'Nun Huyen Trang' of 'Saigon Special Forces' talks about her hometown in Nghe An

The nun Huyen Trang, played by People's Artist Thanh Loan, is a female Saigon commando character in the film of the same name that has been imprinted in the minds of audiences for decades. So much so that wherever she goes, people just call Thanh Loan Huyen Trang and forget the actress's real name.

Nun Huyen Trang in the classic film Saigon Special Forces by director Long Van. Photo courtesy

Nun and the word "fate"

Thanh Loan said that the movie Saigon Special Forces turned her life into a different page, more brilliant and full of changes. Because nun Huyen Trang was a famous character that made the audience of the whole country and overseas Vietnamese all over the world love and miss her. However, that was a coincidence, a fate of an actress who was not famous at that time.

A scene from Saigon Special Forces. Photo courtesy

After 1 year of filming, director Long Van accidentally met actress Thanh Loan. Thanh Loan immediately caught the director's eye, the character of nun Huyen Trang fit her perfectly. Thus, the journey of getting permission from the agency to be attached to the troupe for 4 years of the announcer of the People's Police Television at that time, began.

However, Thanh Loan did not expect that the movie she played would be famous for such a long time. It was a classic movie that broke all box office records at that time, people could sell their sandals, tires or other valuable items to get tickets to see the movie.

The beautiful love story of Sau Tam and the brave country girl, played by Thuy An - a brave soldier in Saigon Special Forces. Photo archive

Then Ngoc Mai, Sau Tam, and nun Huyen Trang became historical images in the minds of anyone at that time. “It was the childhood or youth of generations in the 80s and 90s of the last century. People went to the cinema or outdoor cinema regardless of day or night, regardless of whether they had seen it many times, regardless of whether they had cried and sobbed many times before, but every time they went to see it, it was like enjoying it for the first time,” said People’s Artist Thanh Loan.

People's Artist Thanh Loan in her youth. Photo archive

Thanh Loan said that to have a nun Huyen Trang who is sharp and unpredictable like that, she had to study the script carefully. She even had to ask to enter the temple to practice and do charity work for a long time to create the begging steps, the deep and peaceful eyes of a nun who takes refuge in Buddha.

“This multi-dimensional, multi-emotional character must have short hair to show the qualities of a female commando, so I had to sadly say goodbye to my jet-black hair, to the regret of many people and myself,” Thanh Loan said.

Not only that, during the filming process, because the equipment was still backward at that time, every take had to be sent to Hanoi to develop the film, then sent back to the director for approval to see if it was okay before closing. So every take had to be sure to be a good take. “There were scenes that I had to practice very carefully and really get into to be able to achieve right away because this scene was not allowed to be re-shot. That was the scene of being tortured, being electrocuted, I had to make the physical movements of someone being electrocuted, but when the “bad guys” poured water on me, I had to jerk my face to wake up immediately. The look in the eyes of nun Huyen Trang at that time made the audience think that I was really electrocuted. We watched it over and over again and still felt extremely satisfied with this performance,” Thanh Loan shared.

Lineage and pride

Even though she is 70 years old, Thanh Loan still retains her elegant and graceful beauty. Photo courtesy

Thanh Loan said that her grandmother was the most beautiful and talented person in Buoi village, Hanoi at that time. Although she came from the Central region with its Lao wind and white sand to Hanoi, no young woman in Hanoi had the elegant and noble features like her. She was also a good trader, sociable and innovative like the young women of noble lineage in the capital at that time.

People's Artist Thanh Loan believes that she learned from her grandmother the virtue of saying what she said, doing what she did, and doing it to the end with the path she pursued. She also does not understand why she loves Nghe people so much and quickly picks up their accent even though her family moved to Hanoi when her grandmother was still young. Growing up, her parents and grandparents always reminded her of her hometown Nghe An, the people of the past, and her grandmother's scholarly lineage.

“Once, teacher Van Nhu Cuong called me to inform me about a meeting of fellow countrymen from Nghe An. I was so touched and excited that I eagerly went to attend even though I didn’t know them. However, when I arrived at the meeting, everyone welcomed me like a family member, like a fellow countryman from Quynh Doi who had met again after a long time. That feeling was so touching, so hard to describe, it will probably stay with me for the rest of my life.”

Thanh Loan said that when she played the role of nun Huyen Trang, she did not think that one day she would become famous thanks to this role. “I just tried to act well, to bring out the qualities of a Saigon female commando. Later, I realized that the perseverance and intelligence of the character that I successfully portrayed was due to my studies and research, and also due to the qualities of a native of Nghe An, who did not give up or give in to any difficulties...”.

People's Artist Thanh Loan did not act in any films after Saigon Special Forces. She is also a Meritorious Artist who was specially awarded the title of People's Artist for her influential roles over many decades. In her old age, she is still active in professional associations and often advises on plays of the Public Security sector. "For me, acting is like a big playground of life. It gives us glory and happy smiles, but we also have to devote ourselves to it with sacrifices."

People's Artist Thanh Loan was born in 1951 in Hanoi. In addition to the movie of a lifetimeSaigon Special ForcesShe also acted in many other films such as:The Man Who Returned to the Reed Field, The Three Roses Plan, Where Love Died, The Secret of the Forbidden City, The Forgotten Proposal,...and won the Golden Kite Award.

People's Artist Thanh Loan is also a famous director with documentaries: "People in the story" won the Silver Kite Award; the film "Our Minister" won the Encouragement Award of the Vietnam Cinema Association and the Certificate of Merit of the Vietnam National Film Festival. Currently, her joy is devoting her time and energy to professional association work: Vice President of the Hanoi Literature and Arts Association; Vice President in charge of the Hanoi Cinema Association.