The moment Lieutenant Colonel Dang Thai Huyen in the movie 'Red Rain' allowed himself to cry

Lieutenant Colonel Dang Thai Huyen shared that on the set of "Red Rain", no one could see a moment when she was shaken or tired. Only when she returned to the hotel did she allow herself to relax and shed tears.

- After the first screening, there was an explosion of praise for "Red Rain" in the press and on social networks from experts. How did you feel?

Really happy! Because Army Cinema has prepared for this project for many years and during the preparation time for Red Rain, the crew devoted 200% of their efforts to the film. There was nothing to regret, so the day the film was released was truly an emotional explosion because we felt that all our efforts were worth it and were well received by the audience.

However, we were very calm in the face of compliments because many people encouraged us because they knew the crew had gone through a very difficult time. I always had to remind myself to be calm in all compliments and comments to be more steadfast when making films in the future.

Director, Meritorious Artist Dang Thai Huyen in the editing room of "Red Rain".

If there is anything in the movie that makes the audience criticize, it is 100% my fault.

- How do you feel about the movie as an audience and as a director, and what do you regret?

Many people asked me if I regret anything after finishing Red Rain and watching the film on the editing table, I answered that there is nothing to regret. If the audience criticizes, it is 100% my fault, not anyone in the crew, who worked wholeheartedly.

When on set, if there was any scene that was not satisfactory, everyone would reshoot it. The crew was so meticulous that they would not compromise on any scene. We did it by all means, at all costs, and never spared any effort.

By the time Red Rain was released, it had gone through many edits and the edit for the audience was the one that I was most satisfied with, so when I sat down to watch it with the mindset of an audience member, looking back on the journey, I was still confident that this was the most satisfying edit.

- "Red Rain" is considered the biggest film project of the Army Cinema in the past 20 years, and was released on a special occasion of the country. Now you can breathe a sigh of relief to hand over your brainchild to the audience, but looking back during the time you made the film, what pressures did you have to face?

The first pressure from public opinion was that I was a woman and my experience in making war films was not as good as other veteran directors. Was it risky to assign such a big project, on a big anniversary, to a female director?

So when Red Rain was released, the overwhelming emotion was only a part, the emotion of a soldier who had completed a mission entrusted by his unit and superiors was much greater. I felt that I had not let down the trust of my supporters, had stood up as a guarantor to say "she can do it" and I did it.

Only when I got back to the hotel did I allow myself to cry.

Rare relaxing moment of the female director born in 1980 on the set.

- Watching the film, the audience feels how hard it was for the actors to work in such difficult terrain and weather conditions, and the director, especially a woman like you, had to control every scene on set. During the filming of "Red Rain", what physical and mental challenges did Dang Thai Huyen have to face?

For a feature film, it is already very complicated and difficult, and this is a war film on a very large scale. The film crew sometimes has up to thousands of people. For war films, the most difficult thing is to create a diagram and explosive system for engineers and experts.

The director is always responsible for the explosive diagram, the explosion call to ensure the safety of the actors and the crew. In addition, filming in the field without any cover is greatly affected by the weather factor. Along with that is the pressure of the large-scale war scene that must be fierce, realistic, safe and cinematically beautiful.

All the factors were on the director's shoulders. However, no one could see a moment when I was shaken, tired or shed a tear. Because I saw the crew was dedicated and did not complain, so how could the director complain? Only when I got back to the hotel did I allow myself to relax and shed a tear. I am proud of having a great crew.

- Each character in "Red Rain" is special and has its own destiny, it seems that every actor shines. Which actor impressed you the most and brought the director the most emotions?

With this film, I was surprised by all the actors because when I chose them, I thought they might be suitable for the role but I didn't know if they could handle the rigors and intensity of filming Red Rain . But the encouraging messages at the end of the day always came from the actors. They said if the scene wasn't ready, they would do another take and I shouldn't worry about them.

If the actors are like that, there is no reason for the director to stop at any scene. I was impressed with Ha Anh (nurse Hong - PV) when she filmed a scene in the pouring rain on a day below 10 degrees Celsius until she fainted. When she woke up, she asked the director if they needed to reshoot that scene. With that dedication and self-sacrifice, they are no longer actors but characters coming out of the movie.

Lieutenant Colonel Dang Thai Huyen praised a great team.

After watching, my family felt sorry for me.

- So, did the director have any moments where he "collapsed" because of too much work?

No power outage! When I was on set, perhaps thanks to the protection of the soldiers, I was always full of energy. There was a scene on the river, seeing the actors and soldiers soaking in the water, my heart ached with pity. At that time, I was on the ferry but I thought I would rather be in the river like them.

With this film, I did not sit behind the monitor but sat right next to the actors on set. I wanted to see every single detail of the actors' performance as the audience saw it. In addition, I thought it was a way to share the burden with my colleagues. With dangerous scenes, seeing the director sitting right next to me made me feel more secure. It was such an intense film that sometimes I couldn't figure out how I was able to get through it all.

Lieutenant Colonel Dang Thai Huyen on the set of "Red Rain".

- "Red Rain" has made the audience and even the veterans who fought in Quang Tri Citadel shed tears. I am curious to know what your family said after watching the movie ?

After watching, my family felt sorry for me, a woman, why making such a hard film was so difficult. They didn't talk much about the film, but only felt sorry for me because I had gone through a period of hard work that I couldn't fully understand before. Not to mention the post-production work, until the film was released, I didn't have a single day off.

- How many years was it from the time you received the script for "Red Rain" until the movie was released?

I first read the script in 2013 and was assigned the task after Covid-19. I reread the script, went to choose the setting and officially entered the film in 2023, prepared and contacted witnesses a year later and started filming in late 2024 - early 2025. Since The Returner , it has been exactly 10 years since I had a movie about the war.

Photo: NVCC

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/khoanh-khac-dao-dien-mua-do-thuong-ta-dang-thai-huyen-cho-phep-minh-roi-nuoc-mat-2434083.html