“Don’t Burn” highlights Dang Thuy Tram’s spirit

SOCIETY

“Don’t burn, it already has fire inside” are the words by Huan, a military officer of the old Saigon regime, before he handed in the diary of Dang Thuy Tram to Frederic Whitehurst, who kept the diary for dozens of years. “Don’t burn, it already has fire inside” was initially chose as the title of the movie. But Director Dang Nhat Minh decided to shorten it into “Don’t Burn.”

The movie has imposing scenes, with weapons, vehicles, costumes, and equipment provided by the Ministry of Defense. The music is written by two Hungarian musicians, Benedicfi Zoltan and Benedicfi Istvan, and the sound is mixed by Vietnam’s top audio engineer, Banh Ba Hai.

Dang Nhat Minh said when the Dang Thuy Tram Diary was published he planed to make a movie based o­n this diary. After “When the Tenth Month Comes,” the director continues to be successful with “Don’t Burn,” another movie about the Vietnam War. The success may come from his special connection with Doctor Dang Thuy Tram, who was a student of his father, Professor Dang Van Ngu.

“I’m so happy because my script was chosen by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The film crew was warmly welcomed everywhere we were. ‘Don’t Burn’ is an incense stick to commemorate Doctor Dang Thuy Tram,” the director said.

The movie was shot in Vietnam and the US. There are seven American actors in the movie. “When I saw them, all of them were holding the book ‘Tonight I Dream of Peace,’ (the English version of the Dang Thuy Tram Diary) and I was very touched. The lucky thing is I saw actress Minh Huong. Mrs. Doan Ngoc Tram said that she looks slightly like her daughter,” Minh said.

Minh Huong said that she was very surprised when she was casted as Dang Thuy Tram. “The pressure o­n me was heavy because this is a true and famous story. It is very difficult to show the feeling and the personality of the character to persuade her family when they watch this movie. The diary is the o­nly source to understand Thuy Tram’s soul. When I played this role, I was 27 years old, the same age with Ms. Tram.”

“When I read the script, I wanted to describe more about the fierceness of the war. The diary has a detail, that Ms. Thuy Tram dug a hole to burry her comrades. I think that scene is very touching and if that scene was in the movie, I would have tried my best. But director Dang Nhat Minh told me at the beginning that the movie doesn’t focus o­n describing the sorrow of war, but to highlight the beautiful soul of Ms. Tram,” she added.

Dang Thuy Tram’s mother, Mrs. Doan Ngoc Tram, said there are some incorrect details in the movie, for example, Tram often sang for war invalids to lessen their pain, not singing when she was asked; when she sacrificed, the family didn’t receive the death notice; and the American veteran sought Tram’s family through an organization. However, she said that the movie shows up the spirit of the diary and she hoped that through this movie, the world will know more about the Vietnamese and the Vietnamese soul.”