Essence of Vietnam
Producer: Marta Trela / Henning Himmelreich
Director: Marta Trela
This film is a collage of our impressions and memories of Vietnam. It doesn't aspire to be anything more than that. But it would make us happy to know that it made you curious about the country in the same way it makes one happy when a friend finally reads that book or listens to that album you recommended him years ago.
Entering Vietnam by land from Northern Laos our first destination was an unusual one- a border city of small size but great historical importance- Dien Bien Phu. It was here that the Vietnamese defeated the French colonial forces and it was also here more than 60 years later where we understood that ahead of us lies a country whose history stretches way beyond the Vietnam War and that this is also where we need to look to understand it.
So we took a deep dive and immersed ourselves in its complicated history and diverse culture. We visited the minorities of the north and the floating markets of the south. Crossing the former border between North and South Vietnam soon we were to learn that the differences between two former parts of now-united country were still visible and many conflicts- in play.
We covered over 4000 km on motorbikes, buses, bicycles, boats and train and countless more by foot, eating everything we could put our hands on leaning over small plastic tables at markets, homestays and on the streets. And the longer we stayed and the more difficult it was to leave.
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