Vietnamese officials considering punishment for actor in U.S. film ["We Were Soldiers"]

Associated Press | September 19, 2002

[HAL9000]

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) -- Vietnamese officials were meeting Friday to consider whether to punish an actor branded a "national traitor" for starring with Mel Gibson in the Hollywood movie "We Were Soldiers."

Authorities in Ho Chi Minh City, where actor Don Duong lives, proposed earlier that he be fined and banned from acting or leaving the country for five years for appearing in the movie, which they said distorted the history and image of Vietnamese soldiers.

Officials from the Ministry of Culture and Information were meeting Friday to consider the proposal, and will submit a recommendation to the ministry for a final decision, ministry Cinematic Department Director Nguyen Phuc Thanh said.

Vietnam's communist government has led a strident campaign against "We Were Soldiers" in the country's state-controlled media.

The movie, not approved for sale in Vietnam but widely available on bootleg DVDs, depicts a bloody three-day battle in November 1965 in Vietnam's Ia Drang valley, the first major clash between the North Vietnamese army and U.S. troops in the Vietnam War.

In the film, the U.S. troops have little idea of what they face and are overrun and suffer heavy casualties. Both sides are portrayed as courageous and self-sacrificing, while their families are shown grieving the deaths of their loved ones.

The movie is based on the book "We Were Soldiers Once ... and Young" by the U.S. commander in the battle, retired Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore.

Duong played commander Nguyen Huu An, who led the Vietnamese soldiers to victory.

Duong, one of Vietnam's most popular actors, has appeared in numerous domestic movies about the war. He also played the role of a refugee camp translator in "Green Dragon," a movie directed by Vietnamese American Tony Linh Bui about Vietnamese who fled the country after the end of the war and dreamed of living in the United States.

"Both movies distort the legitimate war history of our people and the humanity of the Vietnamese," army newspaper Quan Doi Nhan Dan (People's Army) said in a front-page article Wednesday.

The newspaper demanded stern punishment for Duong.

"By becoming a propagandist and henchman for 'hostile forces' and tarnishing the Vietnamese soldiers and people, Don Duong has sold his conscience cheaply and become a national traitor," it said.

Duong couldn't be reached for comment, but in an earlier interview with The Associated Press, he said he was surprised at the reaction and has decided not to play any more roles in foreign movies about the Vietnam War.

Vietnamese movies about the war invariably portray Vietnamese soldiers as noble and Americans as cruel murderers.

[Kwilliams]

"Officials from the Ministry of Culture and Information..."

Sounds like the world of 1984...

[hole_n_one]

[PoorMuttly]

Free Vietnam.

Only let us DO it this time.

[ppaul]

"Officials from the Ministry of Culture and Information..."

They destroyed the culture.
So they created a "ministry" of it.
That's what the commies did in Europe and Russia too.
They destroyed the churches, and in their place built tacky "Houses of Culture".

[hoosierskypilot]

This makes no sense. What was it the actor did that incensed the ruling party? If anything, the movie was soft on the NVA/VC.

At the war's end, the world saw what butchers these people were. They weren't interested in reunification; they were interested in annhilation. The carnage was so bad that even some of the peace freaks (like Joan Baez) said we needed to get back over there to save the poor, suffering people of South Vietnam.

But the movie didn't show their true intent, and the actor in question certainly did not present the NVA in an unfavorable light. I thought the movie, typically, glossed over truth for the sake of political correctness.

[Hoplite]

and the actor in question certainly did not present the NVA in an unfavorable light

Depends upon what the "official" Vietnamese history of the battle says, I would venture.

[Coeur de Lion]

What stupidity, they could've easily named the movie "They were soldiers too." There's nothing in that movie that shows the NVA in bad light. The fact that the actor put the American flag back in the post after explaining what the future held, says it all. A traitor--the movie painted him as an honorable man.

[hoosierskypilot]

"Depends upon what the "official" Vietnamese history of the battle says, I would venture."

Ah. And there it is. It didn't even occur to me they "won" the battle.

[ALOHA RONNIE]

NEVER FORGET

...Check out our ongoing .."WE WERE SOLDIERS".. discussion on Actor DON DUONG:

http://thealamofilm.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=4577


Them that got's the Power and all the Guns over the Enslaved People in a now Communist Vietnam...

...cannot afford to be depicted as losing at war and expect to keep it all.

NEVER FORGET

[Sloth]

Duong played commander Nguyen Huu An, who led the Vietnamese soldiers to victory.

Did I miss that part of the movie? Or do they mean Pyrrhic victory?

[ALOHA RONNIE]

...For more...

...See my ALOHA RONNIE Bookmarked .."WE WERE SOLDIERS" .. Battle of IA DRANG-1965 .. American Hero RICK RESCORLA.. Freerepublic.com Threads...

...simply by hitting the "ALOHA RONNIE" on this Post.

GARRY OWEN, Sir

[JMJ333]

bttt!

[Dead Dog]

Communist are the father of lies, I guess that pretty much makes them Evil. My bet is they were offended by the begining of the film where they slaughterd the French. The hate the truth.

[windcliff]

fyi ping

[Centurion2000]

bump .... fine let's put Vietnam back on the Axis of evil list.

I'm sure there are plenty of old pilots that could use some payback.

[onedoug]

Thanks. 'Already hit another post. Note how the war yet rages on over the same principles.

[ALOHA RONNIE]

...ALOHA...

...Please See Post #10...

[ALOHA RONNIE]

...GARRY OWEN, Sir...

[rstevens]

Garry Owen; carry on Sergeant.