Fairytale for a 17-Year-Old Girl
(Truyen co tich cho tuoi muoi bay)

An, a 17 year-old attempts to stave off boredom and escape the torments of teenagehood through letters she exchanges with a young soldier who has volunteered on the front, an epistolary love in which she finds comfort. But soon, her kin and her own friends, including Hai, the most protective among them, are themselves enlisted. Vietnamese cinema has consecrated many films to the fighters who sacrificed themselves to defend the people’s cause and the country’s independence. Conversely, the films that take interest in those who are left behind lines are rarer and Nguyen Xuan Son’s one is undoubtedly one of their best examples. Jérôme Baron