Friday, March 12, 1999
Ha Noi, Viet Nam
By Jon Pattee and Nguyen Tri Binh

Ha Noi--"A person or a nation, if they can feel ashamed of their actions or mistakes in the past, and feel the pain caused by their own wrongdoing, can only then become strong and good."

In this way film director Tran Van Thuy explains a key idea underpinning "The Sound of the Violin in My Lai", his new documentary on the March, 16, 1968 incident in which US troops slaughtered 504 men, women and children in a tiny village in the central province of Quang Ngai.

The film's 30 minutes encompass images of the bloody carnage wrought by the GIs, testimonies from those on both sides on that day, and the hopeful inauguration of the My Lai Peace Park on the 30th anniversary of the massacre.

My Lai has become such an emotional symbol that Wednesday night's premiere screening at Ha Noi's National Film Exhibition Centre attracted a full house.

And with the film makers present, the general discussion after the screening saw both invited speakers and the audience of Vietnamese and foreigners reflecting on the ideas of right and wrongdoing Thuy raises in the film.

"There were in fact many massacres during the American War in Viet Nam," US Ambassador Pete Peterson said in his post-film address. "But this is the one we can focus on from the standpoint of avoiding any repetition of that kind of massacre."

Peterson, himself a US veteran who served in Viet Nam, went on to call the film "very valuable for serving the cause of mankind for many generations" and thanked the director and film crew " who saw the need and value of capturing this very important experience."

The film which was both started and finished last year through the efforts of the Viet Nam Centre Studio for Documentary and Science Film Production, focuses on the spiritual and material regeneration at My Lai since the massacre.

The film also features US veteran Mike Boehm's return to My Lai to labour for the creation of the Peace Park, a hospital and school.

Although several US veterans appear in the documentary, Thuy hangs his story around Boehm's violin-playing beside the grave of the massacred villagers.

Thuy, a former combat cameraman whose career spans more that 20 films (many with international recognition) was instantly inspired by the image of Boehm's mourning through music.

As Boehm says in the film, "I gave an offering of music to the spirits of the dead: of the dead Vietnamese people and the dead American people."

But, as Boehm says, there is new life rising out of the ashes.

Boehm spent 18 months in Viet Nam's central coast as part of a US Army intelligence unit. After returning home from the war in 1969, it took the American veteran himself 25 years to be reconciled with his haunted past.

Boehm returned to Viet Nam in 1994 to make peace with former foes and collaborated with some of them to build a Peace Park at Bac Giang, not far north of Ha Noi. Another part of his healing progress was to visit My Lai on several occasions and befriend the locals.

Today, his journey speaks to others through Thuy's documentary.

"The film was powerful because, juxtaposed with reminders of the tragedy that occurred, are images of small children playing," said Chuck Searcy, the Viet Nam director of the Viet Nam Veterans of America Foundation. "This is a message of recovery and renewal."

Searcy's foundation helped sponsor the screening, along with the Studio Centre for Documentary and Scientific Film Production and the Quakers organisation.

Government officials from concerned ministries, business people and community leaders were also represented at the event.

"This is a film that both Vietnamese and Americans can watch with emotion but without being divided, and it is therefore a film that can unite us in looking forward to a future where such things are never repeated," said one Vietnamese audience member as the evening drew to a close. --VNS

Other articles about The Sound of The Violin in My Lai

Article from the Vietnamese newspaper Thanh Nien

What is Needed Beyond Tears, from the Vietnamese paper Toui Tre

The Vietnamese Association of Cinematography