Thoi xa vang

A beautiful film about impossible love in Vietnam during three decades, from the 1950s to the 70s. 12 year old Sai is forced to marry a much older woman, whom he forever feels distaste for; her family wants to get her into a revolutionary family as the colonial system is crumbling, and Sai's parents don't protest. This marriage that he can't get out of, and his love affair with another woman, becomes serious problems both for him and his family. The film is told in recollections, as the grown up Sai is on his way to his daughter's wedding, and he looks back on his military career, family life, impossible love and political conflicts.

So beautiful and bittersweet. I saw this film under the title "A Time Far Past" at what seems to have been its world premier at the Gothenburg Film Festival, February 2005, with the director talking about the film afterwards, and my lasting impression from that occasion is that I must keep my eyes open for more from Ho Quang Minh.