How are the two beauties Huyen Trang and Ngoc Mai of 'Saigon Special Forces' now?

The role of nun Huyen Trang is considered the role of a lifetime for artist Thanh Loan.

The film “Saigon Special Forces” directed by Long Van released in 1986 set many records in terms of viewership and became a classic film of Vietnamese revolutionary cinema. Besides famous names of that time such as Thuong Tin, Thuy An, Quang Thai, the beautiful couple Thanh Loan-Ha Xuyen made a special mark on the screen.

Appearing in a recent VTV program, artist Thanh Loan said she still has indescribable emotions, pride and honor when watching the footage of "Saigon Special Forces".

“This is the first multi-episode color film of Vietnamese cinema. For those of us in the profession, being able to participate in this film is a great honor in the artist's life. Because the film has truly lived forever in the hearts of the audience and created a special mark in the history of our country's cinema. Every time I watch it again, I feel very emotional, remembering a very difficult and arduous period of filmmaking.

At that time, the technical means for making films were still lacking and outdated. The whole country had only one color printing facility and had to use German Orovo cameras. Every time we finished filming the scene, we had to transfer the film from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi for printing. That's why it took 4 years to finish filming 4 episodes" - the female artist shared.

It can be said that the role of Nun Huyen Trang is the last role in the acting career of Meritorious Artist Thanh Loan.

“In the past, we were very meticulous in making films. For example, when I was invited to play the role of Nun Huyen Trang, I had to spend time reading the script carefully, even analyzing the character’s background and past, present, and future relationships. In addition, the artists also had to directly meet the prototypes of the Thanh commando soldiers in the past to listen, observe, and grasp their thoughts and feelings when they were involved in revolutionary activities.

Through these conversations, the artists will have more real-life resources as well as materials and emotions to fill their roles. For an artist, being able to transform into a role with many opportunities to perform is a blessing,” Meritorious Artist Thanh Loan confided.

In addition, artist Thanh Loan chose to gradually disappear from the screen with the reason "because she was afraid that no role could surpass the role of nun Huyen Trang anymore".

Instead of acting, artist Thanh Loan switched to studying directing and was promoted to Deputy Director of the Cinema Association of the Ministry of Public Security. After retiring, she is currently Vice President of the Hanoi Cinema Association. In her spare time, artist Thanh Loan spends a lot of time volunteering to share with people in more difficult circumstances.

These years, artist Thanh Loan is living happily with her husband, a Professor of Mathematics. Her children, a son and a daughter, have grown up, got married, and live with their parents in a luxury apartment complex in West Lake - Hanoi.

Meanwhile, artist Ha Xuyen also enjoys a leisurely old age after retirement and actively participates in charity activities, organizing many cultural programs to serve the poor in remote areas. She worked for a long time at the Center for Art Research and Cinema Archives. Before coming to cinema, artist Ha Xuyen was a professional dancer. Beautiful and talented but her marriage was not happy, artist Ha Xuyen divorced and lived with her two children.

In the Morning Coffee program broadcast on April 30, artist Ha Xuyen said: "Because of our relationship with Ms. Thanh Loan, we have a film together that until now, many generations still know about our film because every April 30, TV stations in the South rebroadcast that film."

Regarding the opportunity to be chosen for the role of Ngoc Mai, actress Ha Xuyen said: "Mr. Long Van impressed me in the first film, Xa va Gan, where I played the role of a very simple engineer from Hanoi. I also don't understand why he chose me for the role of Ngoc Mai because Ngoc Mai and Ha Xuyen don't have anything in common with each other. Living in the subsidy period, Ms. Loan and I didn't know what the aristocratic bourgeoisie was like or what the comprador bourgeoisie was like. Honestly, when I took on that role, I was very worried. But in the past, the only entertainment we had was reading books. I read a lot of literature, so the character's personality was formed in my head."

Regarding the most impressive scene in the movie “Saigon Special Forces”, artist Ha Xuyen always remembers the scene where she sat in front of a mirror and used a perfume bottle to break the mirror in front of her. Only later did the director tell her that the film crew had prepared many mirrors in case Ha Xuyen failed to perform well in the first take. But when it was finally time to film, after breaking the mirror, Ngoc Mai’s tears flowed down, and at that time, only a piece of mirror remained, reflecting the character’s suffering face. The director was extremely satisfied because the scene was completed without wasting any more mirrors.