The Rebel (2007 Vietnamese film)

The Rebel
The film poster.
Directed by	Charlie Nguyen
Produced by	Jimmy Pham Nghiem Charlie Nguyen Johnny Tri Nguyen
Written by	Charlie Nguyen Johnny Tri Nguyen Dominic Pereira
Starring	Johnny Tri Nguyen Ngo Thanh Van Dustin Nguyen
Music by	Christopher Wong
Cinematography	Dominic Pereira
Editing by	Charlie Nguyen Ham Tran
Distributed by	Cinema Pictures The Weinstein Company United States: Dragon Dynasty (DVD)
Release date(s)	27 April 2007
Running time	103 minutes
Country	Vietnam
Language	Vietnamese French
Budget	US$1.5 million[1]

For other uses, see The Rebel (disambiguation).

The Rebel (Vietnamese: Dòng Máu Anh Hùng) is a 2007 Vietnamese martial arts film directed by Charlie Nguyen and starring Johnny Tri Nguyen and Dustin Nguyen. It premiered on April 12, 2007 at the Vietnamese International Film Festival in Irvine, California. It was released on April 27, 2007 in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and played as the Closing Night film at the 2007 VC FilmFest in Los Angeles.

Plot

Vietnam in 1922 is under colonial French ruling, and anti-French rebellions by peasants have emerged all over the country. In response, the French have activated units of Vietnamese secret agents to track and destroy the rebels. One agent is Le Van Cuong. Although branded with a perfect track record, Cuong's inner conscience is troubled by the sea of Vietnamese blood he has spilled. Following an assassination of a high ranking French official, Cuong is assigned to seek and kill the notorious leader of the resistance. Cuong encounters Vo Thanh Thuy, a relentless revolutionary fighter and the daughter of the rebel leader. She is captured and imprisoned by Cuong's cruel superior, Sy. Cuong suspects that Sy knew about the attack on the French official before it happened, and could have prevented it. Suspicious, he warns Thuy that her organization has a mole, helps break her out of prison and becomes a fugitive himself. Her fiery patriotism inspires Cuong, and he develops feelings for the young woman as well. Meanwhile, Sy is tracking Cuong and Thuy, knowing the pair will lead him to Thuy's father.

Cast and characters

Primary Characters

• Johnny Tri Nguyen as Le Van Cuong - A French-schooled Vietnamese man, skilled in martial arts, working as an agent under the French official to put an end to a rebellion that is happening in Vietnam.
• Ngo Thanh Van as Vo Thanh Thuy - The rebel leader's daughter who Cuong wishes to use to track him down. She is very skilled in martial arts as well.
• Dustin Nguyen as Sy - Cuong's superior in the secret police, he is highly skilled in martial arts and possesses somewhat supernatural abilities. He is not adverse to using torture.

Secondary Characters

• Chanh Tin Nguyen as Cuong's Father - Cuong's Father once had power within the old Vietnamese regime until the French took over the country. Now he spents the rest of his day in an opium house. Cuong blames his for father for something that happen to his mother.
• Nguyen Thang as Hua Danh - Another Vietnamese agent working with Sy to stop the rebellion. Skilled in martial arts and also with a knife.
• Stephane Gauger as Dereu - Head of the French Secret Police force. His nationality is both French and Vietnamese. He has been in Vietnam for 10 years and looks forward to the day of retirement so can go back to his home country. He often insults Sy as a failures due to knowing Sy's father from before.
• David Minetti as Tessier - A French officer who Cuong fought. He has high endurance, being able to continue fighting despite having been shot with a bullet.

Production

"The Rebel's" cast and crew shot for 80 days in Vietnam, whose film industry is still playing catch-up with Hollywood's and Hong Kong's. They had to deal with a number of obstacles, including crew members who got sick, actors who got hurt, and cultural police officers who monitored every move. In an interview with Johnny Tri Nguyen, he states that one of the hardest problem in making the film was finding the right actress for the main female character.

Parts of the film, mainly street scenes in the first half of the film, were shot in the old port town of Hội An (standing in for Hanoi).

Reception

From left, director Charlie Nguyen, producer Jimmy Pham Nghiem and actors Dustin Nguyen, Johnny Tri Nguyen, Ngo Thanh Van, at a press conference during the 2007 Bangkok International Film Festival, where the film was screened twice.

The film has been released in Vietnam, where it proved to be very popular (actual ticket sales are not easily tracked in Vietnam). According to sources, it is the most expensive Vietnamese film with a budget of $1.5 million. Originally scheduled for a release on Aug. 26th, The Rebel was released in the United States on a two-disc DVD on September 30th, 2008 (from Dragon Dynasty). Johnny Nguyen, Dustin Nguyen, and Ngo Thanh Van not only provide an audio commentary, but also dubbed their own characters for the films English language track. It was also featured at the 2007 Bangkok International Film Festival,^[1] the Austin Film Festival, the Hawaii International Film Festival, and was the Opening Night screening at the 2007 Mammoth Film Festival.^[2]

• 

  Johnny Tri Nguyen.

• 

  Veronica Ngo.

• 

  Dustin Nguyen.

• 

  Veronica and Johnny.

• 

  Charlie Nguyen.

Honour and awards

• VIFF 2007
• Feature film of 15th Vietnam Film Festival

See also

• List of Dragon Dynasty releases

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Vietnam latest news - Thanh Nien Daily
2. ^ The Rebel film page at Mammoth Film Festival.

External links

• The Rebel at the Internet Movie Database
• Trailer on Myspace