Description
For centuries, the fertility of the land and its vast coastal geography had turned Vietnam into a conveyed geopolitical prey. To start with, its huge Northern neighbour, China, considered for a long time it should be one of its provinces. Japan too, squeezed into the limits of its small island, was interested in this elongated land. Finally, colonial France, to be followed soon after by the America of the Cold War tried successively to control this territory. To gain independence and to finally freely pursue the conquest of their own fate, it was necessary for the Vietnamese to neutralize China, and then Japan. In addition, they had to win the French War at Diên Biên Phu. And finally, they had to overcome the most powerful army of the World, in what they call the American War until the last American helicopter left Saigon on April 30, 1975.
The most powerful “weapon” assisting the under-equipped army of volunteers in this last overwhelming quest was the unconditional support of the population, both in North and in South Vietnam. Their leader, HO CHI MINH, played a major role throughout these events, especially when he entered the scene with his solemn declaration of independence on September 2nd, 1945 giving birth to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.
The evolution of this nation in 20th century is connected in an absolute way to this man, to his political vision and to his revolutionary achievements. This film offers the viewer a compelling journey in Time. Using powerful, often new archives from sources East and West, the surprising itinerary of the Father of the Vietnamese nation will unfold in front of us. A series of on-site testimonies of Vietnamese veterans and highly respected historians and researchers will bring their expert views to the equation.
All these elements will interlace to shed a new light on the “Vietnamese War” and to form a long overdue, clear overview of the recent History of Vietnam. Analysing the process of this long and painful revolution will enable us to better understand the challenges the country is currently facing, as it attempts to find its place in today’s global world.
