Original subtitles

I had trouble breathing in the bag.

I was hearing a heartbeat.

Was it mine or that of the swimmer?

The more I breathed,

the more the bag filled with fog.

At one point, I was very scared.

What if the bag tore apart?

I lay there without daring to move.

Like a stone.

There was barely enough room

for one person...

curled up.

The bag was transparent...

and very lightweight.

I know how to swim,

I wasn't afraid of drowning.

I was frightened of being stuck

in the bag, if water got in.

In the middle of the river,

the current wasn't so strong.

There was sun.

I was seeing better around me.

A fish came close to me.

It gave me an inquisitive look.

I reached out to touch it.

It swam away.

What sort of fish?

I don't know.

Isn't it faster to swim across?

It's not possible

The ferryman says that in winter

the water is frozen

Some people can't swim

and won't have anything to change into.

You're crazy.

Daddy...

Why are you leaving today?

The martyred, Lam Hong Khanh

born in 1956

In Dinh Phong, Trung Khanh district,

Cao Bang province.

Joined the army in August 1973...

in the KT C2 unit.

Died for his country, May 1, 1974

on the southern front.

If you know where he's buried,

please contact his son Lam Khanh Ha.

In Dac Ngo, Tuy Duc district,

Dak Nong province.

At 0376853

Or contact the Veterans Department,

Army Headquarters, Cao Bang.

The martyred, Do Tran Ngoc, born 1950

in Cam Van, Cam Thuy District,

Thanh Hoa province.

Joined the army in July 1967,

in the KB C13-E320 unit.

Died for his country September 2, 1969,

on the southern front.

If you know where he is buried please

contact Mrs Tran Thi Che in Cam Van...

Cam Thuy district, Thanh Hoa province.

Or contact the Veterans Department,

Army Headquarters, Thanh Hoa.

The martyred, Dang Nhu Mai, born 1929

So as not to forget anything.

Maybe it will be clearer this time.

Leave the light on.

I'll dream more easily.

I almost stepped on it.

That hen lays anywhere.

Let's drink some tea.

When my son was little

he often picked this fruit.

He'd come home with his pockets full.

What sort of fruit is it?

Have you never tasted it?

It's a tree that has grown

alone in my garden.

I was thinking of cutting it down.

Let the poor thing grow.

Look, this one is ripe.

The lottery results.

Fuck it! One number off!

Missed again!

No luck!

Sometimes when I see pretty girls,

I want to be like them.

How?

I don't know.

I feel I'd be happy

if I was like them.

So long as you don't castrate yourself!

It's like shellfish corpses.

Corpses?

And this beach is their cemetery.

He came back.

This time he was standing

100 or 200 metres from me.

It looked like he was carrying

a gun on his back.

Then he disappeared.

When I turned around,

there was a very big tree.

Then I woke up.

Was it always at the same place?

I don't know.

The last time it was raining hard,

and the rain was black.

This time there was a tree.

And I haven't seen the gun,

the last time.

And the vision of Dad?

You saw it clearly?

No.

It was very hazy.

I couldn't see it very well.

The rain.

The gun.

He didn't move...

Like he was waiting for me.

The distance between us

gradually got smaller.

Then I heard a very weak voice.

Our camps were in the forest.

There were a lot of trees.

Was there anything special

about the tree in the dream?

I'm not sure.

But I'd recognise, it if I saw it.

The voice that I heard...

It was his.

It said...

"It isn't very deep..."

"And I'm soaked by the rain."

Maybe it won't take

much digging to find it.

The martyred were buried in the forest, at only 90cm deep.

I've notice one thing...

When I squeeze my left breast... I dream of him that night.

Auntie Gai!

Auntie Gai!

Wait!

I'll pay for the charcoal later.

Take the boxes up for me.

It's sweets that your cousin sends us.

I have to hide them

or the kids will eat them all.

I've told him not to send anything.

Last month we received a kitchen range.

Yes, a range!

Can you believe it?

I've never used it.

What am I going to do with it?

I cook with charcoal and wood.

What's a range?

Taste it.

Sweets from far away.

It's hard.

It's like rubber.

Like it?

It's weird.

Have to get used to it.

Don't lean on the railing.

You're all dusty.

They stick in your teeth!

Before we build...

the Phuoc house

was the biggest in in the area.

Their son left 5 years ago

and has become rich.

He was born in the year of the horse, like your cousin.

They left a few months apart.

We too, before...

had to collect leftover coal to live.

How things have changed!

When you think about it,

life is like a game of chance.

My son told me,

that one hour more...

and they would have finished up

like canned sardines.

One hour...

And you... are you ready to leave?

Cover the nail well.

Yes, like that.

Auntie Gai's getting ready for her son's return.

There'll be a party...

we mustn't forget it.

If she could, she'll invite

the whole town to see her house.

She's always been like that.

Be careful to protect your wound

from coal dust.

Once, at work, you counted your coal tattoos.

Our lungs must be jet black.

Invite him for dinner after work.

I'll make noodles.

That's perfect!

We're always hungry after work.

You and him...

Invite him here more often.

All right.

Thanks, Mum.

It's great now.

But after a day's work,

the varnish will be flaking.

I'm sorry.

I'm going to leave you soon.

But you'll come back.

You'll be back.

Don't leave... stay.

Don't listen to what people say.

Being poor isn't a sin.

You're father...

I should have told him not to leave.

Did you see the news?

A plane crashed into a skyscraper in New York.

It was 2 big planes.

They said that the foundations

were more than 100 metres deep.

We are going much deeper.

On your cheek...

The training will be quick.

At the start...

I didn't recognise you among those

standing on the river bank.

My eyesight is failing.

I must spend too much time in the dark.

I saw a familiar shape

going down into the water

It was you.

I recognised the way you move.

When you got into the bag,

I felt I was suffocating.

From where I was sitting...

the bag you were in, seemed tiny.

A drop of water in the river.

Halfway across...

the sky cleared.

The sun made the water sparkle.

Right from the other side...

I'd been hoping that the river would suddenly freeze...

so you could make the crossing on foot.

When I come,

I close my eyes very tightly.

Then I was a sightless man...

in a soldier's uniform.

Maybe it's him.

While looking at you

I better imagine his sight.

Stop, what you're saying is weird.

I don't look like his father

I think you're bleeding.

I'm sorry.

I don't have any pain.

You and me, two boys without a father.

With my unit,

we're leaving from the local airport

We were on foot.

We took a path in the forest.

It's the dry season.

All the vegetation was stunted.

Our camps and those of the enemy...

were somewhere in these hills.

The camps were facing west...

not far from the frontier.

The forest was very dense.

During the monsoon...

it's hard to distinguish day from night.

It's ideal for staying hidden.

It's like something

I see in my dreams.

Where's the frontier?

Here.

Have you been here long?

About 3 months.

One night...

I was on guard with your husband.

In the pitch-black night...

we saw two large eyes...

green and gleaming.

It must have been a very large animal.

It was staring at us.

It let out a growl, and left.

It turned out to be an elephant.

So...

It's body must be around here.

There's a smell...

of burnt flesh.

Good...

Let's eat.

When are you two getting married?

What?

Us marry?

Not each other.

With a woman!

With the work, there's no time.

We should do like before...

register with

the mine meetings program.

At your age...

in my day...

a guy already had a few kids.

It's more than 25 years...

since I ate frog.

You don't like it?

Our road crossed the forest.

On both sides...

the dead were piled up

in dried-up ditches.

More than a kilometre of bodies.

I could see...

crawling on the piled up bodies...

frogs...

as big as that.

Frogs...

as big as sewer rats.

All slimy.

The day before

his departure for the front...

I was sitting on this bed, preparing his clothes.

He was smoking in the doorway.

I only saw his silhouette.

His back was turned to me.

He was worried, but he tried to hide it

Often, I feel that he's still alive...

That he's lost his memory

and forgotten us.

Maybe he's restarted his life

somewhere else...

that he has a new family.

Maybe he has toddlers.

If that's the case, you'd be jealous?

Jealous?

I haven't lived long enough.

I've had too little time.

We'd only seen each other once

before the wedding.

I don't know why...

but I've never seen him in a dream.

Perhaps because he doesn't know.

Doesn't know what?

I didn't find out I was pregnant

until after he left.

But he should know it.

That's for sure.

Would you recognise him today?

He was your spitting image.

You look so much like him.

The crane flies away at night..

To find something to eat.

It alights on a fragile branch

She falls into a pond

Sir, for pity's sake, help me!

Get me out of here

Don't put me in the cooking pot

If you cook me

Use clear water

Don't use cloudy water

That would break my babies' hearts

A cut or a trim?

Hi.

Hi.

Who's first?

My friend.

In 5 minutes.

Colour too?

Yes.

It won't change anything.

Red? It's in fashion.

Rather have green.

As you wish.

Here we are.

Soon, you'll be there.

You'll be far away from me.

Two hand spans.

Say, 45cm

I may be there.

My hands are smaller.

That would only be 25 or 30cm.

So we'll be separated by 30cm

Are you also leaving?

When my wife left

to work as a maid...

our daughter was only a month old.

Now she's in primary school.

Housework, laundry, feeding...

It's not easy...

For me, anyway.

That's fate.

When will she come back?

Wait, I'll do your ears.

Where's the ear cleaner?

Ah, I've found it.

There's a big piece.

Quite black.

I won't hear anything anymore

when you're gone

VIET AND NAM

How many people?

Four.

How old is the lady?

56

It's free, over 65.

And is sir a handicapped, or veteran.

A veteran.

It's free for veterans.

3 tickets. - How much? - 15,000

Do you have 4,000?

There.

Don't touch anything.

3,2, 1, bottoms up!

Let's go!

Your ticket.

I find it hard to breathe in here.

Are you visiting the old battle-fields?

Yes.

You're from the North?

How can you tell?

Your accent.

I'm from the North, too.

Let's go.

Over there...

The woman in pink.

She's a famous medium in the North.

The other woman

is the daughter of a martyr.

She's from the North too.

Her family has engaged seers

to find the body of her father.

But that never works.

They're all imposters.

But that medium is trustworthy.

He has the same name as me.

He's born the same day, too.

This soldier comes from here.

You know what we're doing that's stupid?

What?

To go in the forest...

to look for a tree!

This place...

reminds me of the road

that crosses the forest.

What road.

The road...

with all the bodies.

Now there's neither forest nor pits

on either side.

Strange,

the feeling of having been here.

Has my father also seen that?

Your father...

kept his eyes fixed

looking straight ahead.

Tears ran down his cheeks.

Through there.

I sense something. Can we go see?

What is it?

I feel there's something through there.

Let's go see.

No!

We can't go through there.

But I feel there's something.

It's THAT way!

I'm certain.

Trust me, at least.

Please forgive me...

for getting angry.

Somewhere along this river...

a comrade was wounded in an ambush.

He was much younger

than your husband and I.

A young innocent man.

Everyone said he wouldn't pull through.

Thanks to heaven and Buddha,

he did well.

But every time the wind changes...

he starts screaming while holding his head.

He still has shrapnel in his head.

In the villages,

he stole some women's clothes

and wore them

while wandering in the forest.

He was mumbling...

"Where's my son? Where's my son?"

We all said to ourselves...

that he must miss his mother very much.

The revolutionary party

of the people of South Vietnam

Where are you?

Soldier?

Where are you?

I've lost contact.

Oh, Father...

Someone here still doesn't believe me.

The soldier told me...

Someone here still doesn't believe me.

This person...

thinks that it's all just a lie.

The soldier got angry and left.

Who is it?

Do you believe me?

I believe you.

Thank you for your devotion.

We only see with ordinary eyes.

We'd be lost without you to guide us.

I pray that my father...

may rest in peace

in the land of his ancestors

We are ready for anything...

and we'll pay what is necessary.

Blasphemy!

Impious!

You, the family...

Do you believe me?

And do you believe me?

And do you all believe me?

I do.

And you?

Do you have some doubts?

Please...

I beg of you...

They shot at me.

Several bullets at my chest.

My comrades buried me here.

They were to come back a bit later...

to bring me home...

to my parents, my wife and my children.

Decades have passed in a heartbeat...

I am still here in this deserted field.

Slow down. Work gently.

To the right

Stop!

How accurate!

Here is the flesh of your father's head.

The flesh has turned into black soil.

Bombshell BLU-66 "Orange"

Bombshell "Grapefruit"

Bombshell BLU-3B "Bananas"

Bombshell BLU-26B "Guava"

Dynamite 652A

Aerial bomb Mk 82

Mark 81

Decayed.

Skin and flesh.

Let's turn around.

We've reached the frontier.

I'm going.

What are you doing?

Look!

I'm in Laos!

Come back!

We don't have a passport!

It's Cambodia, not Laos.

Raise your head.

Tidy your hair.

Look straight ahead.

Three, two, one, bingo!

Next.

Take off your jacket.

Look straight ahead.

Three, two, one...

Do you have to do it?

How can you leave, with no passport?

You'll leave anyway.

I'm like the women

who waited for their husbands' return.

More often than not, they didn't return.

Why do you say that?

I know why.

What?

Why do you want to leave?

Why?

To do it with white cocks.

Really?

You'll come back.

You'll come back.

When I got near the tree...

it disappeared behind...

On the trunk...

I saw...

a sort of... crack...

like a gash.

But no...

It was a hole.

Get back...!

Looks like a Mk 82 bomb.

Sometimes...

I imagine that you'll come back.

You go into the house.

Nothing has changed since you left.

And I am there...

putting coal in the crusher.

Strangely...

in my imagination...

Mum isn't there.

There's only me, in the house.

I turn around and I see you.

What do you look like?

After all these years...

you should have aged.

Is your body still intact?

Or are there bits of it underground.

At any rate...

I know the man facing me is my dad.

How will I react?

Will I run towards your, joyfully?

Or will I stay without moving...

while we stare at each other.

Perhaps we'll exchange a shy smile.

I don't know what I'd do

if you came back.

Dad...

I'm afraid.

Is it like this when you're dead?

Happy birthday!

What if someone sees us?

We can say we're brothers.

Who's the eldest today?

We'll say it's me.

Okay, big brother.

Oh, no, I forgot the candles.

It's enough already.

You forgot one.\!

- Where? - There.

That's good!

What sort of tobacco?

Tien Lang. Classy!

First time?

You best not smoke.

What's your name?

- Sorry? - What's your name?

There are several closing-down systems.

At nightfall...

hurry to find a container

that closes with a cable

This is what you're looking for.

Everything necessary is there.

They're found on Coke cans.

No need to force it.

We slide it into the lock

just until it comes out the other side.

The lady in pink... Come and pull on the cable

You hold here and pull.

This blocks the mechanism

and is easier to open.

Like that!

You come and see.

Pull the bar to the left...

and the door will open on its own.

Not too soon!

Let's welcome the rest of the batch.

Are you tired?

Who's seasick?

OK, get in line.

In line!

In line.

In line.

Squeeze together.

Get into the container, one at a time.

Remember to stay calm.

You must stay calm and quiet.

What are you doing here?

I'm leaving too.

Why?

I'll know when I get there.

What a pity you took the CO2 option!

With the VIP option...

you'd cross the frontier

in the comfort of a car.

If you change your mind...

tell us at the end of this training.

It's the trip of a lifetime.

It's worth investing in.

You coming with me?

Quiet! Keep together.

Don't breathe too much air.

Cover your head with the bag,

to avoid triggering the sensor

Remember all this well,

and everything will be fine.

Excuse me.

I've kept it in too long.

It's torture.

It's the lack of alcohol.

Don't tell me you love me!

That day...

your husband and I...

were told to get vegetables

from the village.

We took the path

that crosses the forest below the camp.

On the way,

we shared a galangal cigarette.

You know what that is?

At the time...

life was hard.

We had nothing.

There wasn't enough rice or vegetables

Then, cigarettes!

The soldiers used to go in the forest...

looking for galangal shoots.

The roots were dug up and washed.

They were pounded.

The sap was removed

and a little alcohol poured on.

Then it was dried over the fire

without burning it.

Then you rolled it in paper

and smoked it. It was very good.

The soldiers smoked it... all the time.

When there was nothing more to smoke,

it was hard

That day...

I shared the last galangal cigarette

with your husband

He said to me...

When peace... returns...

how will we get galangal cigarettes?

Then, turning on the path...

suddenly...

we ran into soldiers from the South.

They cried out...

Dirty Viet Cong! Viet Cong!

A fusillade of AR-15 bullets

were fired at us.

One bullet grazed me.

Rifle in hand...

I jumped into the river.

I laid low.

My hands were shaking hard.

Over an hour later...

calm had returned.

I leaned forward to take a look.

I heard someone running toward me

on the left.

I straightened up...

my rifle pointing.

I emptied half my magazine.

In the middle of shooting...

I heard the sound of a fall.

Over an hour later...

calm had returned.

I leaned forward to take a look.

I heard someone running toward me

on the left.

I straightened up...

my rifle pointing.

I emptied half my magazine.

In the middle of shooting...

I heard the sound of a fall.

After a while...

I went to see.

In the middle of the high grass...

I saw a soldier's boots.

I parted the vegetation...

and I saw your husband.

His chest bloodied.

He was staring at me.

I come to buy coal.

How much?

Five briquets

So, you're here too.

My stove is out of gas.

But the refills cost too much.

It's annoying.

It's crazy how much gas has gone up.

It's said they sell dodgy gas bottles.

They can explode at any time.

It can even be deliberate!

Can you put it on my account?

I must hurry home.

I have to get dinner

and my husband's coming home.

If it's not ready he'll complain.

You're the medium?

You dry the coal on the kitchen fire?

What?

Lately, a soldier's taken me

to a house full of coal.

My husband...

That man's your husband?

It wasn't clear.

I didn't know if it was your husband

or your father.

I've been looking for it

for many years.

He's by my side at this very moment.

May I speak to him?

Impossible.

You can't communicate with him.

And he can't hear what you tell him.

Please...

can you speak to him for me.

How are things, underground?

Are you still soaked by the rain?

I...

It lasts so long!

There are so many things

I'd like to talk to you about.

Our son...

Tomorrow...

he'll turn 26.

I've seen him, at last.

But he's said nothing.

It was an hallucination...

The lack of air.

No.

It's not that.

It's nothing.

It'll go away.

You see anything?

It's too dark.

Have we been here before?

We must stay calm.

And wait.

Don't breathe too much air.

Don't make any noise.

We just need...

to wait for the time to pass...

for the truck crossing the frontier.

It will make two stops.

The first...

will be at the control post.

The second...

after having crossed the frontier.

The driver will stop

to unload the cargo.

There'll be a moment of silence...

just before the container opens.

As soon as we see the light...

we need to be ready to start running.

To get away quickly...

and leave running.

We'll run away together.

You asleep?

Don't sleep.

I have a riddle.

Know where watermelon comes from?

I'd give anything

for a slice of watermelon right now.

Once upon a time...

There was a prince

who spent his time amusing himself...

to the despair of his father, the king.

The king decided to exile his son

to a desert island far away.

On this island...

the prince had barely enough to survive.

One summer's day

a strange bird flew across the island...

It dropped some seeds.

After some time...

the plants were growing luscious fruit...

green skinned

with red hearts and black pips.

The prince thought...

"If the bird can eat it, so can I."

He took a bite.

The flesh was sweet and refreshing.

Thanks to the watermelon,

the prince survived...

until the day his father sent a ship

to bring him home.

I'm homesick already.

Subtitles by FatPlank for KG