Historical perspective through the film Grand Tutor Tran Thu Do

(Baonghean) - As one of the four film projects invested in and produced to celebrate the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long, Hanoi: "Ly Cong Uan and the edict on the transfer of the capital", "Long Thanh Cam Gia Ca", "Thang Long Chronicle", but the film "Thai Su Tran Thu Do" still has many different opinions about history and culture, and needs to be edited. After 3 years of waiting, on November 6, 2013, the film officially aired on VTV1.

The film "Grand Tutor Tran Thu Do" after many controversies of historians, the portrait of the meritorious mandarin of the Tran Dynasty has gradually been revealed. Merits or sins depend on the perspective of each person, each era, but through the film, the audience will have a different view of Tran Thu Do. At the end of the Ly Dynasty, the decay and corruption, if the Tran Dynasty did not plot great things, the people of Dai Viet would be more miserable because of the rebellious factions. The character Tran Thu Do is the starting point of the historical story, so that viewers can better understand the transfer of power from the Ly Dynasty to the Tran Dynasty in the 13th century and took the leadership of the country for nearly 40 years (from 1226 - 1264).

According to “Dai Viet Su Ky Toan Thu” by Ngo Sy Lien: “Tran Thu Do is a special historical figure, evaluated from many different angles of praise and criticism. He was once considered a scheming, manipulative politician, even quite cruel at times, especially in arranging to usurp the Ly throne for the Tran dynasty, leading to the forced suicide of Ly Hue Tong and the murder of the Ly royal family to eliminate future troubles. However, from the Tran dynasty’s perspective, he was a person with great merit in enlightenment and support, and devoted all his loyalty, talent and intelligence to help the court preserve its foundation and protect the country against foreign invaders. Today, looking back at this character, we need to be more fair to correctly evaluate the good aspects that need to be affirmed and promoted, especially the strict, impartial and impartial qualities of a high-ranking mandarin of the court.”

Some scenes from the movie.

The film has a comprehensive overview, not only about the main character Tran Thu Do but also highlights other characters with important roles related to the two dynasties Ly - Tran. Not denying the merits of Tran Thu Do, but the person who laid the foundation for the Tran dynasty was Tran Ly - who came from the family's traditional fishing profession, but his thoughts went far beyond the land of Hai Ap towards Thang Long, with a clear political purpose, saw the times and knew how to use talented people. Tran Ly put all his trust in his nephew Tran Thu Do, used his daughter Tran Thi Dung to "tie the legs" of Crown Prince Sam (later King Ly Hue Tong), a skillful chess game to avoid the reputation of usurping the Ly throne.

Compared to historical films that have been made before, “Thai Su Tran Thu Do” is a pretty good film, carefully made with serious investment and research into history. Writer Nguyen Manh Tuan’s script is quite tight and solid, the situations presented are convincing, reasonable and logical. The film is carefully made down to every detail of costumes, props, martial arts moves - which is often compared between Vietnamese historical films and Chinese ancient films - but this time the audience is relatively satisfied with the film’s setting. It can be seen that the film “Thai Su Tran Thu Do” is imbued with Vietnamese character through each scene, props, spears, bows and arrows, carts and even costumes... also showing the closeness to Vietnamese culture.

Good script, dedicated director and large investment budget. Along with the acting of veteran actors, such as People's Artist Hoang Dung (King Ly Cao Tong), People's Artist Lan Huong (Queen Dam), Meritorious Artist Bui Bai Binh (To Trung Tu),... have made the success of the work. The film has many quite emotional scenes, especially the inner scenes of the characters King Ly Cao Tong, Tran Ly, Queen Dam, or the trio of actors Tran Bao, La Thanh Huyen, Hua Vi Van in the roles of Tran Thu Do, Tran Thi Dung, Crown Prince Sam before the psychology of the "love triangle" and the sacrifice for the pursuit of a great career. With the elaborate and grandiose staging of the historical and costume film genre, it has been shown through the details and events in a way that attracts viewers.

It is known that the film "Grand Tutor Tran Thu Do" mobilized 120 actors from both the North and the South to participate, with a "huge" investment of up to 57 billion VND. In addition to using the setting at the studio in Co Loa, the film crew also had to go to China to borrow the Hoanh Diem studio to film large-scale scenes of the story's developments, as well as the majestic palace of the royal court. The commanding role of General Director Dao Duy Phuc and Tat Binh - Director of Feature Film Studio I was recognized as extremely cautious and effective, so as not to be accused of "burning money" in vain, as public opinion has complained. With what has been shown, "Grand Tutor Tran Thu Do" is a film worth watching and will be a good start for investment in the subject of Vietnamese historical films to receive more attention.

Le Lan(47, Dang Thuc Hua, Vinh)