Director of the movie 'The Advisor' passed away

Director Le Dan breathed his last at his home in Ho Chi Minh City at 11:30 a.m. on February 26 after nearly a month in a deep coma due to a stroke.

The late director's son said his father passed away more than a day after his family brought him home from the hospital. The funeral took place at 8 p.m. on February 26. The funeral began at 6 a.m. on February 27 at his home in District 12, Ho Chi Minh City. The funeral took place at 6 a.m. on March 1. Director Le Dan was buried by his family and friends at Binh Duong Cemetery, next to his wife's grave.

Le Dan was hospitalized on February 9 after falling due to a stroke. At first, the director was still open-eyed and aware of his surroundings. However, he gradually lost consciousness and fell into a deep coma in the following days. "The doctor said Le Dan had many blood clots scattered around his brain, and he also had diabetes, so if he had surgery, his chances of survival would not be high," said the director's family.

Director Le Dan lived his last days at Binh Duong cemetery.

Born in 1928, Meritorious Artist Le Dan (real name Le Huu Phuoc) is one of the first directors of Vietnamese cinema. He is the author of many famous films such asVelvet Eyes Loan, Thien Mu Bell, Lan and Diep Love(before 1975),River of Dreams, Mr. Advisor... In addition to the record of being the director with the most films participating in international festivals, Le Dan is also the one who helped create silver screen names such as: Tham Thuy Hang, Kieu Chinh, Huynh Thanh Tra, Tuy Hong, Bang Chau (before 1975), later Diem My, Viet Trinh...

In 2010, the director spent more than 8 billion VND to make the film Letters from Son My (watch trailer) to attend the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. The film's content is based on the true journey of repentance of American veteran William Calley, who participated in commanding the My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War. After attending the festival and not winning an award, the film was not widely shown in the country. Letters from Son My only earned 2 to 3 billion VND from some TV stations that bought the copyright to broadcast. Le Dan had to sell his house and car in District 7 (HCMC) to pay off the bank debt, then bought a smaller house in District 12 and saved the rest for his old age.

The letters from Son My also brought other risks to the director's family. In France, on the journey from Paris to Cannes to attend the film festival, the car driven by his son carrying the whole family got into an accident. Le Dan and his son were lucky to be unharmed, but his daughter-in-law and wife had to be hospitalized. At the hospital, the family discovered that his wife had lung cancer. Difficulties piled up, Le Dan stopped directing for three years to take care of the woman he loved so much.

In early 2014, Le Dan’s wife passed away. At the age of 86, the director lives alone in a small house on his pension and monthly allowance from the Ho Chi Minh City Cinema Association. His health is gradually deteriorating due to old age diseases and the emptiness of losing his life partner of many years.

Because his two sons both live abroad, in mid-2015, director Le Dan moved into a small room in Binh Duong cemetery to both take care of his health and have the opportunity to be close to his wife's grave. Here, he is watched over by a close colleague who had worked with him on many films before. On February 9, Le Dan was taken to Gia Dinh Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, by his colleagues after they discovered he had a stroke in his private room.

America/VNE