Writer Bao Ninh’s Noi Buon Chien Tranh (The Sorrow of War) novel will be turned into a movie by American film director Nicolas Simon.
The Sorrow of War has been translated into tens of languages and when it was translated into English the novel became a phenomenon of contemporary Vietnamese literature.
The film will be screened in Vietnam, where the fiercest war of the 20th century took place, where the novel was written and won the Award of the Vietnamese Writers’ Association.
VietNamNet talked with Nguyen Thi Hong Ngat, former Vice Head of the Vietnam Cinema Agency, a member of the Vietnam Movie Association’s Executive Committee and Director of Hodafilm, and writer Bao Ninh about this movie.
The Sorrow of War is a famous Vietnamese novel but it is about to be turned into a movie by a foreign director. Why have Vietnamese filmmakers “given up” this novel to American colleagues while it will be very difficult for them to create a good script?
Nguyen Thi Hong Ngat: Over ten years ago the novel Than Phan Tinh Yeu (Love Condition), the first name of Noi Buon Chien Tranh (The Sorrow of Love), won the Award of the Vietnamese Writers’ Association. The Director of the Vietnam Feature Film Studio at that time, People’s Artist Hai Ninh, planned to turn this novel into a film. He assigned some scriptwriters, including me, to transform the novel into a script.
Owing to many reasons, this task was not pursued… So far the Vietnam Feature Film Studio has had several directors and each of them had their own priorities so none of them paid attention to this work.
Actually, this is a famous book so there is a lot of pressure for scriptwriters to successfully transform the novel into a good script. The book is interesting but it is difficult to put on the silver screen, so scriptwriters are afraid of touching it.
Hearing that a foreign director will transform The Sorrow of War into a feature film, many people say it is good luck that the novel will be in the hands of American, not Vietnamese filmmakers. What do you think about it?
It is not fair to say so because it is difficult to make predictions about art. Of course, Vietnam can’t compete with foreign colleagues in terms of technology and professionalism, but talented directors like James Cameron, Clint Eastwood, and Steven Spielberg are very rare.
The film will be shot in Vietnam so will the script be checked?
Certainly Vietnam will have to consider the script. The script must be translated into Vietnamese and submitted to competent agencies for assessment. If the script is good, it will be licenced by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
Will the Vietnam Cinema Association send some filmmakers to escort their American colleagues when they film The Sorrow of War in Vietnam to get experience?
I think so, but the association needs the foreign partner’s consent. However, will Vietnamese film directors have time to follow foreign colleagues to only “further study”? When Director Phillip Noyce came to Vietnam to shoot The Quiet American he invited two Vietnamese directors to watch how he made the movie but only one director came.
Do you have any information about actors in this movie?
As far as I know they will choose Vietnamese actors, including the lead actors. The Sorrow of War is a Vietnamese story, filmed in Vietnam, and played by Vietnamese artists. Only investment and techniques don’t belong to Vietnam.
Bao Ninh: This is a Vietnamese film.
Writer Bao NinhIt is a great change to turn a novel into a movie script. Did you read the script? Did the director talk to you about the movie or did you sell the work to them?
Bao Ninh: If there is no change, the director of this film will be Nicholas Simon and the scriptwriter Peter Himmelstein. The script is based on my novel The Sorrow of War so I read all scripts in Vietnamese. I am involved in editing the script, mainly dialogues of Vietnamese characters. As they plan to use Vietnamese dialogue, English subtitles, my job is quite important.
Why did you decide to allow a foreign director to use your novel, not a Vietnamese one?
Director Nicolas Simon was very enthusiastic and he was determined to make a film based on my book. He planned to make this movie ten years ago and since then we have become friends. Time passes and I esteem and trust him more and more so I decided to cooperate with him.
An American makes a film based on a Vietnamese novel about the Vietnam War. Is it unacceptable? No, I think it is very rational and this convergence of culture moves me.
Your novel is entitled The Sorrow of War. Will this title be maintained in the movie?
As far as I know, the book that P. Himmelstein used for the script is the edition of the Women’s Publishing House. This is a special book because one half of it is the Vietnamese – Noi Buon Chien Tranh – and the other half is the English translation – The Sorrow of War. The film will also have the title Noi Buon Chien Tranh, with the English subtitle – The Sorrow of War.
Will you be sad if the movie doesn’t reflect the sprit of your novel and what will you do in that case?
I do believe that the movie will be a success.
Minh Luan
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