Tren Hai Phan To Quoc (On Waters of Motherland) poster is among 200 works on display in the From War to Nationhood exhibition.

For these reasons alone, the exhibition of film posters entitled From War to Nationhood on display at Ha Noi-based Ho Chi Minh Museum is worth a visit. It celebrates 56 years of the establishment of the Viet Nam State Enterprise for Film and Photography.

However, for art buffs and historians the posters have other dimensions. They are a view through a special lense, one which combines photographic image and artist interpretation with a political undertone.

On a superficial level, the 200 posters on show (selected from thousands) are an introduction to the basic and typical aspects and activities of the national film industry from its first days.

The posters are divided into three periods, from 1959-75, 1976-86 and from 1987 to now, and are expressed in different themes.

In each period, films reflected the development, changes and conflicts between the old and the new as well as the difficulties that people suffered in work and life during and after the war and since doi moi – renewal.

The first period (1959-75) seems to attract most attention as it was the beginning of the industry and a time of development for Vietnamese revolutionary cinema.

It was a flourishing period of documentary and feature films, some of which won awards at international film festivals.

Posters of this period reflect the spirit of the anti-French and anti-American resistance wars as well as the course of national construction.

“From 1959-75 the film industry developed the fastest and many gained awards at international festivals,” said People’s Artist and director Bui Dinh Hac.

“The films’ diverse topics and themes made great impressions, proven clearly through the posters which, in my opinion, is a kind of art which combines painting and photography,” he said.

“Posters have become an indispensable part of the film industry. Many artists, like actor The Anh, have big collections of film posters which are an unending inspiration for both collectors and the authors.”

On another, more emotional level, however, the posters are artistic and creative works that flick a cathartic switch for people who lived in the times or saw the movies, as Hoang Thanh Hai discovered on opening day, Tuesday.

Hai, 51, said she couldn’t suppress her emotions as she viewed posters of Chung Mot Dong Song (Sharing the Same River) by directors Hong Nghi and Hieu Dan.

The film, which is considered one of the first works of the nation, won the Golden Lotus award at the 1973 national film festival.

Hai discussed with her 15-year-old daughter the films Con Chim Vanh Khuyen (The White-eyr Bird) (1962), Kim Dong (1964), Me Vang Nha (Mother Is Not at Home) (1979) and the documentary Duong Ve To Quoc (Road to Motherland) (1980).

“These films are really works or art that I have never felt bored reviewing,” Hai said. At present, some of our children may not have had the chance to watch them but I hope that they will gain something from these posters, together with what I have told them.”

President Ho Chi Minh gave the green light to the start of the film industry on March 15, 1953, affirming the link between Vietnamese films and the nation’s social and political situation.

Viet Nam Film Institute director Nguyen Thi Lan said the early films were to play a vital role in the government publicity effort, highlighting the gallantry and achievements of the army during the war.

These messages were often expressed through film posters, with their vivid illustrations and emotive photography capturing the hearts of the public, Lan said.

The exhibition was first mounted at the National Archives of Singapore from May to September last year as part of the Vietnamese Festival.

It will last until April 17 in Ha Noi at the museum at 19 Ngoc Ha Street, before moving to HCM City for a month from May 19.

The Film Institute will show some documentaries and features at Ha Noi’s Ngoc Khanh Cinema, 523 Kim Ma Street and HCM City’s Tan Son Nhat Cinema, 186 Nguyen Van Troi Street, Tan Binh District.

VietNamNet/VNS