When The Tenth Month Comes (1984) - Ghosts and Reform

[@KinoKirill]

Thank you for covering this film, it's one of my favorite Vietnamese movies! I watched it while researching for my bachelor thesis on Vietnamese films set during the Vietnam War. Since American movies about the conflict get all the attention usually, I was curious about how Vietnamese filmmakers portrayed it in their own films. However, since When the Tenth Month Comes takes place during the Cambodian-Vietnamese War, I couldn't include it in my work. But I'm happy to see that you made a video about it, spreading the word about this wonderful and underrated piece of art! Keep it up!

[@EastAsianCinemaHistory]

Do you still have access to that thesis? What other films did you cover in it? It sounds like a great project. Yeah, my interest in the film was mainly its nods to the ghost festival and the economic reforms. I eventually cut the Kampuchea-Khmer Rouge part of the video out because it ended up being 10 mins after recording and editing it together, and never tied into the film well regarding the themes I focus on. That could have been solved if I spent longer writing it though 😅. The same with a section I did on the film’s censorship process, which is actually what the video was originally going to be about. Might use them in separate videos though. I do love how the film is quite vague regarding the wars themselves - granted, topical things like Pol Pot are mentioned in the radio broadcasts etc., but it never seemed to function as obvious commentary. Even the historic conflicts that are hinted at via the opera. I can imagine that it would be difficult to get much out of it regarding the US-Vietnam War, especially if it was the focal point of your thesis, as the film is only really relevant to the aftermath of it.

[@KinoKirill]

​@@EastAsianCinemaHistory Hey, sorry it took me so long to reply! You're right, this film didn't end up being very relevant for the topic I chose for my thesis, but the censorship aspect of is actually something that lead me to read more about how other filmmakers dealt with it in Vietnam over the years. And it's so interesting to read how censorship was enforced in their film industry, but also the clever ways the fimmmakers used to get around the censorship. I recommend you read "In Whose Eyes", the auto-biography of a Vietnamese filmmaker called Tran Van Thuy. I hope you can still find it online or at your local library. He talks quite a bit about how he fell in love with cinema and how he made films under the Communist regime. From the films I tackled in my thesis, I remember the three main ones I researched: Girl from Hanoi, The Abandoned Field and Hanoi 12 Days and Nights. They show quite well how the way Vietnamese filmmakers tackled the war changed through time. That's only one side's perspective of the conflict, of course. I didn't touch upon the films made by the South Vietnamese or the ones that fled after the war. I totally understand that there's a lot more that you researched and wanted to include in the video, but this is KZbin and not a thesis after all. 😂 It's better to narrow down the topics that you choose to tackle in a way that is more digestible for viewers, as you're already doing. And you can always do another video if you find that one of the things that you cut out of the script is worth exploring further.

[@KinoKirill]

@@EastAsianCinemaHistory Hey, sorry it took me so long to reply! You're right, this film didn't end up being very relevant for the topic I chose for my thesis, but the censorship aspect of is actually something that led me to read more about how other filmmakers dealt with it in Vietnam over the years. And it's so interesting to read how censorship was enforced in their film industry, but also the clever ways the fimmmakers used to get around it. I recommend you read "In Whose Eyes", the auto-biography of a Vietnamese filmmaker called Tran Van Thuy. He talks quite a bit about that, how he fell in love with cinema and how he made films under the communist regime. From the films I tackled in my thesis, I remember the three main ones I researched: Girl from Hanoi, The Abandoned Field and Hanoi 12 Days and Nights. They show quite well how the way Vietnamese filmmakers tackled the war changed through time. That's only one side's perspective of the conflict, of course. I didn't touch upon South Vietnamese films or those made by the South Vietnamese that fled after the end of the war. I totally understand that there's a lot more that you researched and wanted to include in the video, but this is KZbin and not a thesis after all. It's better to narrow down the topics that you choose to tackle in a way that is more digestible for viewers, as you're already doing. And you can always do another video if you find that one of the things that you cut out of the script is worth exploring further!

[@sammieg-wing8336]

I just wanted to thank you for delving into the topic of the Ghost Festival. It's something I've always been drawn to, it’s my favourite festival after the Mid-Autumn Festival. However, this movie portrays it in such a sad way. Despite that, I've always found the Ghost Festival to be quite positive and comforting. I think my perspective might be different because I'm not very familiar with the Vietnamese context and experience of it.

[@EastAsianCinemaHistory]

That’s interesting. I thought the ghost festival readings are probably some of the more positive parts of the film - but I’m a complete outsider on this topic. There was a whole section I took out of the video based on the censorship journey of the film, where the paranormal elements were a huge factor.

[@mnml7396]

There's no way you're 38-40 years old (if my math is correct). You sound like 19 sensei.

[@EastAsianCinemaHistory]

🤣 your math is correct, but so is your description of my voice. Collect your two points ⭐️⭐️

[@mnml7396]

​@@EastAsianCinemaHistoryI'll take that😂 Also, great video as always. My favorite Vietnamese film is a short documentary called "Việc Tử Tế" (Living as one should), which you can also find on KZbin. Highly recommend.

[@EastAsianCinemaHistory]

@@mnml7396 thank you! Love Trần Văn Thủy’s stuff. Have you seen Hanoi in Whose Eyes? I haven’t yet.