Film about ‘steadfast tin soldier' wins hearts

The story, which is full of both sadness and happiness, is about an unfortunate boy. His first two doctors gave him the name Thien, meaning Kindness and Nhan, meaning Human. On the first of screening of Lua Thien Nhan (Thien Nhan's Fire), many people in the audience were moved to tears.

Nhan had exceptional survival instincts. He was abandoned in a deserted garden for three days by after birth. He was found losing a leg and his private parts while ants swarmed over his body. The little boy cried, drawing the attention of some people who saved him.

Moved by his incredible survival instincts, Tran Mai Anh, a young mother of two in Hanoi, adopted him when he was two years old. Then she took him to many reconstructive doctors in Vietnam and abroad, to Italy and the US for further operations.

Today, Nhan is an active nine-year-old boy who attends a primary school in Hanoi. His nickname is "steadfast tin soldier".

Layout/photoseditor/nhan.jpg: Ho Thien Nhan (front, middle), on whose life the movie Lua Thien Nhan is based, poses for a photo with his friends and mother on the first day of the film's screening in Hanoi. — Photo sggp.org.vn

Nhan's story had captured media attention and stirred people's hearts.

The film Lua Thien Nhan was made in a realistic style by director Dang Hong Giang over three years. The 77-minute film reveals many moving details about Nhan's journey towards regaining a normal body functions and starting a new life and of many other children who faced similar challenges.

The film also has recently-recorded views of Nhan's mother Tran Mai Anh, Chairman of Asia Injury Prevention Foundation Grieg Craft, and Roberto de Castro, the surgeon who conducted operations on both Nhan and other children in Vietnam.

The opening scenes of Lua Thien Nhan are about the life of a one-legged boy, such as riding bikes in the park and hobbling along with crutches.

It continues with the arduous journeys that Mai Anh took Nhan to Thailand, Germany, America and Italy to have operations conducted to help him live a normal life. Towards its end, the film also speaks about thousands of children in Vietnam who have undergone successful reconstructive surgeries to restore their missing body parts.

The viewers are moved into tears by not only Nhan and his mother's strong perseverance, but also by the kindness they receive during their journey.

"I haven't seen such a meaningful documentary for a long time," Lam Thu Hien from Ba Dinh District said. "The reality of the documentary has touched the hearts of all viewers. I want my children to watch Lua Thien Nhan so that they learn about Nhan's story."

Director Quang said he was moved when he learned about Nhan's plight, and about human kindness when Mai Anh has taken him under her wing into her home, which encouraged him to make Lua Thien Nhan.

Lua Thien Nhan was screened at the fifth New York City Independence Film Festival last October. It was also shown at the Hanoi International Film Festival in 2014.

The film will be screened in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City till November 15.