The pain caused by Agent Orange has been captured in many forms of art, including film. Orange Bell or Hồi Chuông Màu Da Cam was the very first film in Vietnam featuring this topic produced in 1983. The film won the Silver Lotus Prize in Vietnam and a special prize at the International Carlovy Vary Festival held by Czechoslovakia.
The 70 minute Orange Bell features the grief and remorse of a former South Vietnamese soldier. The character Phan Nam was directly involved in spraying the herbicide in Vietnam yet knew nothing about its impacts. His child was born with deformity and his wife commits suicide to free herself from the guilt and suffering
Guilty, Nam decided to become a monk. Later, he comes to realise that all the pain in his life have their roots in the poisonous chemical that he had sprayed years ago.
Mr Doan Minh Tuan, a film critic, highly regard this movie. He said: "I think that the most significant factor about this film is its topic. It features the enormous impact Agent Orange has and reflects a problem facing many former Vietnamese veterans".
The film used the account of a former Southern soldier. While it does not include any footage of people suffering from the poisonous chemical, the film is able to depict the war’s catastrophe through the struggles that Phan Nam experiences.
Screenwriter of Orange Bell Nguyen Dinh Chinh shared something about scenario that: "Everyone has something good in his (Phan Nam) soul. It’s just buried somewhere, waiting to be found. People know about the impacts of Agent Orange and will stand against it no matter side where they stand in".
In the end, Phan Nam decided to pin the blame for the crimes on the US to international journalists. The film brought together some of the biggest names in Vietnam’s film industry of the early 80's such as actor The Anh, Hoang Cuc or director Nguyen Ngoc Trung./.
