Hoa Binh ("peace") would have meant more in 1970, when the Vietnam War was still going on. It is a film that sees the war not from the viewpoint of the soldiers, but from the poor, innocent bystanders who are victimized by both sides.
Hung is a youth about eight or nine years old. He lives with his younger sister and his mother, who works hard to support them. Hung's father is gone, no one knows where. Hung's mother develops an infection in her leg and takes the children to her sister's home in the country. However, the sister is not happy about being saddled with two more children to feed. The mother continues to work, but her health declines. When she goes into the hospital, Hung decides to take his sister back to the city and look for work.
Along the way, the children meet several adults, from both sides of the conflict. Both sides talk in similar speeches ("we will continue fighting for another twenty years if we have to") while being unaware of the needs of these two homeless children. Hoa-Binh is less anti-war as pro-human.
I had wanted to see Hoa Binh ever since I first read about the film in Something to Declare, a collection of reviews by critic John Simon. Almost twenty years has passed since I first read that review, almost twenty years of watching other movies. In that time, I have seen the children in war story told in Come and See, Diamonds of the Night, Germany Year Zero, Grave of the Fireflies, Ivan's Childhood, and The Painted Bird, all of which I like more than Hoa Binh. Watching Hoa Binh now, I understand its historical importance, but I also feel a bit like I have seen the story before in a different setting, in a different war.
Hoa Binh is a well-made, very well-meaning film that I admire for its humanity. Still, I must admit that I was only sporadically drawn into its story.
