, 808-956-2688, cseas@hawaii.edu, http://www.hawaii.edu/cseas

Ongoing Events