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Downloaded from
YTS.MX

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VIETNAM
LOVE IS THE FINAL DESTINATION

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Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.MX

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A FILM BY MEI-CHEN CHALAIS
BASED ON HER STORY

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DIRECTED BY
IN CO-OPERATION WITH

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Whether I like it or not, and always,

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Vietnam has been part of every stage
of my life.

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Thanks to my mother's courage,

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I was lucky enough
to survive the bombings,

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not to stay working
in the rice fields,

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to take a boat to France

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and meet the love of my life,

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the writer
and journalist François Chalais.

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AN INVOLUNTARY BATTLE

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I was born during this war

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when the French were trying
to hold on to an Indochina

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that was not yet called Vietnam.

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A strange birth,

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very different
from that of other little girls,

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because I was born with a life,

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but almost no chance to live.

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However,
nothing will ever stop childhood

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from turning the worst nightmares
into fairy tales.

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One day, I remember,
my mother was washing me

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when the distinctive roar
of a squadron of planes was heard.

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Suddenly, driven by some premonition,

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my aunt screamed at my mother
to get me out of the bath,

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and wrapping me in a towel,

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we went to take refuge
in one of the trenches

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that had been dug everywhere
as air-raid shelters.

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We had just taken cover
when there was a barrage of bombs.

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One of them crashed into our house

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leaving a big hole
where the bathtub was.

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I often wondered
if it was this childhood,

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this tragedy, this hopeless life

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that gave her a kind of instinct.

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HOA BINH PROVINCE

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At the beginning of the 1950s,
in the Hoa Binh region,

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Viet Minh General Ngo Minh Dzien,
Mei-Chen's future father,

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was operating about 100 kilometers
north of Hanoi,

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on one of the strategic routes
to the Chinese border.

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His wife followed her
general husband, in the Asian way,

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and Mei-Chen was born

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in one of those stilt huts,

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between two battles.

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Driven out of the Tonkin Delta,

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the Viet Minh launched a major attack

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on Nam Dinh,
less than 60 kilometers from Hanoi.

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Led by elite divisions,

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a human wave swept over
the Franco-Vietnamese positions.

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My mother was very happy

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when she followed my father
into the jungle.

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My mother was an activist.

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She took care of people,
dressed wounds,

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cooked for them with what she had.

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And it so happened that, of course,

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I was conceived
and that's where I was born.

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As French troops advanced,

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the Viet Minh had ordered
a scorched earth policy.

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Leaving no refuge for enemy soldiers

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when they reached our villages,

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preventing them from setting up camp

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and treating their wounded..

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This also had the advantage
of confusing the trails,

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making it impossible
to navigate with maps.

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My parents escaped
by burning their own house,

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taking only a few belongings.

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How could you not be strong?

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In an instant, you have everything,
and you can lose it all.

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For me, Ninh Binh,

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the Perfume River is the
most beautiful landscape in Vietnam.

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Look,

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when there was war
in all this forest,

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you can imagine how the Vietnamese

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could blend into nature.

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They had bamboo,

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and inside, they hid food, rice,

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and the soldiers could hold out
for a long time against the French.

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These caves were traps
with no way out.

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It was full of adventures.

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She met my father when she was 19.

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My mother had me 12 years later.

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MADAM DUNG
MEI-CHEN'S MOTHER

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Your father was a great charmer.

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Whenever he was on the street,
all the girls looked at him.

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Even my mother was very jealous.

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She was in love,

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but she couldn't help suspecting him,

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and always asked him
the same question,

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"Why do you lie to me?"

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And he would reply,

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"Because I love and respect you

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"that I can't tell you everything."

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I lived with your father for 12 years
before you were born.

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But when I was born,

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she didn't want him to know,
for several reasons.

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When she was pregnant,

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she found out
that my father had cheated on her.

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So she ran away, she left,

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she didn't want my father
to come get me.

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She was afraid.

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My mother wanted to break
with her past,

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so she moved to the mountains.

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With my aunt,

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I naturally joined the trip.

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To help us survive, with my aunt,

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during those few months,

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my mother had to sell
her wedding ring

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and first little coat
for a bowl of rice.

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To survive,
she had to rent something.

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Since she had no money,

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she rented a small place
with a wooden bed,

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a mat and four bamboo poles.

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To everyone passing by,

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she tried to sell some rice,
some tea.

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They were just passing customers.

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Beds made of planks
with woven reed mats

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allowed travelers
to rest for a few hours

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or an entire night
between stages of their journey.

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My mother told me that every time

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one of our guests was about to leave,

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I would cling to them, crying,
trying to take their luggage.

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I thought he was stealing our things.

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Or when the man wore a khaki uniform,

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I would follow him,

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thinking he was the one
we missed so much, my father.

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It was hard to pull me away
from these strangers

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towards whom I rushed
with all a child

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can already have of reserve,

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tenderness, and need to love.

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At that time,
a woman who leaves her husband

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and leaves, during the war,
to give birth alone,

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was daring and risky,

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but also courageous.

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My mother left during the French war,
with me,

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a little girl on her back,
crossing deadly rice fields.

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Shots from one side, the French,

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and the other side, the Viet Cong.

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You can't forget
a childhood like that.

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When I ran, I feared for you,

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I held you to my chest,

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shots from both sides.

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I put you on the ground
to protect you.

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I thought,

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"If someone has to die,
it'll be me first."

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Bullets were whizzing,
shots fired from all sides,

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I wasn't afraid.

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- You weren't afraid of death?
- No.

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When you love your child so much,

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you're not afraid of death.

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The water in the rice fields
reached up to here.

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Those same blood-stained rice fields,

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my mother, indeed,
crossed them with a pounding heart,

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her feet scraped,
and on her shoulders,

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she carried a small child, me.

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There were Viet Minh soldiers firing

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whenever they saw something move.

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And opposite, separated only
by a field and some bushes,

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the French, ready to unleash
a pack of ferocious dogs.

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As a precaution,

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my mother had dyed
her black hair white.

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She had wrapped one of her arms
and a leg

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with a rag soaked in pig's blood,

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as if it were a bandage.

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That way, she had told me,

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she looked like a wounded old woman.

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The French soldiers
did not rape wounded old women.

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The Japanese did.

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From escape to escape,
village to village,

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their last hopes vanished,

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despite all their cunning,
sacrifice and courage,

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my mother and aunt were exhausted.

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They will soon have
only one solution left,

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to head to the rice fields

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and be captured by the French.

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And when I got
to the other side of the swamp,

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the French took me prisoner..

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MADAM DUNG
MEI-CHEN'S MOTHER

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And the French captured us.

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And I said,
"My daughter is so hungry,

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"please,
can you give us something to eat?"

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We got in the car,
and they took us back to Hanoi.

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When I think of her,

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she is an extraordinary,
courageous woman.

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She did everything for me.

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She saved me.
She went through it all.

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She faced many trials,

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very, very, very hard trials
that marked me forever.

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The French captured me,

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thinking I was part of the Viet Minh.

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They imprisoned me in Hanoi.

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There was a French captain

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who needed a governess.

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MADAM DUNG
MEI-CHEN'S MOTHER

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He liked me,
so he brought me to his home.

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Mei-Chen and her mother
won't stay in prison for long.

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A French captain
took them under his wing

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and, in a complete turnaround,

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lived with his mother
and gave her a child, Roger.

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My mother was now living
with the French captain,

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and so I had a Eurasian half-brother.

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With the man
who had become my stepfather,

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we experienced months
of apparent calm.

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Above all,
I felt for the first time a feeling

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that I would seek all my life,

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the feeling of being protected.

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And so, when she escaped

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and was held prisoner
by this French captain,

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she was accused of treason

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and that she had left
with a Frenchman.

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But in the end, no,

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she was saved by this man.

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Luckily, he saved us.

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They investigated to find out if,

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before living
with the French captain,

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if she wasn't a spy,

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because Vietnamese women
were infiltrating

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to kill officers.

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Some images remain etched
in my memory,

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and they are terrible.

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One day, two men broke into our home.

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I must have been three
or four years old,

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I was playing in front of our house
with my doll

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when they rushed at my mother.

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One of them had a dagger in his hand.

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I didn't understand
what they were saying

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and even less the reason
for their presence,

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except that a few seconds later,

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my mother, dragged by her hair,
was lying on the ground.

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The top of her torn dress was stained
with blood.

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She had a deep wound behind her ear.

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I would later learn it was
to punish her for loving a Frenchman.

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That's a terrible memory.

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The memory of this little girl

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knocking on every door and seeing
her mother covered in blood,

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is an image
that has marked me forever.

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They stabbed my mother,
she was dying.

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And fortunately, people arrived,

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the maid and others,

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and they called the French captain

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who took her to the hospital
and saved her.

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But she still has a scar.

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She had a scar behind her ear.

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A millimeter more,
she would have died, mom.

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So, the captain,

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when he saw
that she had been stabbed,

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sent us to Saigon.

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With his generous and delicate way
of caring for us,

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the French captain had become
like a second father to me.

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He loved me, for his part,
as if I had been his daughter.

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Mom had just bought me a new dress,

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she wanted us to go
and have our picture taken.

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They were my first little shoes,

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and my feet hurt.

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My little brother and I were there,

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living in a beautiful house
in Saigon,

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it was wonderful.

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SAIGON

259
00:15:32,920 --> 00:15:36,880
I left Hanoi when I was two years old
to come to Saigon.

260
00:15:37,040 --> 00:15:40,720
I spent two very happy years here.

261
00:15:40,880 --> 00:15:44,240
I was, of course,
so young that I don't remember well,

262
00:15:44,400 --> 00:15:47,520
but still,
some things remain in my memory.

263
00:15:47,680 --> 00:15:49,440
And I remember this Catinat street,

264
00:15:49,600 --> 00:15:51,840
where we had a house,

265
00:15:52,000 --> 00:15:58,120
and the Continental hotel
where my half-brother was baptized.

266
00:15:58,280 --> 00:16:02,240
At the end of the war,
they sent my brother, Roger,

267
00:16:02,400 --> 00:16:05,760
to a family in France, in Montauban.

268
00:16:06,280 --> 00:16:11,720
So, they separated my mother and me
from my little brother.

269
00:16:11,880 --> 00:16:15,840
My mother was so unhappy,
and so was I, we were separated,

270
00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:19,440
we lived only a very short time
in Vietnam,

271
00:16:19,600 --> 00:16:21,600
together, in Saigon.

272
00:16:21,760 --> 00:16:23,520
We were so unhappy

273
00:16:23,680 --> 00:16:25,600
that the French captain said,

274
00:16:25,760 --> 00:16:29,560
since the American war had started,

275
00:16:29,720 --> 00:16:30,480
the captain said,

276
00:16:30,640 --> 00:16:34,160
"You are so unhappy
being separated from Roger..."

277
00:16:34,320 --> 00:16:37,560
from my little brother,
"...that I will get you two tickets

278
00:16:37,720 --> 00:16:39,680
"and you will arrive in Marseille."

279
00:16:39,840 --> 00:16:41,640
To save us...

280
00:16:41,800 --> 00:16:44,000
also from the start
of the American war.

281
00:16:44,160 --> 00:16:45,520
It was a tragedy.

282
00:16:45,680 --> 00:16:47,120
They take away your roots,

283
00:16:47,280 --> 00:16:50,680
they take away things from you
and you're thrust forward.

284
00:16:50,840 --> 00:16:52,560
I remember that on this boat,

285
00:16:52,720 --> 00:16:55,280
I was holding my little doll Bella,

286
00:16:55,440 --> 00:16:56,640
I remember it well.

287
00:16:56,800 --> 00:16:58,640
It took us a month
to arrive in Marseille.

288
00:16:59,080 --> 00:17:01,400
I was leaving my country, I was sad.

289
00:17:01,560 --> 00:17:04,760
I wondered,
"When will I return to Vietnam?

290
00:17:04,920 --> 00:17:07,320
"When will I see my country again?

291
00:17:07,480 --> 00:17:10,160
I was leaving, but at the same time,
I was happy,

292
00:17:10,320 --> 00:17:13,560
because I knew that
I was going to an unknown country,

293
00:17:13,720 --> 00:17:14,880
which was France,

294
00:17:15,040 --> 00:17:16,680
and I would see
my little brother again.

295
00:17:16,840 --> 00:17:20,080
That was the most extraordinary

296
00:17:20,240 --> 00:17:21,800
and wonderful thing for me.

297
00:17:22,320 --> 00:17:25,400
But I didn't know the fate
that would await me in France.

298
00:17:36,560 --> 00:17:41,120
My mother was strength,
tenderness and energy.

299
00:17:41,800 --> 00:17:43,240
She was a heroine.

300
00:17:43,760 --> 00:17:46,440
She couldn't read or write,

301
00:17:46,880 --> 00:17:47,880
because back then,

302
00:17:48,040 --> 00:17:50,360
girls weren't sent to school.

303
00:17:51,240 --> 00:17:54,320
This privilege was reserved for boys.

304
00:17:56,480 --> 00:18:00,360
She gave her not just life
by having her escape

305
00:18:00,520 --> 00:18:04,560
all that childhood tragedy,
the tragedy of fleeing.

306
00:18:04,720 --> 00:18:08,040
But I think it was
a constant source of nourishment.

307
00:18:09,120 --> 00:18:10,480
To get through it,

308
00:18:11,200 --> 00:18:12,480
what do you have to do?

309
00:18:12,640 --> 00:18:14,280
I think her mother
passed this on to her.

310
00:18:14,440 --> 00:18:16,240
Among many other things, of course,

311
00:18:16,400 --> 00:18:17,240
but she gave her this strength,

312
00:18:17,400 --> 00:18:20,760
this ability to see beyond words,

313
00:18:20,920 --> 00:18:22,080
beyond forms.

314
00:18:22,240 --> 00:18:25,800
I think her mom is probably

315
00:18:26,360 --> 00:18:28,160
the foundation of her temperament.

316
00:18:53,120 --> 00:18:55,720
I am really coming back
to my roots here,

317
00:18:55,880 --> 00:18:56,880
and I am truly happy.

318
00:18:57,360 --> 00:18:58,720
I feel good here,

319
00:18:59,240 --> 00:19:01,600
I feel serene, calm

320
00:19:02,200 --> 00:19:05,480
and I am discovering
a wonderful country.

321
00:19:05,640 --> 00:19:08,640
Really, I think it is one of the most
beautiful countries in the world.

322
00:19:13,720 --> 00:19:16,480
My return to Vietnam, overwhelming,

323
00:19:16,640 --> 00:19:18,600
my desire to discover the truth.

324
00:19:19,760 --> 00:19:20,560
Why?

325
00:19:20,720 --> 00:19:21,960
Another question,

326
00:19:22,120 --> 00:19:24,760
why don't I have my father's name?

327
00:19:26,600 --> 00:19:27,560
As if my mother,

328
00:19:27,720 --> 00:19:31,320
once again,
wanted to deny his existence.

329
00:19:32,920 --> 00:19:36,800
Your father had an affair
with his young secretary.

330
00:19:37,440 --> 00:19:41,840
I was seven months pregnant,
and he wanted to live with her,

331
00:19:42,760 --> 00:19:45,080
while still keeping me.

332
00:19:45,240 --> 00:19:49,000
If you want to leave me,
you must leave our child."

333
00:19:49,560 --> 00:19:53,400
And mom said, "Never.
Even if I have to beg,

334
00:19:53,560 --> 00:19:55,200
"I will be much happier.

335
00:19:55,360 --> 00:19:57,240
"I don't need you."

336
00:19:57,920 --> 00:19:58,840
She left.

337
00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:02,520
She left my father
out of love and pride.

338
00:20:05,240 --> 00:20:06,920
In love with a 19-year-old girl,

339
00:20:07,080 --> 00:20:08,880
my father had left my mother,

340
00:20:09,040 --> 00:20:11,080
who was then in her thirties.

341
00:20:11,240 --> 00:20:13,000
I was very young then,

342
00:20:13,160 --> 00:20:15,800
so I have no memories of it.

343
00:20:15,960 --> 00:20:18,160
But even now,

344
00:20:18,320 --> 00:20:20,600
whenever my mother
thinks of my father,

345
00:20:20,760 --> 00:20:23,520
I see the sadness on her face,

346
00:20:23,680 --> 00:20:24,440
even if,

347
00:20:24,600 --> 00:20:27,440
for sentimental reasons and pride,

348
00:20:27,600 --> 00:20:29,600
she tries to hide it.

349
00:20:29,760 --> 00:20:30,960
I know well,

350
00:20:31,120 --> 00:20:34,600
how hard she took
that forced separation.

351
00:20:36,400 --> 00:20:38,960
You resemble him.

352
00:20:50,440 --> 00:20:52,480
All this leaves a...

353
00:20:52,640 --> 00:20:54,760
how should I say, a deep mark.

354
00:20:54,920 --> 00:20:58,200
What Jean Genet calls a unique wound.

355
00:20:58,680 --> 00:21:01,520
She is a woman who carries
her unique wound within her.

356
00:21:02,840 --> 00:21:04,600
She speaks little,

357
00:21:04,760 --> 00:21:07,560
but you can tell from her demeanor

358
00:21:07,720 --> 00:21:10,080
and the way she looks at you

359
00:21:10,240 --> 00:21:11,520
that she understands everything.

360
00:21:11,680 --> 00:21:14,400
She sees what you have been through,
how you have suffered,

361
00:21:14,560 --> 00:21:16,720
who you are now, what you love.

362
00:21:17,080 --> 00:21:20,040
There's infinite tenderness
and humanity in this woman.

363
00:21:37,080 --> 00:21:40,200
This is where my mother lived
in Hanoi.

364
00:21:42,600 --> 00:21:43,840
Here, in this house,

365
00:21:44,560 --> 00:21:47,920
my mother brought me
when I was very little,

366
00:21:48,080 --> 00:21:49,240
I was a baby.

367
00:21:56,200 --> 00:21:59,680
We had barely stayed inside,
with my aunt Tuyet,

368
00:21:59,840 --> 00:22:02,520
when it was bombed from all sides.

369
00:22:02,680 --> 00:22:05,560
And half of our house was destroyed.

370
00:22:14,400 --> 00:22:18,560
She lived through the Indochina War
in all its aspects.

371
00:22:18,720 --> 00:22:20,240
She survived all that.

372
00:22:20,400 --> 00:22:23,240
She saved her daughter
from Indochina,

373
00:22:23,400 --> 00:22:25,680
she went through events

374
00:22:25,840 --> 00:22:28,040
you only read about in books.

375
00:22:29,640 --> 00:22:31,080
Just looking at her, you could tell

376
00:22:31,240 --> 00:22:35,400
she had an incredible story.

377
00:22:36,280 --> 00:22:38,880
But she had a natural expression

378
00:22:39,400 --> 00:22:40,440
in her look, in her eyes,

379
00:22:40,600 --> 00:22:44,400
that reflected all those events.

380
00:22:51,440 --> 00:22:52,880
When you have lived a great adventure

381
00:22:53,280 --> 00:22:56,800
and breathed the intense smells
of danger and death,

382
00:22:56,960 --> 00:22:58,400
of hope too,

383
00:22:58,560 --> 00:23:01,680
you cannot be quite like the others.

384
00:23:01,840 --> 00:23:04,240
There is always an inner voice
telling me,

385
00:23:04,400 --> 00:23:05,880
"Remember where you come from

386
00:23:06,040 --> 00:23:09,880
"and what you could have been
if luck had not protected you."

387
00:23:10,040 --> 00:23:12,200
That gives me a lot of strength.

388
00:23:19,720 --> 00:23:21,920
Every time I see her, even today,

389
00:23:22,600 --> 00:23:25,920
I always have an image
that is superimposed,

390
00:23:26,080 --> 00:23:28,960
it is this extraordinary image

391
00:23:29,120 --> 00:23:32,560
of a young Vietnamese girl
on the road,

392
00:23:32,720 --> 00:23:37,000
a lost little girl, crying,
under the bombs.

393
00:23:38,040 --> 00:23:39,760
And every time I see Mei-Chen,

394
00:23:39,920 --> 00:23:42,640
this images comes to mind,

395
00:23:43,120 --> 00:23:46,040
like a superimposed scene in a movie.

396
00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:49,480
To me, Mei-Chen symbolizes

397
00:23:49,640 --> 00:23:54,440
all the suffering
of Indochina and Vietnam.

398
00:23:54,600 --> 00:23:57,600
That is my grandfather
and my grandmother.

399
00:23:57,760 --> 00:24:00,480
The grandparents were very,
very tough,

400
00:24:01,720 --> 00:24:02,400
very tough.

401
00:24:02,560 --> 00:24:06,600
My mother was beaten

402
00:24:08,240 --> 00:24:09,840
with her arms like this.

403
00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:12,760
Back then, they were whipped,

404
00:24:12,920 --> 00:24:16,000
salt was put on their wounds

405
00:24:16,160 --> 00:24:17,600
to make it hurt even more.

406
00:24:18,000 --> 00:24:21,200
That's my grandfather.
That's my grandmother.

407
00:24:23,560 --> 00:24:25,240
On my father's side, of course.

408
00:24:26,400 --> 00:24:28,960
Vietnamese people
are not afraid of death.

409
00:24:29,120 --> 00:24:31,560
The habit of living for the future

410
00:24:31,720 --> 00:24:35,960
and the belief in the existence
of a soul distinct from the body

411
00:24:36,120 --> 00:24:40,160
mean that the elderly buy
what they call a longevity set

412
00:24:40,320 --> 00:24:43,040
and choose their coffin in advance.

413
00:24:43,200 --> 00:24:45,240
This is what my grandfather did,

414
00:24:45,400 --> 00:24:49,200
who, during the war,
placed his coffin near his bed

415
00:24:49,360 --> 00:24:51,320
to be prepared for any eventuality.

416
00:24:52,680 --> 00:24:55,480
Unlike in the West,

417
00:24:55,640 --> 00:25:00,000
the elderly are revered
as living good luck icons.

418
00:25:00,840 --> 00:25:03,120
We take care of them until they die,

419
00:25:03,280 --> 00:25:06,080
and there is no question
of putting them in a retirement home.

420
00:25:32,680 --> 00:25:36,400
Did my father really fight
at Ninh Binh?

421
00:25:38,200 --> 00:25:41,080
Another episode of his life or death

422
00:25:41,240 --> 00:25:43,280
that will never be clarified.

423
00:25:47,960 --> 00:25:50,560
Visiting Ninh Binh for the first time

424
00:25:50,720 --> 00:25:53,920
and discovering
such a magnificent landscape

425
00:25:54,080 --> 00:25:57,000
so incredibly serene,

426
00:25:57,480 --> 00:26:01,960
I felt the need to keep following

427
00:26:02,120 --> 00:26:03,600
in my father's footsteps.

428
00:26:12,240 --> 00:26:13,240
These people have suffered.

429
00:26:14,120 --> 00:26:16,760
They suffered physically,
they suffered in their lives,

430
00:26:17,200 --> 00:26:20,680
and through the scars of their era.

431
00:26:21,440 --> 00:26:22,960
Her father was close to Giáp.

432
00:26:23,120 --> 00:26:25,160
I think he was a general.

433
00:26:25,320 --> 00:26:27,920
He led the guerrilla,
especially in the North.

434
00:26:28,080 --> 00:26:29,640
And then, he was killed.

435
00:26:32,960 --> 00:26:34,840
When I was old enough
to ask questions

436
00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:36,880
that could be answered,

437
00:26:37,040 --> 00:26:39,640
I asked what happened to my father.

438
00:26:40,240 --> 00:26:43,000
I was told
that he had died in the war,

439
00:26:43,160 --> 00:26:44,720
but in such a strange voice

440
00:26:44,880 --> 00:26:47,640
that this mystery seemed unsolved.

441
00:26:47,800 --> 00:26:49,200
Died in the war?

442
00:26:49,360 --> 00:26:52,160
Back then, it was the norm.

443
00:26:52,320 --> 00:26:55,760
Dying in war was more natural
than dying in bed.

444
00:26:55,920 --> 00:26:58,800
I felt like something
was being hidden from me.

445
00:26:58,960 --> 00:27:02,320
And if he had died,
how did it happen?

446
00:27:02,480 --> 00:27:04,600
Had he been killed in Dien Bien Phu

447
00:27:04,760 --> 00:27:06,840
or at the start of the American War?

448
00:27:07,000 --> 00:27:09,640
Had he been executed
by a hostile clan?

449
00:27:10,400 --> 00:27:11,240
Whatever he did

450
00:27:11,680 --> 00:27:14,400
and however he died,

451
00:27:14,560 --> 00:27:17,200
my father will always remain for me

452
00:27:17,360 --> 00:27:22,040
as my childhood saw him:
magnificent, proud and generous,

453
00:27:22,840 --> 00:27:25,680
as if a legend could be real.

454
00:27:27,840 --> 00:27:29,800
She is quite discreet.

455
00:27:29,960 --> 00:27:33,600
She told me about her origins,

456
00:27:33,760 --> 00:27:36,080
that she never knew her father.

457
00:27:36,240 --> 00:27:38,000
She told me
about her coming to France

458
00:27:38,160 --> 00:27:39,880
very late.

459
00:27:40,600 --> 00:27:43,120
This is your father's brother.

460
00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:46,440
He's your father's real brother.

461
00:27:47,840 --> 00:27:48,920
Do you know me?

462
00:27:50,240 --> 00:27:51,320
A little bit.

463
00:27:53,600 --> 00:27:57,320
My journey takes me
to my father's homeland.

464
00:27:57,760 --> 00:28:00,080
My grandfather owned rice fields

465
00:28:00,240 --> 00:28:03,840
and part of this village
where he was the mayor.

466
00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:12,360
Almost the whole village
and the rice fields belonged to them.

467
00:28:12,520 --> 00:28:15,280
Now,
only a bit of the rice fields remain.

468
00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:20,040
In the company of my paternal family,

469
00:28:20,200 --> 00:28:22,720
I feel a deep emotion

470
00:28:22,880 --> 00:28:26,320
walking through the war-torn alleys.

471
00:28:29,480 --> 00:28:31,400
This is the real countryside.

472
00:28:40,200 --> 00:28:42,720
This is the old house
where my father was born.

473
00:29:02,200 --> 00:29:04,400
NGO MINH DZIEN
MEI-CHEN'S FATHER

474
00:29:04,560 --> 00:29:06,400
She says he was very tall
and very handsome.

475
00:29:08,000 --> 00:29:14,280
MEI-CHEN'S UNCLE

476
00:29:42,600 --> 00:29:45,280
The view is amazing...

477
00:29:46,960 --> 00:29:50,000
over the rooftops and the pagoda.
It's stunning.

478
00:30:22,000 --> 00:30:24,680
Everything around is old.

479
00:30:24,840 --> 00:30:28,800
The French demolished this tower.

480
00:30:29,440 --> 00:30:33,240
All that's left is this bell.
They rebuilt it.

481
00:31:10,480 --> 00:31:15,400
All these Buddhas
are Buddhist teachings.

482
00:31:15,920 --> 00:31:17,880
There you go, to be happy on Earth,

483
00:31:18,360 --> 00:31:20,160
you mustn't ask for too much.

484
00:31:20,680 --> 00:31:22,040
Don't... There you go.

485
00:31:22,200 --> 00:31:26,760
Everything represents something
for our peace of mind

486
00:31:26,920 --> 00:31:29,240
and not wanting too much either.

487
00:31:29,400 --> 00:31:32,560
That's all of Buddhism,
the whole Zen aspect.

488
00:31:33,160 --> 00:31:36,560
So,
my mother was an incredible Buddhist.

489
00:31:36,720 --> 00:31:41,240
My mother believed
in the reincarnation of Buddha.

490
00:31:41,400 --> 00:31:46,040
My mother practiced
everything related to Buddhism,

491
00:31:46,200 --> 00:31:48,680
the rituals, the mediums

492
00:31:48,840 --> 00:31:52,840
who dance in red and green robes,

493
00:31:53,000 --> 00:31:54,240
incredible dances.

494
00:31:54,400 --> 00:31:56,520
They enter into a trance.

495
00:31:56,680 --> 00:31:59,360
My mother met Vietnamese women
in Paris

496
00:31:59,720 --> 00:32:03,200
who performed these medium dances.

497
00:32:03,360 --> 00:32:06,480
And I saw suitcases
at my mother's place

498
00:32:06,640 --> 00:32:08,640
with red, green yellow dresses.

499
00:32:08,800 --> 00:32:10,480
One day, she wanted me to go see her,

500
00:32:10,640 --> 00:32:11,920
but it scared me,

501
00:32:12,080 --> 00:32:15,080
because these women were in a trance.

502
00:32:15,240 --> 00:32:16,640
They were dancing, they were singing,

503
00:32:16,800 --> 00:32:20,480
as if possessed by a demon.

504
00:32:20,640 --> 00:32:23,320
So, I saw my mother
doing this kind of dance.

505
00:32:23,480 --> 00:32:27,080
But what is incredible
is that I was baptized,

506
00:32:27,240 --> 00:32:29,080
my brother Roger was baptized

507
00:32:29,840 --> 00:32:33,520
and mom, when she had an accident,

508
00:32:33,680 --> 00:32:35,320
she had a heart attack,

509
00:32:35,480 --> 00:32:37,360
my mother almost died,

510
00:32:37,520 --> 00:32:41,200
she suddenly started praying to God.

511
00:32:41,360 --> 00:32:43,640
Why pray to God
when she was a Buddhist?

512
00:32:43,800 --> 00:32:45,600
And she started praying, saying,

513
00:32:45,760 --> 00:32:48,200
"My God, my God, save me.

514
00:32:48,360 --> 00:32:50,880
"If you save me,

515
00:32:51,360 --> 00:32:54,320
"I'll convert to your faith."

516
00:32:54,920 --> 00:32:57,000
She thought about it for a long time,

517
00:32:57,160 --> 00:33:00,600
and we prepared her baptism
a year later,

518
00:33:00,760 --> 00:33:01,960
even though she was adamant.

519
00:33:02,360 --> 00:33:04,880
Before, she said,
"I am Buddhist, I don't want to."

520
00:33:05,040 --> 00:33:07,680
And when she had the accident,
she was afraid,

521
00:33:07,840 --> 00:33:09,600
she was afraid
of being separated from us.

522
00:33:09,760 --> 00:33:11,120
It was very, very touching.

523
00:33:11,280 --> 00:33:14,200
Because being afraid of separation,

524
00:33:14,800 --> 00:33:15,800
she was ready to do anything,

525
00:33:15,960 --> 00:33:19,960
even converting
to be with her children.

526
00:33:53,160 --> 00:33:55,640
Today, I am very happy
to have brought my mother back

527
00:33:55,800 --> 00:33:57,480
for the Vietnamese New Year.

528
00:33:57,640 --> 00:34:00,600
We were scattered,

529
00:34:00,760 --> 00:34:02,600
torn apart by the war

530
00:34:02,760 --> 00:34:05,520
and could never reunite.

531
00:34:05,680 --> 00:34:08,320
And today,
it is a Vietnamese New Year meal

532
00:34:08,480 --> 00:34:10,800
where we are all together.

533
00:34:10,960 --> 00:34:12,320
I brought mom back,

534
00:34:12,480 --> 00:34:15,240
when she brought me to France
when I was four years old.

535
00:34:15,400 --> 00:34:16,440
She's very moved.

536
00:34:16,720 --> 00:34:20,640
I am so happy to be reunited
with all of you!

537
00:34:22,040 --> 00:34:25,920
MADAM NGUYEN KIM DUNG

538
00:34:26,400 --> 00:34:29,080
I am very happy.

539
00:34:29,400 --> 00:34:32,760
When I took you,
you were four years old.

540
00:34:33,040 --> 00:34:35,640
Today, it was you
who brought me back to Vietnam...

541
00:34:35,920 --> 00:34:39,840
to meet my family.

542
00:34:44,960 --> 00:34:46,600
Since she had been ill,

543
00:34:46,760 --> 00:34:51,600
she said, "I hope one day
you'll take me back to Vietnam."

544
00:34:52,320 --> 00:34:56,440
Because she was afraid she couldn't
return the jewelry to her mother,

545
00:34:56,600 --> 00:34:59,760
so my grandmother,
which she had taken during the war.

546
00:35:00,960 --> 00:35:01,800
This time,

547
00:35:01,960 --> 00:35:05,280
I really want
to visit my mother's grave.

548
00:35:09,600 --> 00:35:11,960
I am going to buy her clothes
and jewelry,

549
00:35:12,120 --> 00:35:13,920
but will she receive them?

550
00:35:17,400 --> 00:35:20,320
But at the same time, it bothered her

551
00:35:20,480 --> 00:35:22,280
and she always said,

552
00:35:22,720 --> 00:35:24,720
the closer the end got,
the more she said,

553
00:35:24,880 --> 00:35:27,960
"Take me back, promise me
that you will take me back to Vietnam

554
00:35:28,120 --> 00:35:31,360
"so that I can give the jewelry
to your grandmother."

555
00:35:31,520 --> 00:35:35,200
I was able to bring her back,
and we kept our promises.

556
00:35:35,640 --> 00:35:40,160
So, it was really something wonderful

557
00:35:40,320 --> 00:35:41,440
and essential in our lives,

558
00:35:41,600 --> 00:35:43,480
since we could keep our promises.

559
00:35:45,280 --> 00:35:49,320
As she wished to return
the jewelry stolen during the war,

560
00:35:49,480 --> 00:35:52,280
I could accompany my mother
to Vietnam.

561
00:35:53,040 --> 00:35:56,440
My younger brother, Roger,
came with me.

562
00:35:57,280 --> 00:36:01,680
For the first time, moved,
he discovered Vietnam,

563
00:36:01,840 --> 00:36:04,960
his homeland, with our mom and me.

564
00:36:05,120 --> 00:36:07,240
It was a moment of happiness,

565
00:36:07,400 --> 00:36:10,400
reflection and sharing.

566
00:36:41,760 --> 00:36:45,720
We were able to fulfill our dream,

567
00:36:45,880 --> 00:36:51,760
complete this journey.
I didn't think we could,

568
00:36:51,920 --> 00:36:57,280
but it's wonderful,
as I could take mom

569
00:36:57,440 --> 00:36:59,080
where she wanted to go.

570
00:36:59,720 --> 00:37:03,000
I think it was our journey together

571
00:37:03,160 --> 00:37:04,200
to the ends of the earth,

572
00:37:04,360 --> 00:37:07,600
our own Vietnam and our dreams.

573
00:37:24,840 --> 00:37:30,160
A JOURNEY OF LUCK AND LOVE

574
00:37:39,040 --> 00:37:42,440
An incredible fate awaits me.

575
00:37:42,600 --> 00:37:47,120
Everything that happened to me
afterwards, every day, was a miracle.

576
00:37:48,200 --> 00:37:51,040
I thought I could,
thanks to my looks,

577
00:37:51,440 --> 00:37:53,880
find a way to help us financially,

578
00:37:54,040 --> 00:37:55,400
my mother and me.

579
00:37:55,560 --> 00:37:58,320
I was asked to lend my face and hands

580
00:37:58,480 --> 00:38:00,400
for advertising photos.

581
00:38:00,560 --> 00:38:02,360
Television also called me

582
00:38:02,520 --> 00:38:05,120
to dance in variety shows.

583
00:38:05,280 --> 00:38:06,240
When they needed

584
00:38:06,400 --> 00:38:10,400
a fleeting Asian spy in a film,

585
00:38:10,560 --> 00:38:14,080
they often called me for small roles.

586
00:38:14,440 --> 00:38:17,320
For example, in The Blonde
from Peking with Mireille Darc,

587
00:38:17,480 --> 00:38:19,080
where I had to kill an American,

588
00:38:19,240 --> 00:38:20,480
as luck would have it.

589
00:38:21,200 --> 00:38:24,600
I started to work
and earn a pretty good living.

590
00:38:24,760 --> 00:38:28,040
And then, one day,
an Italian producer came to Paris

591
00:38:28,200 --> 00:38:31,480
looking for an actress
to play the new female Tarzan.

592
00:38:31,880 --> 00:38:34,840
He discovered me
on the cover of Cinémonde.

593
00:38:35,000 --> 00:38:38,040
The next day, I did a screen test
without much hope,

594
00:38:38,200 --> 00:38:40,120
because there were about fifty girls

595
00:38:40,280 --> 00:38:42,280
each more beautiful than the next.

596
00:38:43,080 --> 00:38:45,880
Two days later,
the production called me

597
00:38:46,040 --> 00:38:47,440
to tell me that I was

598
00:38:47,600 --> 00:38:51,280
chosen to be Luana,
girl of the jungle.

599
00:38:51,840 --> 00:38:54,360
Oh, I was so happy.

600
00:38:54,520 --> 00:38:56,120
But once on set,

601
00:38:56,280 --> 00:38:58,960
I had to pet a black panther
and a lion.

602
00:38:59,440 --> 00:39:02,000
So, I was scared, really scared.

603
00:39:02,680 --> 00:39:05,080
And then,
I had to swing from vine to vine

604
00:39:05,240 --> 00:39:08,800
over the wild beasts in the jungle
at Cinecittà.

605
00:39:09,360 --> 00:39:11,040
What an adventure.

606
00:39:11,440 --> 00:39:14,360
I had an offer to sign on
for three more films.

607
00:39:14,520 --> 00:39:17,280
I refused
despite the attachment I felt

608
00:39:17,440 --> 00:39:19,560
for the sweet life in Rome,

609
00:39:19,720 --> 00:39:22,320
surrounded by friends
and my Italian lover,

610
00:39:22,720 --> 00:39:24,360
Angelo Infanti.

611
00:39:25,600 --> 00:39:27,600
But I had to return to Paris.

612
00:39:27,760 --> 00:39:31,120
I was so happy
to have made a lot of money

613
00:39:31,280 --> 00:39:35,360
so mom could buy a restaurant,
the Jade Star.

614
00:39:36,720 --> 00:39:38,440
The star of Luana, Girl of the Jungle

615
00:39:38,800 --> 00:39:40,920
is... By the way, what's your name?

616
00:39:41,840 --> 00:39:42,640
Mei-Chen.

617
00:39:42,800 --> 00:39:44,360
- What?
- Mei-Chen?

618
00:39:45,280 --> 00:39:47,760
You don't just meet François Chalais
like that.

619
00:39:47,920 --> 00:39:50,000
But the appointment was made,
my heart beating,

620
00:39:50,160 --> 00:39:54,240
I don't know why,
I range his doorbell.

621
00:39:54,400 --> 00:39:58,000
This man who came back from Vietnam,
me who was born there,

622
00:39:58,160 --> 00:40:02,400
so we were already connected
without knowing each other.

623
00:40:02,560 --> 00:40:04,080
HANOI 1967

624
00:40:06,640 --> 00:40:13,600
"HANOI UNDER THE BOMBS"
FRANÇOIS CHALAIS - 1967

625
00:40:23,520 --> 00:40:25,080
I'm talking to you
about North Vietnam.

626
00:40:25,680 --> 00:40:26,280
For a month,

627
00:40:26,440 --> 00:40:29,640
my colleagues Jean-Pierre Janssen,
Dominique Bozzi and myself

628
00:40:29,800 --> 00:40:33,280
had the privilege of being
the only Western television crew

629
00:40:33,440 --> 00:40:34,720
to be able to enter this country

630
00:40:34,880 --> 00:40:37,080
since what is commonly called
the escalation.

631
00:40:37,240 --> 00:40:38,960
The escalation, meaning the total war

632
00:40:39,120 --> 00:40:40,920
that the United States of America
is waging

633
00:40:41,080 --> 00:40:43,640
against
the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.

634
00:40:43,800 --> 00:40:46,120
Beyond the noise,
the fury and the passions,

635
00:40:46,280 --> 00:40:49,600
our goal was to show how,
in life as in death,

636
00:40:49,760 --> 00:40:52,800
this small nation
of under 19 million fights.

637
00:40:52,960 --> 00:40:55,720
Our testimony was made independently

638
00:40:55,880 --> 00:40:58,000
and with complete objectivity.

639
00:40:58,160 --> 00:41:01,560
We were there,
here is what we saw and heard.

640
00:41:01,720 --> 00:41:04,320
When the North Vietnam film started,

641
00:41:04,680 --> 00:41:08,240
I was fascinated by his gaze,
his voice,

642
00:41:08,400 --> 00:41:10,720
by the strength of this man.

643
00:41:10,880 --> 00:41:12,760
I fell in love with him

644
00:41:13,760 --> 00:41:15,680
watching him on TV,

645
00:41:15,840 --> 00:41:18,160
which had never happened
to me before.

646
00:41:18,320 --> 00:41:23,320
The image of the man of cinema,
of the Cannes Film Festival,

647
00:41:23,480 --> 00:41:26,680
which I did not like,
suddenly fascinated me

648
00:41:26,840 --> 00:41:28,280
with this report from North Vietnam.

649
00:41:40,040 --> 00:41:42,600
This is daily life in Hanoi.

650
00:41:47,600 --> 00:41:50,840
News was seen
through his major shows,

651
00:41:51,000 --> 00:41:53,120
and François Chalais was a pioneer.

652
00:41:53,960 --> 00:41:56,120
Demanding is the key word
for this era.

653
00:41:56,280 --> 00:41:58,520
There was a high demand for quality.

654
00:41:58,680 --> 00:42:00,360
Which meant that little by little,

655
00:42:00,920 --> 00:42:03,520
all of France started to wait for

656
00:42:03,680 --> 00:42:07,400
this show
that truly brought something.

657
00:42:10,080 --> 00:42:11,120
The children who are here...

658
00:42:11,280 --> 00:42:13,600
These children were burned.

659
00:42:14,200 --> 00:42:14,920
They were burned...

660
00:42:15,080 --> 00:42:17,720
By the... because after the bombing,

661
00:42:17,880 --> 00:42:20,360
the houses burn,

662
00:42:20,520 --> 00:42:23,600
and even though they're sheltered,

663
00:42:23,760 --> 00:42:27,600
the fire is still intense.

664
00:42:27,760 --> 00:42:29,600
Were they already in the shelter?

665
00:42:29,760 --> 00:42:32,200
- The whole family?
- The whole family.

666
00:42:32,360 --> 00:42:34,000
It's the whole family.

667
00:42:34,480 --> 00:42:36,160
How long ago was that?

668
00:42:39,000 --> 00:42:41,320
There was something extra,
the emotion.

669
00:42:41,480 --> 00:42:45,760
Despite trying to stay impassive,

670
00:42:45,920 --> 00:42:48,240
there was great emotion.

671
00:42:48,400 --> 00:42:52,720
The report really resonated.

672
00:42:53,560 --> 00:42:57,680
He conveyed all the distress he saw.

673
00:42:57,840 --> 00:42:59,200
Not only did we see it,

674
00:42:59,360 --> 00:43:03,320
but viewers were shocked that day.

675
00:43:03,480 --> 00:43:05,120
When I saw the report
on North Vietnam,

676
00:43:05,280 --> 00:43:09,240
I thought, "It's amazing
how he shows the children,

677
00:43:09,400 --> 00:43:11,520
"how he shows these people at war,

678
00:43:11,680 --> 00:43:14,280
"how he shows my country,
how he speaks."

679
00:43:14,440 --> 00:43:15,480
And suddenly, I was moved.

680
00:43:15,640 --> 00:43:18,320
I said, "I must meet this man

681
00:43:18,480 --> 00:43:20,880
"who saw my country two months ago.

682
00:43:21,040 --> 00:43:22,280
"I've been away for so long,

683
00:43:22,440 --> 00:43:25,280
"he must talk to me,
I must touch him."

684
00:43:25,440 --> 00:43:27,480
To me, he was a god.

685
00:43:28,000 --> 00:43:28,760
The mysteries of the Orient

686
00:43:28,920 --> 00:43:31,200
have always fascinated me.
Tell us a little more about yourself.

687
00:43:32,160 --> 00:43:35,840
You know, it's quite complicated.
I was born in Vietnam.

688
00:43:36,000 --> 00:43:41,120
He had jeans, a blue T-shirt,
blue eyes.

689
00:43:41,680 --> 00:43:44,160
And then... this happened.

690
00:43:44,320 --> 00:43:46,280
He looked at me, I looked at him,

691
00:43:46,960 --> 00:43:50,120
he said, "You're moving in already?"

692
00:43:50,280 --> 00:43:54,480
Because I had a bag,
I had just taken some photos.

693
00:43:55,400 --> 00:43:57,200
And he asked me, "How old are you?"

694
00:43:57,360 --> 00:43:58,280
So, I was so young,

695
00:43:58,440 --> 00:44:01,440
I gave my Vietnamese age.

696
00:44:01,600 --> 00:44:02,720
Because the Vietnamese age

697
00:44:02,880 --> 00:44:04,560
is two years older, you know.

698
00:44:04,720 --> 00:44:07,240
And I told him, "Yes, 18 years old."

699
00:44:08,000 --> 00:44:09,440
But it wasn't true.

700
00:44:10,880 --> 00:44:12,960
And he said to me,
"But you are much too young for me,

701
00:44:13,120 --> 00:44:14,160
"come back in three years."

702
00:44:14,720 --> 00:44:17,840
It's true, we had a mutual crush.

703
00:44:18,000 --> 00:44:21,000
Because François,
it seems that it was for him...

704
00:44:21,160 --> 00:44:23,920
He went to Venezuela
and he wrote me a long letter

705
00:44:24,080 --> 00:44:25,080
and he said to me, "It's strange,

706
00:44:25,240 --> 00:44:27,400
"I felt like I've known you
for 1,000 years.

707
00:44:28,400 --> 00:44:30,160
"You are truly the woman of my life."

708
00:44:36,240 --> 00:44:39,760
The people who play a role
in your life are...

709
00:44:39,920 --> 00:44:42,040
are predestined for you,
obviously.

710
00:44:43,640 --> 00:44:46,160
"Houses await us," Cocteau said,
I think,

711
00:44:46,800 --> 00:44:47,880
"for separated souls."

712
00:44:48,040 --> 00:44:51,040
Souls wait for us and for you.

713
00:44:52,040 --> 00:44:54,120
I believe
that what happened between them

714
00:44:54,280 --> 00:44:57,280
must have happened at first sight,
at the first meeting.

715
00:44:57,440 --> 00:44:58,880
There's a lot unsaid.

716
00:44:59,040 --> 00:45:02,120
Something is forged at that moment,

717
00:45:02,280 --> 00:45:03,440
that binds

718
00:45:03,600 --> 00:45:05,000
and can't be undone later.

719
00:45:17,240 --> 00:45:19,240
The first time I met François,

720
00:45:19,400 --> 00:45:20,920
who was returning from North Vietnam,

721
00:45:21,880 --> 00:45:24,440
he showed me several items
that he brought back.

722
00:45:24,600 --> 00:45:27,280
So,
a small piece of an American plane.

723
00:45:29,080 --> 00:45:31,600
It is a piece of an American plane

724
00:45:31,760 --> 00:45:34,200
that I picked up in Vietnam,

725
00:45:34,360 --> 00:45:36,960
in a place called Hoa Binh,
north of Hanoi.

726
00:45:37,640 --> 00:45:43,120
It was shot down by farmers,
with a musket, on June 6, 1967.

727
00:45:43,280 --> 00:45:47,000
But this little piece of metal
has another story.

728
00:45:47,560 --> 00:45:49,720
The first time that the woman
who would become my wife,

729
00:45:49,880 --> 00:45:52,720
but wasn't yet, came to visit me,

730
00:45:52,880 --> 00:45:56,520
she stumbled upon
this little piece of metal.

731
00:45:56,680 --> 00:45:58,400
She read the inscription
and saw "Hoa Binh,"

732
00:45:58,560 --> 00:46:00,200
she said, "That's unbelievable."

733
00:46:00,360 --> 00:46:02,480
I said, "Yes, it's unbelievable
that people with a musket

734
00:46:02,640 --> 00:46:05,560
"could shoot down
an American warplane."

735
00:46:05,720 --> 00:46:07,960
She said, "Not that,
but where did you find it?"

736
00:46:08,120 --> 00:46:09,120
I said, "In Hoa Binh."

737
00:46:09,280 --> 00:46:11,200
And she said,
"That's where I was born."

738
00:46:11,360 --> 00:46:14,320
This is one of the many reasons why
I don't believe in coincidence.

739
00:46:14,480 --> 00:46:16,600
The day we first met,

740
00:46:16,760 --> 00:46:20,920
François explained to me
what the American war really was,

741
00:46:21,080 --> 00:46:22,440
the heroism of a country

742
00:46:22,600 --> 00:46:26,640
that would have as much trouble
overcoming its inevitable victory

743
00:46:26,800 --> 00:46:28,880
as it would have
fighting its battles.

744
00:46:29,040 --> 00:46:31,040
His speech was so vivid

745
00:46:31,200 --> 00:46:33,280
that it felt like he was still there

746
00:46:33,440 --> 00:46:36,520
and I had just joined him in Hanoi.

747
00:46:37,160 --> 00:46:38,920
All the French people
who lived there,

748
00:46:39,080 --> 00:46:40,800
whatever their opinions,
their situation,

749
00:46:40,960 --> 00:46:43,280
loved this country in their own way.

750
00:46:43,440 --> 00:46:45,320
We integrated,
whether we liked it or not,

751
00:46:45,480 --> 00:46:47,440
whether we supported
the American war,

752
00:46:47,600 --> 00:46:52,080
against it, against the Viet Minh,
for Ho Chi Minh, etc.,

753
00:46:52,240 --> 00:46:54,480
we became inhabitants
of this country,

754
00:46:54,640 --> 00:46:56,520
no matter how briefly we stayed.

755
00:46:56,680 --> 00:46:58,360
So I think something was forming.

756
00:46:58,760 --> 00:47:02,480
If this French officer took in
Mei-Chen and Mei-Chen's mother,

757
00:47:02,640 --> 00:47:05,240
it's also because
he was worthy of love,

758
00:47:05,400 --> 00:47:07,240
that he understood Vietnam.

759
00:47:12,880 --> 00:47:13,880
It's not possible,

760
00:47:14,040 --> 00:47:16,960
my father was a journalist,
and so many years later,

761
00:47:17,120 --> 00:47:19,640
I fall in love with a man
who is a journalist,

762
00:47:19,800 --> 00:47:22,680
the only journalist
who went to Vietnam.

763
00:47:22,840 --> 00:47:25,520
PHAM VAN DONG
PRIME MINISTER OF NORTH VIETNAM

764
00:47:25,680 --> 00:47:28,520
FRANCOIS CHALAIS

765
00:47:46,960 --> 00:47:48,800
What an emotion for me.

766
00:47:48,960 --> 00:47:51,560
We found Cao, 30 years later,

767
00:47:51,720 --> 00:47:54,840
the man who guided François
during the war,

768
00:47:55,000 --> 00:47:56,800
in December 1967.

769
00:47:56,960 --> 00:47:58,280
So many memories.

770
00:47:58,480 --> 00:48:02,760
Around 11:15 p.m. on July 20, 1966,

771
00:48:03,120 --> 00:48:10,800
two F105 planes from the US Air Force
flew over this area,

772
00:48:11,240 --> 00:48:15,360
coming across a truck on the road

773
00:48:15,520 --> 00:48:19,240
and swept in to fire at this truck.

774
00:48:19,640 --> 00:48:25,000
We immediately took the gun
and ran into a small trench.

775
00:48:25,240 --> 00:48:28,400
At this moment, the plane
was flying very low.

776
00:48:28,560 --> 00:48:29,800
Meaning it was 200 meters.

777
00:48:30,160 --> 00:48:32,760
And with a simple ordinary gun
like this,

778
00:48:32,920 --> 00:48:36,240
Together, they fired
and the plane was hit by the bullets

779
00:48:36,840 --> 00:48:39,400
and crashed and burned!

780
00:49:05,440 --> 00:49:10,160
There were hundreds
of gates and temples,

781
00:49:10,320 --> 00:49:12,760
and everything was bombed
by the Americans.

782
00:49:12,920 --> 00:49:15,280
Some have been rebuilt.

783
00:49:44,960 --> 00:49:49,360
Here we are at the lake.

784
00:49:49,720 --> 00:49:56,640
"On October 26, 1967,

785
00:49:57,360 --> 00:50:03,160
"here, the Vietnamese, in Hanoi,

786
00:50:03,320 --> 00:50:05,720
"shot down the plane

787
00:50:06,160 --> 00:50:08,760
"with pilot John Sydney McCain."

788
00:50:11,480 --> 00:50:13,840
Under what circumstances
were you shot down?

789
00:50:15,280 --> 00:50:17,040
I was flying over Hanoi,

790
00:50:17,200 --> 00:50:18,720
bombing the city.

791
00:50:20,480 --> 00:50:23,520
HANOI UNDER THE BOMBS
FRANÇOIS CHALAIS - 1967

792
00:50:23,680 --> 00:50:25,280
I was hit by a missile.

793
00:50:29,840 --> 00:50:31,480
My plane went straight down.

794
00:50:32,600 --> 00:50:35,000
I tried to operate the ejection seat,

795
00:50:37,240 --> 00:50:40,960
it broke both my arms and a leg,

796
00:50:43,680 --> 00:50:45,520
so I fell into a lake.

797
00:50:49,760 --> 00:50:52,160
I was captured
by the North Vietnamese

798
00:50:52,320 --> 00:50:54,120
who took me to the hospital,

799
00:50:58,640 --> 00:51:00,000
where I almost died.

800
00:51:03,520 --> 00:51:06,720
The doctors operated on my arm,
my arms,

801
00:51:06,880 --> 00:51:09,040
and other doctors operated on my leg.

802
00:51:16,280 --> 00:51:17,280
What day was it?

803
00:51:18,960 --> 00:51:20,160
October 25.

804
00:51:24,680 --> 00:51:28,040
Now you're a prisoner.
How are you treated here?

805
00:51:30,480 --> 00:51:33,840
I'm treated well by the doctors
and the people.

806
00:51:37,640 --> 00:51:39,040
How's the food?

807
00:51:41,800 --> 00:51:43,560
It's not like in Paris,
but it's okay.

808
00:51:46,040 --> 00:51:49,280
The bombs fell.
The bombs fall randomly.

809
00:51:49,880 --> 00:51:52,600
Yes, randomly.
How can you aim accurately

810
00:51:53,080 --> 00:51:56,480
from a plane
at an altitude of 1,500 meters?

811
00:51:56,640 --> 00:51:58,520
A plane that takes only seven seconds

812
00:51:58,680 --> 00:52:01,840
to fly over
the entire expanse of the capital.

813
00:52:02,000 --> 00:52:02,640
HANOI WAR MUSEUM
DECEMBER 1967

814
00:52:02,800 --> 00:52:05,240
Against North Vietnam,
apart from the atomic bomb,

815
00:52:05,400 --> 00:52:07,520
all kinds of bombs were used.

816
00:52:07,680 --> 00:52:09,440
This one, for example,
has small wings

817
00:52:09,600 --> 00:52:13,240
that let it whirl at chest height.

818
00:52:16,600 --> 00:52:18,120
And there are
those infamous cluster bombs

819
00:52:18,280 --> 00:52:20,600
whose existence some still deny

820
00:52:20,760 --> 00:52:22,280
because their effects
are so monstrous.

821
00:52:22,440 --> 00:52:24,240
I've seen them, here they are.

822
00:52:24,400 --> 00:52:26,120
It consists of a mother bomb

823
00:52:26,280 --> 00:52:28,320
containing several balls,

824
00:52:28,480 --> 00:52:30,480
each filled with steel pellets.

825
00:52:30,640 --> 00:52:33,120
When it hits the ground,
the mother bomb explodes

826
00:52:33,280 --> 00:52:35,600
and 90,000 metal pellets

827
00:52:35,760 --> 00:52:38,400
are randomly scattered

828
00:52:38,560 --> 00:52:40,880
tearing through everything
in their path.

829
00:52:41,600 --> 00:52:43,040
In one district of central Hanoi,

830
00:52:43,200 --> 00:52:45,000
I counted, one next to another,

831
00:52:45,160 --> 00:52:47,240
153 destroyed houses.

832
00:52:48,480 --> 00:52:50,800
This one, for example, we passed by

833
00:52:50,960 --> 00:52:52,160
and went inside.

834
00:52:52,720 --> 00:52:59,600
HANOI UNDER THE BOMBS
FRANÇOIS CHALAIS - 1967

835
00:53:22,440 --> 00:53:24,120
This is my daughter!

836
00:53:26,520 --> 00:53:29,040
He was a wolf, a bear even.

837
00:53:29,640 --> 00:53:32,440
At his house,
there was a photo of the dog,

838
00:53:32,600 --> 00:53:34,360
a photo of Hemingway

839
00:53:34,520 --> 00:53:36,840
and a quote from Sacha Guitry

840
00:53:37,440 --> 00:53:41,000
pinned to the wall,
"Always marry a pretty woman

841
00:53:41,160 --> 00:53:43,760
"if you want someone
to take her off your hands one day."

842
00:53:44,320 --> 00:53:46,440
And I said,
"You're very misogynistic."

843
00:53:48,120 --> 00:53:49,800
I said, "You don't have
any photos of actresses?"

844
00:53:49,960 --> 00:53:52,920
He said, "Oh, no, you know,
actresses and me..."

845
00:53:53,080 --> 00:53:56,280
I said, "You are famous
with the Cannes Film Festival,

846
00:53:56,440 --> 00:53:58,720
"with all the stars."

847
00:54:11,320 --> 00:54:12,920
He started talking to me
about Vietnam,

848
00:54:13,080 --> 00:54:15,920
and it was something very,
very strong between us.

849
00:54:16,080 --> 00:54:17,160
Right away.

850
00:54:17,640 --> 00:54:20,320
Me, right away,

851
00:54:20,480 --> 00:54:25,640
I knew he would be important to me.

852
00:54:25,800 --> 00:54:29,920
But something so strong
that instead of staying an hour,

853
00:54:30,080 --> 00:54:32,400
he stayed several hours with me,

854
00:54:32,560 --> 00:54:35,560
and he already wanted me
to know everything about his life

855
00:54:35,720 --> 00:54:38,200
the moment he opened the door to me.

856
00:54:38,360 --> 00:54:39,040
It's incredible.

857
00:54:40,040 --> 00:54:42,120
And at one point, I was thirsty,

858
00:54:42,280 --> 00:54:45,400
and he said to me, "Do you want me
to go get you a glass of water?"

859
00:54:45,560 --> 00:54:47,680
I told him,
"No, I'll go get it myself."

860
00:54:47,840 --> 00:54:49,720
I went into his kitchen

861
00:54:49,880 --> 00:54:51,920
and saw mismatched crystal glasses,

862
00:54:52,080 --> 00:54:55,880
I said, "When I move in,
I'll change all these glasses."

863
00:54:56,040 --> 00:54:58,280
What is it that after two hours

864
00:54:58,880 --> 00:55:00,240
in this man's life,

865
00:55:00,400 --> 00:55:04,240
I already wanted
to change everything?

866
00:55:04,400 --> 00:55:07,720
And he later told me
that when he saw me,

867
00:55:07,880 --> 00:55:11,440
he already knew that it was for life.

868
00:55:11,600 --> 00:55:14,320
He obviously

869
00:55:14,480 --> 00:55:18,520
introduced her to social life,

870
00:55:18,680 --> 00:55:23,160
he introduced her
to the most important men:

871
00:55:23,320 --> 00:55:27,360
Malraux, politicians,
the greatest writers,

872
00:55:28,000 --> 00:55:29,880
the greatest artists.

873
00:55:30,760 --> 00:55:32,440
At 16 and a half, he said to me,

874
00:55:32,600 --> 00:55:34,480
"You're going to have dinner
with André Malraux."

875
00:55:34,640 --> 00:55:37,080
Well, I said,
"But what am I going to do?

876
00:55:37,240 --> 00:55:38,760
"What am I going to say
to André Malraux?"

877
00:55:38,920 --> 00:55:41,800
He said to me, "It doesn't matter,
get dressed and come.

878
00:55:41,960 --> 00:55:44,560
"And you'll see,
you'll see it born...

879
00:55:44,720 --> 00:55:49,360
"Even if you don't understand
everything, listen, watch,

880
00:55:49,520 --> 00:55:52,200
"absorb and take it all in."

881
00:55:52,360 --> 00:55:53,360
And then he started,

882
00:55:53,720 --> 00:55:56,400
he was a bit of my Pygmalion too,
François Chalais.

883
00:55:56,560 --> 00:55:58,240
And later, he would say,
"Come on, let's go,

884
00:55:58,400 --> 00:55:59,760
"we're going to Fellini's.

885
00:55:59,920 --> 00:56:03,160
"We're going to see my friend Claudia
Cardinale, Sophia Loren, all that.

886
00:56:03,320 --> 00:56:05,720
And I was amazed.
I thought, "This can't be real,

887
00:56:05,880 --> 00:56:07,720
"I'm living life at full speed."

888
00:56:09,480 --> 00:56:12,040
I found marital balance,

889
00:56:12,200 --> 00:56:15,200
a sentimental balance
that I wish for everyone.

890
00:56:15,360 --> 00:56:17,120
I met my wife by chance,

891
00:56:17,280 --> 00:56:19,560
or rather, she met me,

892
00:56:19,720 --> 00:56:22,400
because she had seen a show
that I had done on Vietnam.

893
00:56:22,560 --> 00:56:24,880
She is Vietnamese,
as many people know.

894
00:56:25,040 --> 00:56:27,240
She wanted someone
who knew this country,

895
00:56:27,400 --> 00:56:29,480
who came from there,
to talk to her about her country.

896
00:56:29,640 --> 00:56:32,560
We met
and we have never left each other.

897
00:56:33,520 --> 00:56:36,280
And it's been many years now.

898
00:56:36,440 --> 00:56:38,640
It's the best gift,

899
00:56:38,800 --> 00:56:40,800
along with my birth,
that Heaven gave me.

900
00:56:43,800 --> 00:56:46,520
After an experience
that he did not like to talk about,

901
00:56:46,680 --> 00:56:49,000
François wasn't thinking
about marriage.

902
00:56:49,160 --> 00:56:50,360
As for me,

903
00:56:50,520 --> 00:56:53,920
despite all the proposals
that I received,

904
00:56:54,080 --> 00:56:57,200
I was too young
to really consider it.

905
00:56:57,360 --> 00:56:58,480
"You are made for each other,"

906
00:56:58,640 --> 00:57:02,080
the filmmaker Jean-Pierre Melville
had told us.

907
00:57:02,240 --> 00:57:05,400
"Ignoring it would be a disaster.
Get married.

908
00:57:05,560 --> 00:57:08,480
"Even if it only brings you
a year or two of happiness,

909
00:57:08,640 --> 00:57:10,160
"it will be worth it."

910
00:57:10,320 --> 00:57:12,840
By pushing us to make this decision,

911
00:57:13,000 --> 00:57:16,000
Melville,
the first witness at our wedding,

912
00:57:16,160 --> 00:57:18,480
had just staged a beautiful scene.

913
00:57:18,640 --> 00:57:22,320
It was June 5, 1970.

914
00:57:23,520 --> 00:57:26,360
We had already been living together
for two years.

915
00:57:26,520 --> 00:57:31,800
But the seemingly trivial act
of legalizing our situation

916
00:57:31,960 --> 00:57:35,960
gave our love
an additional dimension.

917
00:57:36,120 --> 00:57:39,960
It was as if we had made it
more lasting and more beautiful.

918
00:57:40,120 --> 00:57:41,240
By marrying me,

919
00:57:41,400 --> 00:57:45,840
François adopted and protected
my Vietnamese family.

920
00:57:52,800 --> 00:57:54,560
Having never forgotten the affection

921
00:57:54,720 --> 00:57:57,560
he had for his nation
and for himself,

922
00:57:57,720 --> 00:57:59,720
Prince Norodom Sihanouk

923
00:57:59,880 --> 00:58:03,160
would always treat François
as a close friend,

924
00:58:03,320 --> 00:58:04,160
to the point of wishing

925
00:58:04,320 --> 00:58:08,240
we'd honeymoon at his place
in Cambodia.

926
00:58:09,360 --> 00:58:12,720
Unfortunately, two months later,
there was a coup d'état

927
00:58:12,880 --> 00:58:16,080
and Prince Norodom Sihanouk
was overthrown,

928
00:58:16,800 --> 00:58:18,160
so our honeymoon,

929
00:58:18,720 --> 00:58:21,760
we did not spend it here,
in Phnom Penh,

930
00:58:21,920 --> 00:58:24,320
nor at the temples of Angkor,
but in Venice.

931
00:58:42,160 --> 00:58:45,800
François was tall, distinguished,

932
00:58:45,960 --> 00:58:48,320
he had class, as they say.

933
00:58:48,480 --> 00:58:51,440
And Mei-Chen was a charming woman.

934
00:58:51,600 --> 00:58:55,840
They made a wonderful couple.

935
00:58:56,000 --> 00:59:01,400
She was gentle and beautiful.

936
00:59:01,560 --> 00:59:04,520
And the two of them
complemented each other wonderfully.

937
00:59:11,920 --> 00:59:14,840
There was only one thing
I didn't know,

938
00:59:15,000 --> 00:59:17,440
a country even more foreign
than others, and that country,

939
00:59:17,600 --> 00:59:18,840
was private late.

940
00:59:19,160 --> 00:59:21,920
And one day, I discovered it.
I discovered it very late.

941
00:59:22,080 --> 00:59:24,000
But maybe it was the right time
for me to discover it,

942
00:59:24,160 --> 00:59:26,520
when I felt less like running around.

943
00:59:26,680 --> 00:59:29,120
I realized I had never truly said
"I love you."

944
00:59:29,840 --> 00:59:31,840
The other women I have lived with
are convinced

945
00:59:32,000 --> 00:59:34,120
that they know me
because they have lived with me.

946
00:59:34,280 --> 00:59:35,760
I think they are the people

947
00:59:35,920 --> 00:59:38,160
who know me the least,

948
00:59:38,320 --> 00:59:39,840
because I wasn't myself with them.

949
00:59:40,000 --> 00:59:41,320
She knows what I am like.

950
00:59:41,480 --> 00:59:44,000
For the first time perhaps,
a woman knows how I am.

951
00:59:44,160 --> 00:59:47,320
For the first time perhaps,
a man knows how Mei-Chen is.

952
00:59:48,560 --> 00:59:51,120
If I hadn't met the right person,

953
00:59:51,280 --> 00:59:52,600
I don't think I would have stopped.

954
00:59:52,760 --> 00:59:55,240
I'm a loner
who isn't afraid of solitude.

955
00:59:55,400 --> 00:59:57,640
We must not waste
a second of our lives now.

956
00:59:57,800 --> 00:59:59,080
There's not a second to lose.

957
00:59:59,240 --> 01:00:01,200
Not a second to lose
from the moment we're born.

958
01:00:03,560 --> 01:00:04,760
He could be

959
01:00:04,920 --> 01:00:10,200
delicately impertinent
in his questions.

960
01:00:11,400 --> 01:00:14,120
He also disliked crowds.

961
01:00:15,000 --> 01:00:17,000
He was very reserved.

962
01:00:17,160 --> 01:00:18,560
He was rather cold.

963
01:00:18,880 --> 01:00:19,760
JEAN-MICHEL DARROIS
PARIS LAWYER

964
01:00:19,920 --> 01:00:22,600
And probably,
if Mei-Chen hadn't been there,

965
01:00:22,760 --> 01:00:25,800
he would have most certainly sunk
into solitude.

966
01:00:33,040 --> 01:00:35,040
It's wonderful to spend your life,

967
01:00:35,200 --> 01:00:37,600
and it's not over, with someone,

968
01:00:37,760 --> 01:00:39,520
who doesn't put you on a pedestal,

969
01:00:39,680 --> 01:00:42,360
who shares their youth.
She has plenty of it.

970
01:00:47,680 --> 01:00:49,680
I really learned things,

971
01:00:49,840 --> 01:00:53,040
and I owe a lot to François,
though he wasn't a mentor,

972
01:00:53,200 --> 01:00:54,160
he didn't give me advice.

973
01:00:54,320 --> 01:00:55,160
Definitely not.

974
01:00:56,600 --> 01:01:02,320
François never said,
"Do this, do that."

975
01:01:02,680 --> 01:01:07,640
He asked, "Have you ever read
a newspaper, Mei-Chen?"

976
01:01:09,440 --> 01:01:10,480
I said, "No."

977
01:01:10,640 --> 01:01:13,160
He said to me,
"But you should read a newspaper,

978
01:01:13,320 --> 01:01:15,360
"not just the newspapers
where you are in a photo."

979
01:01:16,840 --> 01:01:19,440
Laughing,
with a lot of irony and humor.

980
01:01:19,880 --> 01:01:21,360
And then, one day, he said to me,

981
01:01:21,520 --> 01:01:25,640
"You know, you should read
On Love, by Stendhal."

982
01:01:26,120 --> 01:01:30,480
He said to me,
"Come to Venice, bring Balzac,

983
01:01:30,800 --> 01:01:33,200
"read about A Woman of Thirty."

984
01:01:33,920 --> 01:01:37,160
He introduced things gradually.

985
01:01:37,560 --> 01:01:39,160
We are so close to each other

986
01:01:39,320 --> 01:01:40,880
that I thought,
"It's a problem for me,

987
01:01:41,040 --> 01:01:42,920
"not for her,
that we're not the same age,

988
01:01:43,080 --> 01:01:45,400
"because there are things
we didn't experience together."

989
01:01:45,560 --> 01:01:47,640
At one point, I said, "I don't want

990
01:01:47,800 --> 01:01:51,040
"us to make separate memories,
like separate beds.

991
01:01:56,320 --> 01:01:58,000
What I tried to do with her

992
01:01:58,160 --> 01:02:00,920
was to take her to places I lived

993
01:02:01,080 --> 01:02:02,880
so she could know the things

994
01:02:03,040 --> 01:02:05,840
and meet the people I loved before

995
01:02:06,000 --> 01:02:07,480
and she didn't know.

996
01:02:07,640 --> 01:02:09,160
At one point, she said, "But why?

997
01:02:09,320 --> 01:02:11,280
"Why are you telling me all this?

998
01:02:11,440 --> 01:02:12,720
I told her, "Because you are you,

999
01:02:12,880 --> 01:02:13,640
"and I don't care about the others."

1000
01:02:13,800 --> 01:02:15,160
It's not true, I don't
completely not care about others,

1001
01:02:15,320 --> 01:02:16,640
but she comes first.

1002
01:02:19,920 --> 01:02:21,480
We've traveled so much together,

1003
01:02:21,640 --> 01:02:22,840
been to Egypt nine times,

1004
01:02:23,000 --> 01:02:26,640
visited Indonesia, Malaysia,

1005
01:02:27,160 --> 01:02:29,720
and traveled all over the world.

1006
01:02:30,720 --> 01:02:33,960
THE ALCANTARA GORGES
SICILY

1007
01:02:35,400 --> 01:02:38,200
YEMEN

1008
01:02:39,480 --> 01:02:42,520
MOUNT FUJI - JAPAN

1009
01:02:43,760 --> 01:02:46,800
CIRCEO - SABAUDIA - ITALY

1010
01:02:48,200 --> 01:02:50,880
TAORMINA - SICILY

1011
01:02:52,360 --> 01:02:55,640
VENICE

1012
01:02:57,200 --> 01:02:59,960
THE SEYCHELLES

1013
01:03:01,800 --> 01:03:03,960
ROME

1014
01:03:05,240 --> 01:03:08,080
All these travels inspired François

1015
01:03:08,240 --> 01:03:09,360
for his books.

1016
01:03:09,880 --> 01:03:13,560
He wrote 15, including
Les chocolats de l'entracte,

1017
01:03:13,720 --> 01:03:15,040
a million copies sold,

1018
01:03:15,200 --> 01:03:18,200
which allowed us
to buy our apartment in Neuilly.

1019
01:03:18,600 --> 01:03:22,840
Two won prestigious
Académie française awards:

1020
01:03:23,000 --> 01:03:27,840
Garry and The Landing,
adapted for TV.

1021
01:03:28,000 --> 01:03:29,000
THE LANDING

1022
01:03:37,080 --> 01:03:38,920
FRANÇOIS CHALAIS:
"MEI CHEN INSPIRES EACH OF MY BOOKS."

1023
01:03:45,600 --> 01:03:48,920
THE CHALAIS:
"WE HAD A LOT OF FUN WRITING."

1024
01:03:49,480 --> 01:03:51,600
So, let's not overanalyze

1025
01:03:51,760 --> 01:03:54,960
and do cheap psychoanalysis.

1026
01:03:55,120 --> 01:03:57,320
It's true
that there's a big age difference

1027
01:03:57,480 --> 01:03:58,560
with François Chalais,

1028
01:03:58,720 --> 01:04:01,160
but it's not like she was looking
for her father in Paris,

1029
01:04:01,320 --> 01:04:02,360
no, we can't say that.

1030
01:04:02,520 --> 01:04:06,600
But I sense a great sensitivity
in this area.

1031
01:04:41,200 --> 01:04:42,040
Is she photogenic?

1032
01:04:42,200 --> 01:04:45,760
I think few women
are more photogenic than Mei-Chen.

1033
01:04:45,920 --> 01:04:48,480
She has something in her eyes.

1034
01:04:48,920 --> 01:04:50,400
I love that people love her.

1035
01:04:50,560 --> 01:04:52,680
If people didn't like my wife,
I wouldn't understand them, t

1036
01:04:52,840 --> 01:04:54,000
they'd be strange.

1037
01:04:54,160 --> 01:04:56,200
I'm not trying to distract myself,
it's true.

1038
01:04:57,600 --> 01:04:59,840
I'm a little ashamed to say it,
but I'm a happy man.

1039
01:05:37,920 --> 01:05:38,680
CANNES

1040
01:05:40,920 --> 01:05:42,680
The first time
I walked up the steps with François

1041
01:05:42,840 --> 01:05:44,960
was in 1969.

1042
01:05:45,120 --> 01:05:48,840
I was a little girl,
clinging to his arm.

1043
01:05:49,240 --> 01:05:50,760
I barely knew...

1044
01:05:50,920 --> 01:05:53,040
I wasn't comfortable,

1045
01:05:53,200 --> 01:05:56,680
and he told me,
"Don't worry, I'm right here,

1046
01:05:56,840 --> 01:05:59,000
"you'll see,
everything will be fine."

1047
01:05:59,160 --> 01:06:01,480
Walking the red carpet with him,

1048
01:06:01,640 --> 01:06:02,640
I was very impressed.

1049
01:06:02,800 --> 01:06:04,440
I think I was more impressed

1050
01:06:04,600 --> 01:06:07,360
walking the Cannes steps

1051
01:06:07,960 --> 01:06:09,160
next to François Chalais

1052
01:06:09,320 --> 01:06:11,720
than maybe the biggest stars
of the time.

1053
01:06:20,120 --> 01:06:24,680
And then my husband was on the jury
in 1978

1054
01:06:24,840 --> 01:06:28,600
with Alan Pakula, Liv Ullmann,

1055
01:06:28,760 --> 01:06:31,680
Kontchalovski, Franco Brusati,

1056
01:06:32,640 --> 01:06:34,920
Harry Saltzman, the producer.

1057
01:06:35,840 --> 01:06:38,120
He was on the jury,
and we stayed at the Carlton.

1058
01:06:44,560 --> 01:06:48,200
I remember very well
having a drink with Jules Dassin,

1059
01:06:48,360 --> 01:06:50,080
with Melina Mercouri.

1060
01:06:50,240 --> 01:06:53,280
We had lunch here with Yves Montand,

1061
01:06:53,440 --> 01:06:55,360
at this Carlton restaurant too.

1062
01:06:55,520 --> 01:06:56,920
We mingled with all these stars,

1063
01:06:57,080 --> 01:06:59,640
but they felt like family.

1064
01:06:59,800 --> 01:07:02,400
The one who impressed me the most
was still my husband.

1065
01:07:04,600 --> 01:07:07,200
In May 1996, it was the last time

1066
01:07:07,360 --> 01:07:09,640
I climbed the steps
with François Chalais,

1067
01:07:09,800 --> 01:07:12,520
and I saw how, next to me,

1068
01:07:12,680 --> 01:07:14,880
he was very weakened by illness.

1069
01:07:15,040 --> 01:07:17,400
I told him, "Hold onto my arm,

1070
01:07:17,560 --> 01:07:21,520
"I have the strength today

1071
01:07:21,880 --> 01:07:23,600
"and we'll climb the steps together."

1072
01:07:23,760 --> 01:07:26,200
This is our last image
of François and me

1073
01:07:26,360 --> 01:07:27,280
at the Cannes Festival.

1074
01:07:34,760 --> 01:07:38,040
François Chalais gave a lot
of support to the Cannes Festival.

1075
01:07:38,400 --> 01:07:41,240
Undeniably,
we realized that it was indeed

1076
01:07:41,400 --> 01:07:43,680
about interviewing starlets,

1077
01:07:43,840 --> 01:07:44,760
sometimes stars,

1078
01:07:44,920 --> 01:07:46,240
mostly stars rather than starlets,

1079
01:07:46,400 --> 01:07:48,920
but still, that was part of it.

1080
01:07:49,080 --> 01:07:53,040
The festival needed to be heavier,
in the good sense of the term,

1081
01:07:53,200 --> 01:07:56,440
with interviews like the ones he did

1082
01:07:56,880 --> 01:07:59,280
in remarkable French

1083
01:07:59,440 --> 01:08:01,840
and always with a sense of imagery.

1084
01:08:03,040 --> 01:08:04,160
What do you think?

1085
01:08:04,320 --> 01:08:07,360
I think you would really have to be
abnormal to be against it.

1086
01:08:16,240 --> 01:08:17,600
Not for that, no.

1087
01:08:18,160 --> 01:08:20,040
No, to sunbathe.

1088
01:08:21,880 --> 01:08:23,320
There's sunshine in Italy,

1089
01:08:23,480 --> 01:08:25,320
a certain freedom,

1090
01:08:25,800 --> 01:08:27,480
you can walk in the streets.

1091
01:08:40,320 --> 01:08:42,280
Together, we lose something precious,

1092
01:08:42,440 --> 01:08:46,240
the freedom of a private citizen.

1093
01:08:46,400 --> 01:08:47,960
Do you feel them all the time?

1094
01:08:48,560 --> 01:08:49,320
Yes.

1095
01:08:50,080 --> 01:08:53,200
We feel them a lot.
Then we get used to it.

1096
01:08:54,560 --> 01:08:59,800
Today, the festival is known
throughout the world,

1097
01:09:00,760 --> 01:09:05,920
but it has no real presence
in the press.

1098
01:09:06,080 --> 01:09:08,840
There's no one,

1099
01:09:09,000 --> 01:09:12,160
like in François' time,

1100
01:09:12,960 --> 01:09:16,560
who could represent this festival.

1101
01:09:17,360 --> 01:09:20,280
He enjoyed, I think,

1102
01:09:20,440 --> 01:09:23,160
teaching her little by little,

1103
01:09:23,320 --> 01:09:26,320
always gently
and without harshness...

1104
01:09:26,480 --> 01:09:27,440
JEAN-MICHEL DARROIS
PARIS LAWYER

1105
01:09:27,600 --> 01:09:30,560
...how to behave

1106
01:09:30,720 --> 01:09:35,240
with these very important
and complex people

1107
01:09:35,400 --> 01:09:36,360
they might meet.

1108
01:09:38,120 --> 01:09:41,280
And it's true, it never stopped,

1109
01:09:41,440 --> 01:09:44,240
this walk through the days,

1110
01:09:44,720 --> 01:09:47,400
the landscapes and encounters.

1111
01:09:48,160 --> 01:09:51,600
Brought to life
by the most unexpected people,

1112
01:09:51,760 --> 01:09:56,280
as if placed there by luck
to smile at me,

1113
01:09:56,440 --> 01:09:58,160
protect me, and love me.

1114
01:09:58,320 --> 01:10:00,040
JACQUES CHABAN-DELMAS
PRIME MINISTER 1969-1972

1115
01:10:00,360 --> 01:10:02,520
JACQUES CHIRAC
PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC

1116
01:10:15,920 --> 01:10:18,160
LIONEL JOSPIN
PRIME MINISTER

1117
01:10:18,320 --> 01:10:19,640
SYLVIANE AGACINSKI
ACADEMICIAN

1118
01:10:23,760 --> 01:10:28,080
FROM WAR TO PEACE

1119
01:10:32,800 --> 01:10:37,000
This little Vietnamese girl
became a great lady of Paris.

1120
01:10:38,560 --> 01:10:39,720
It is not surprising

1121
01:10:39,880 --> 01:10:41,920
that she captivated
so many people around her,

1122
01:10:42,080 --> 01:10:45,160
including some of the most famous.

1123
01:10:46,560 --> 01:10:49,960
For example,
she was Kurosawa's guest in Japan.

1124
01:10:50,120 --> 01:10:52,400
Exceptionally, the painter Balthus,

1125
01:10:52,560 --> 01:10:54,640
opened the doors
of his studio to her.

1126
01:10:54,800 --> 01:10:57,280
She was friends
with Prince Norodom Sihanouk

1127
01:10:57,440 --> 01:10:59,080
and Princess Moneang.

1128
01:10:59,240 --> 01:11:00,920
Same thing with Jean Marais.

1129
01:11:01,680 --> 01:11:04,560
When he met her,
Salvador Dali drew her.

1130
01:11:04,720 --> 01:11:07,680
Lino Ventura and Sergio Leone
were among her close friends,

1131
01:11:07,840 --> 01:11:12,280
as were Federico Fellini
and his wife Giulietta Masina,

1132
01:11:12,440 --> 01:11:14,200
the unforgettable actress in
La Strada.

1133
01:11:15,880 --> 01:11:18,800
Michèle Morgan
and President Edgar Faure.

1134
01:11:19,680 --> 01:11:22,320
Sophia Loren
and filmmaker Terence Young.

1135
01:11:22,680 --> 01:11:26,120
Yul Brynner and Georges Chakiris.
Marcello Mastroianni.

1136
01:11:26,560 --> 01:11:28,720
We could name dozens,

1137
01:11:28,880 --> 01:11:30,240
even hundreds.

1138
01:11:30,400 --> 01:11:32,720
Robert Hossein, Claudia Cardinale,

1139
01:11:32,880 --> 01:11:35,680
the filmmaker Ettore Scola.

1140
01:11:35,840 --> 01:11:39,080
A SPECIAL DAY

1141
01:11:49,520 --> 01:11:53,760
My husband, François Chalais,
had made me a promise.

1142
01:11:54,240 --> 01:11:56,840
He had said, "No matter what,

1143
01:11:57,000 --> 01:11:59,360
"I will take you to Vietnam."

1144
01:11:59,760 --> 01:12:04,520
But he was already very ill,

1145
01:12:04,680 --> 01:12:08,920
he went to the hospital
and told me to pack.

1146
01:12:09,080 --> 01:12:10,640
Everyone said, "It's madness."

1147
01:12:10,800 --> 01:12:13,440
He was so unwell that leaving,

1148
01:12:13,600 --> 01:12:14,560
meant dying.

1149
01:12:14,720 --> 01:12:16,200
Leaving was dying.

1150
01:12:16,360 --> 01:12:18,520
But he told me,
"I made you this promise,

1151
01:12:18,680 --> 01:12:22,120
"and no matter what,
I want to keep it.

1152
01:12:22,280 --> 01:12:25,000
"I want to come back with you
and see Vietnam with you."

1153
01:12:25,160 --> 01:12:26,200
And unfortunately,

1154
01:12:26,360 --> 01:12:29,640
it's a trip
that we couldn't do together.

1155
01:12:29,800 --> 01:12:32,400
We talked about it, my husband and I.

1156
01:12:32,560 --> 01:12:35,760
François didn't want
life-prolonging treatment.

1157
01:12:36,720 --> 01:12:38,480
He wanted to choose his death,

1158
01:12:38,640 --> 01:12:41,520
just as he had chosen
the freedom in his life

1159
01:12:41,680 --> 01:12:44,200
and wanted to leave with dignity.

1160
01:12:46,280 --> 01:12:47,880
He said to me as he left,

1161
01:12:48,080 --> 01:12:50,640
"The greatest proof
of my love for you,

1162
01:12:50,800 --> 01:12:52,600
"is leaving today."

1163
01:12:53,680 --> 01:12:54,480
And he told me,

1164
01:12:54,640 --> 01:12:57,680
"The greatest proof
of your love for me,

1165
01:12:57,840 --> 01:13:01,320
"is fighting, being brave,

1166
01:13:01,480 --> 01:13:05,360
being strong, and above all, free."

1167
01:13:07,480 --> 01:13:10,400
After the first glance
between Mei-Chen and François,

1168
01:13:10,560 --> 01:13:13,640
the couple shared
28 years of happiness,

1169
01:13:13,800 --> 01:13:18,160
through travels, romance,
novels, fiction and reality.

1170
01:13:19,920 --> 01:13:23,880
After 28 years,
Mei-Chen found herself alone in 1996.

1171
01:13:31,120 --> 01:13:32,200
TF1
EVENING NEWS

1172
01:13:33,120 --> 01:13:33,760
Ladies and gentlemen, good evening.

1173
01:13:33,920 --> 01:13:36,320
Here are the headlines
for Thursday, May 2.

1174
01:13:36,480 --> 01:13:37,920
The death of François Chalais.

1175
01:13:38,080 --> 01:13:41,680
A voice. A passion for cinema,
the media, television.

1176
01:13:41,840 --> 01:13:45,040
He will always be the man of Cannes,
he was 76 years old.

1177
01:13:49,040 --> 01:13:50,360
FRANÇOIS CHALAIS,
FRIEND OF THE STARS

1178
01:13:50,760 --> 01:13:56,800
GOODBYE, FRANÇOIS CHALAIS

1179
01:13:57,400 --> 01:14:02,320
SEVEN PERSONALITIES WHO HAVE MARKED
THE FRENCH AUDIOVISUAL INDUSTRY

1180
01:14:06,720 --> 01:14:11,280
THE PROMISES

1181
01:14:35,240 --> 01:14:37,520
I told him,
"I met you because of Vietnam,

1182
01:14:37,680 --> 01:14:39,840
"I will come back to Vietnam
for you."

1183
01:14:41,200 --> 01:14:43,800
And I came back
a few months after his death,

1184
01:14:43,960 --> 01:14:45,000
a year after his death,

1185
01:14:45,360 --> 01:14:47,360
to make my pilgrimage in Vietnam.

1186
01:15:24,360 --> 01:15:25,360
On the South China Sea,

1187
01:15:25,520 --> 01:15:28,880
we first went to Indonesia,
the Philippines,

1188
01:15:29,040 --> 01:15:30,680
Manila, Canton, Hong Kong.

1189
01:15:30,840 --> 01:15:32,840
François was unwell,

1190
01:15:33,360 --> 01:15:34,840
and I told him, "Listen,

1191
01:15:35,000 --> 01:15:36,880
"tomorrow we must reach Ha Long Bay."

1192
01:15:37,040 --> 01:15:40,080
Our trip was planned
for Ha Long Bay, Hanoi,

1193
01:15:40,240 --> 01:15:42,240
Hue and Ninh Binh.

1194
01:15:42,400 --> 01:15:45,000
All the places
where François did his reports

1195
01:15:45,160 --> 01:15:46,480
29 years earlier.

1196
01:15:46,640 --> 01:15:49,480
He always told me, "One day,
I will take you to Hong Kong,

1197
01:15:49,640 --> 01:15:50,600
"and especially Ha Long Bay."

1198
01:15:51,000 --> 01:15:52,320
It was our dream.

1199
01:15:52,680 --> 01:15:55,280
And we were unable
to realize this dream.

1200
01:15:56,200 --> 01:15:58,040
It is something in my life that...

1201
01:15:58,960 --> 01:16:00,960
in any case, for Vietnam,
which ends here,

1202
01:16:01,920 --> 01:16:03,240
with François, before François.

1203
01:16:03,400 --> 01:16:06,120
And after, Ha Long Bay
will be after François.

1204
01:16:06,840 --> 01:16:08,080
A year after his death,

1205
01:16:08,240 --> 01:16:11,280
you discover this China Sea,

1206
01:16:11,440 --> 01:16:14,480
these stone sentinels
by the thousands here.

1207
01:16:14,640 --> 01:16:16,200
You wanted to be with him.

1208
01:16:16,360 --> 01:16:18,440
He is present with you
despite everything,

1209
01:16:18,600 --> 01:16:20,600
in your heart and in your memory.

1210
01:16:24,760 --> 01:16:27,360
It is a pilgrimage,
a gesture of love.

1211
01:16:27,520 --> 01:16:30,920
What does this journey mean
for Mei-Chen Chalais?

1212
01:16:31,080 --> 01:16:32,360
It's a...

1213
01:16:32,520 --> 01:16:35,640
First, it is a gesture of love
in memory of François,

1214
01:16:35,800 --> 01:16:39,280
because he was supposed
to make this film with me,

1215
01:16:39,440 --> 01:16:42,000
this famous Ha Long Bay,
this famous Hanoi.

1216
01:16:42,160 --> 01:16:44,720
It's a painful pilgrimage,

1217
01:16:44,880 --> 01:16:48,120
since it is through his book,

1218
01:16:49,440 --> 01:16:51,320
through this situation,

1219
01:16:51,480 --> 01:16:55,880
that I discover this Vietnam
that he knew better than me.

1220
01:16:56,040 --> 01:16:59,760
And it is, in a way,
to exorcise something,

1221
01:16:59,920 --> 01:17:07,240
to try to heal this painful wound.

1222
01:17:07,400 --> 01:17:09,200
Did he talk to you
about Ha Long Bay?

1223
01:17:09,360 --> 01:17:11,320
Did this Ha Long Bay represent

1224
01:17:11,480 --> 01:17:13,120
something symbolic for him?

1225
01:17:13,280 --> 01:17:14,720
Yes, because it was, for him,

1226
01:17:14,880 --> 01:17:19,200
firstly, he couldn't see it
during the Vietnam War.

1227
01:17:19,360 --> 01:17:21,000
It was forbidden, he couldn't.

1228
01:17:21,160 --> 01:17:23,400
And he always wanted
to take me to my country.

1229
01:17:23,560 --> 01:17:25,880
He wanted us to travel together.

1230
01:17:26,040 --> 01:17:27,960
He wanted me to see what he saw,

1231
01:17:28,120 --> 01:17:29,240
to share the same memories,

1232
01:17:29,400 --> 01:17:32,200
so we wouldn't have separate trips
and memories.

1233
01:17:32,360 --> 01:17:34,240
But he didn't know Ha Long Bay,

1234
01:17:34,400 --> 01:17:36,360
he wanted to discover it with me.

1235
01:17:41,360 --> 01:17:42,640
Ha Long Bay

1236
01:17:42,800 --> 01:17:46,200
is a dream place for lovers.

1237
01:17:49,440 --> 01:17:51,880
It was my dream to come back here
with my husband,

1238
01:17:52,040 --> 01:17:54,360
François Chalais, but unfortunately,

1239
01:17:54,520 --> 01:17:56,720
he passed away then

1240
01:17:56,880 --> 01:17:59,120
and I could not fulfill my dream.

1241
01:17:59,280 --> 01:18:02,360
So, it has always been
my missed rendezvous in Vietnam.

1242
01:18:30,640 --> 01:18:32,920
During my trip to Vietnam,

1243
01:18:33,080 --> 01:18:35,240
seeing this little boy,

1244
01:18:35,400 --> 01:18:39,360
I remembered a passage
from one of François' poignant books.

1245
01:18:39,520 --> 01:18:42,640
It was about his encounter
with a small child,

1246
01:18:42,800 --> 01:18:45,560
abandoned under the bombs
during the war,

1247
01:18:45,720 --> 01:18:47,240
who he held in his arms.

1248
01:18:47,400 --> 01:18:48,600
And he wrote,

1249
01:18:49,400 --> 01:18:52,320
"He stopped crying and laughed,

1250
01:18:52,480 --> 01:18:55,560
"that's when it became unbearable.

1251
01:18:55,720 --> 01:18:57,960
"But why this blind trust

1252
01:18:58,120 --> 01:18:59,400
"he had in me?

1253
01:18:59,560 --> 01:19:02,160
"I knew I didn't deserve it,

1254
01:19:02,320 --> 01:19:04,360
"since I could do nothing for him.

1255
01:19:04,520 --> 01:19:08,280
"But he had chosen me in this
terrible darkness in broad daylight.

1256
01:19:08,440 --> 01:19:11,200
"He had adopted me, this orphan,

1257
01:19:11,360 --> 01:19:12,600
"at the end of the horror,

1258
01:19:12,760 --> 01:19:16,000
"and his laughter comforted
and tore me apart."

1259
01:19:20,480 --> 01:19:22,280
From this trip to North Vietnam,

1260
01:19:22,440 --> 01:19:26,120
I realize in turn
that the image of this little boy

1261
01:19:26,280 --> 01:19:27,680
will never leave me.

1262
01:19:30,840 --> 01:19:34,160
I also remember
the exceptional interview

1263
01:19:34,320 --> 01:19:36,520
of François Chalais with John McCain.

1264
01:19:43,920 --> 01:19:45,360
What is your name?

1265
01:19:46,400 --> 01:19:49,400
Lieutenant Commander
John Sydney McCain.

1266
01:19:50,600 --> 01:19:52,120
It's a very famous name.

1267
01:19:53,920 --> 01:19:56,560
Prisoner in 1967

1268
01:19:56,720 --> 01:20:01,440
and released six years
after the Paris Accords in 1973,

1269
01:20:01,600 --> 01:20:05,720
two years
before the end of the American war,

1270
01:20:05,880 --> 01:20:08,760
on April 30, 1975.

1271
01:20:18,120 --> 01:20:21,240
McCain, who was deeply affected
by the Vietnam War,

1272
01:20:21,400 --> 01:20:24,680
François, who was deeply affected
by the Vietnam War.

1273
01:20:24,840 --> 01:20:28,480
As a child of the Vietnam War,

1274
01:20:28,640 --> 01:20:31,560
the three of us,
these intertwined fates

1275
01:20:32,320 --> 01:20:35,640
and whatever John McCain's future,

1276
01:20:35,800 --> 01:20:40,400
this unique meeting
will remain exceptional.

1277
01:20:41,040 --> 01:20:42,120
And maybe we'll say,

1278
01:20:42,600 --> 01:20:46,240
"If a French journalist, passing by,

1279
01:20:46,400 --> 01:20:49,160
"hadn't stubbornly asked and said,

1280
01:20:49,320 --> 01:20:51,120
'I won't leave North Vietnam

1281
01:20:51,280 --> 01:20:53,680
'without an American prisoner, '

1282
01:20:54,200 --> 01:20:56,720
"what would have become of McCain?"

1283
01:20:56,880 --> 01:20:58,160
I don't know.

1284
01:20:58,640 --> 01:21:01,200
But at the same time, I also think
that an interview showing

1285
01:21:01,360 --> 01:21:04,400
an American prisoner released
from prison

1286
01:21:04,560 --> 01:21:08,760
crying in front
of François Chalais' camera.

1287
01:21:08,920 --> 01:21:12,320
And something happened
between McCain and François.

1288
01:21:13,840 --> 01:21:16,000
Moreover, in his biography,

1289
01:21:16,160 --> 01:21:19,440
John McCain pays tribute
to François Chalais.

1290
01:21:20,720 --> 01:21:22,720
AFTER FRANCOIS CHALAIS' INTERVIEW,

1291
01:21:22,880 --> 01:21:25,920
I KNEW IT WOULD CAUSE A BUZZ AT HOME

1292
01:21:26,080 --> 01:21:30,120
AND THAT THE VIETNAMESE
COULD NO LONGER KILL ME.

1293
01:21:30,280 --> 01:21:33,000
JOHN MCCAIN

1294
01:21:33,160 --> 01:21:35,600
FROM THE MEMOIR
"THE FAITH OF MY FATHERS"

1295
01:21:35,760 --> 01:21:39,600
THE FAITH OF MY FATHERS

1296
01:21:45,680 --> 01:21:48,680
I was inspired by the man,
the writer,

1297
01:21:48,840 --> 01:21:52,040
and the great reporter

1298
01:21:52,200 --> 01:21:55,120
and I knew everything he had in him,

1299
01:21:55,280 --> 01:21:57,520
and I wanted to share it
with the world.

1300
01:22:07,720 --> 01:22:08,560
Mei-Chen Chalais received

1301
01:22:08,720 --> 01:22:11,320
the Legion of Honor
from the Minister of Culture,

1302
01:22:11,480 --> 01:22:13,800
Frédéric Mitterrand, in 2010.

1303
01:22:13,960 --> 01:22:17,320
This award honors her loyalty
to her mother,

1304
01:22:17,480 --> 01:22:19,880
her roots, her husband

1305
01:22:20,040 --> 01:22:21,080
through her work,

1306
01:22:21,240 --> 01:22:25,000
notably the creation
of the film award named after her.

1307
01:22:33,080 --> 01:22:34,360
When I talk about François Chalais,

1308
01:22:34,520 --> 01:22:36,800
it is of course
because this great film buff,

1309
01:22:36,960 --> 01:22:39,080
this great critic,
this great reporter,

1310
01:22:39,240 --> 01:22:43,240
this great cinema advocate
is very dear to me

1311
01:22:43,400 --> 01:22:47,200
for his cult shows like
Reflets de Cannes and Cinépanorama,

1312
01:22:47,640 --> 01:22:48,640
and I always,

1313
01:22:48,800 --> 01:22:51,480
we always have in our minds,

1314
01:22:51,640 --> 01:22:54,240
his voice, his tone,

1315
01:22:54,400 --> 01:22:56,880
his unique phrasing

1316
01:22:57,040 --> 01:23:01,400
forever linked
to the spirit of the Festival

1317
01:23:01,560 --> 01:23:04,880
and to the history of cinema.

1318
01:23:05,280 --> 01:23:06,480
When I talk about François Chalais,

1319
01:23:06,640 --> 01:23:09,320
it's also because your life
is tied to his.

1320
01:23:09,480 --> 01:23:11,720
You knew
how to honor François Chalais

1321
01:23:11,880 --> 01:23:13,280
and keep his memory alive,

1322
01:23:13,440 --> 01:23:16,320
finding the most inventive
and relevant way

1323
01:23:16,480 --> 01:23:18,360
by always seeking the light.

1324
01:23:18,520 --> 01:23:22,640
This is how you created the François
Chalais Young Reporter Award.

1325
01:23:22,800 --> 01:23:25,520
I also think of the awards that,
since 1997,

1326
01:23:25,680 --> 01:23:27,880
are given annually
at the Cannes Festival,

1327
01:23:28,400 --> 01:23:32,480
to a director
for capturing the world's reality,

1328
01:23:32,640 --> 01:23:35,240
as François Chalais himself
did so well.

1329
01:23:36,520 --> 01:23:40,160
JURY OF THE FRANCOIS CHALAIS PRIZE

1330
01:23:40,320 --> 01:23:41,360
Let's now go to Cannes

1331
01:23:41,520 --> 01:23:44,160
where, last night, the first
François Chalais Prize was given.

1332
01:23:44,320 --> 01:23:47,840
It was the director Ademir Kenović,

1333
01:23:48,000 --> 01:23:50,600
director of the film
The Perfect Circle,

1334
01:23:50,760 --> 01:23:53,920
who received this prize
from Brigitte Fossey, as you can see.

1335
01:23:54,080 --> 01:23:58,160
The jury is chaired in particular
by Sophia Loren and Alain Delon.

1336
01:23:58,320 --> 01:24:00,120
The film was shot in Sarajevo

1337
01:24:00,280 --> 01:24:03,480
and premiered
at the Directors' Fortnight.

1338
01:24:03,920 --> 01:24:06,160
This award aims
to honor a young filmmaker

1339
01:24:06,320 --> 01:24:08,640
who captures the world's reality.

1340
01:24:25,120 --> 01:24:28,560
Very moved, Mrs. Chalais tries
to read a message from Sophia Loren,

1341
01:24:28,720 --> 01:24:29,960
but she can't.

1342
01:24:30,760 --> 01:24:33,280
I will take over,
because there are words

1343
01:24:33,440 --> 01:24:36,600
that are sometimes difficult to read.

1344
01:24:38,200 --> 01:24:39,440
"My dear Mei-Chen, my dear friends,

1345
01:24:39,600 --> 01:24:42,760
"I am truly sorry that
I cannot be with you this evening

1346
01:24:42,920 --> 01:24:45,240
"to present
this third François Chalais award.

1347
01:24:45,400 --> 01:24:47,200
"And I feel, I'm even sadder

1348
01:24:47,360 --> 01:24:49,280
"because in this month of May,

1349
01:24:49,440 --> 01:24:51,200
"I'm thinking a lot about François.

1350
01:24:53,120 --> 01:24:56,040
"He was a true friend to me
for more than 30 years,

1351
01:24:56,200 --> 01:24:58,040
"and the great cinema man that he was

1352
01:24:58,200 --> 01:24:59,920
"was crucial
at the start of my career."

1353
01:25:00,760 --> 01:25:03,840
Sorry, I'll take the floor again.
François wouldn't have liked...

1354
01:25:04,000 --> 01:25:05,720
...because he wanted me to be strong.

1355
01:25:06,720 --> 01:25:08,640
THE OTHER
A FILM BY YOUSSEF CHAHINE

1356
01:25:13,280 --> 01:25:15,520
WEST BEIRUT

1357
01:25:15,680 --> 01:25:17,280
KIPPUR

1358
01:25:18,320 --> 01:25:19,640
MADE IN THE USA

1359
01:25:19,800 --> 01:25:22,920
THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES

1360
01:25:23,760 --> 01:25:27,520
ONCE YOU'RE BORN
YOU CAN NO LONGER HIDE

1361
01:25:29,000 --> 01:25:31,840
DAYS OF GLORY

1362
01:25:32,280 --> 01:25:33,720
HORSES OF GOD

1363
01:25:34,200 --> 01:25:35,840
TIMBUKTU

1364
01:25:36,240 --> 01:25:37,720
120 BEATS PER MINUTE

1365
01:25:38,200 --> 01:25:40,080
SON OF SAUL

1366
01:25:40,560 --> 01:25:41,720
A HIDDEN LIFE

1367
01:25:42,160 --> 01:25:43,440
BOY FROM HEAVEN

1368
01:25:43,840 --> 01:25:45,000
KIDNAPPED

1369
01:25:45,160 --> 01:25:48,160
FRANÇOIS CHALAIS PRIZE

1370
01:25:48,600 --> 01:25:49,640
Cinema is said to be a family

1371
01:25:49,800 --> 01:25:52,560
but it's also
a family of friendships,

1372
01:25:52,920 --> 01:25:54,840
people who believed in me.

1373
01:25:55,000 --> 01:25:57,240
And in a way,

1374
01:25:57,400 --> 01:26:02,360
it's a story of love, of course,

1375
01:26:02,520 --> 01:26:04,360
but also, in a way, of friendships.

1376
01:26:08,600 --> 01:26:10,960
AWARD CEREMONY FOR THE
FRANÇOIS CHALAIS YOUNG REPORTER AWARD

1377
01:26:11,320 --> 01:26:15,280
Thank you to all my friends,
the jury members,

1378
01:26:15,440 --> 01:26:16,200
to those

1379
01:26:16,360 --> 01:26:17,240
who helped me

1380
01:26:17,400 --> 01:26:20,200
and supported me since my awards.

1381
01:26:20,360 --> 01:26:22,800
JURY OF THE FRANÇOIS CHALAIS
YOUNG REPORTER AWARD

1382
01:26:33,920 --> 01:26:38,120
JURY OF THE FRANÇOIS CHALAIS
YOUNG REPORTER AWARD

1383
01:26:38,280 --> 01:26:44,200
JURY OF THE FRANÇOIS CHALAIS
YOUNG REPORTER AWARD - 2024

1384
01:26:44,720 --> 01:26:47,080
The Chalais name
has not disappeared from the screens.

1385
01:26:48,040 --> 01:26:50,760
Mei-Chen has produced
more than 200 documentaries,

1386
01:26:51,160 --> 01:26:54,160
and her films are preserved
by her husband's archives,

1387
01:26:54,320 --> 01:26:55,160
François Chalais.

1388
01:26:55,920 --> 01:26:57,520
His Mémoires du cinéma archives

1389
01:26:57,680 --> 01:26:59,880
captivate audiences worldwide.

1390
01:27:31,640 --> 01:27:33,440
When I return to Vietnam,

1391
01:27:33,600 --> 01:27:38,080
it is a land of pain,
but also of joy.

1392
01:27:49,840 --> 01:27:51,440
The women's citadel

1393
01:27:51,600 --> 01:27:54,320
was François' favorite temple.

1394
01:27:55,840 --> 01:27:57,880
More than ever, here,

1395
01:27:58,040 --> 01:28:00,400
I can't help but remember these words

1396
01:28:00,560 --> 01:28:03,440
he wrote to me one day in 1988,

1397
01:28:04,480 --> 01:28:07,320
"Did we meet God
on this timeless journey,

1398
01:28:07,480 --> 01:28:09,320
"in search of ourselves?

1399
01:28:09,760 --> 01:28:11,120
"I don't know.

1400
01:28:11,280 --> 01:28:13,760
"What I am sure of,
on the other hand,

1401
01:28:13,920 --> 01:28:16,840
"is that if God doesn't exist,

1402
01:28:17,000 --> 01:28:20,520
"my love will invent him
to watch over you."

1403
01:30:03,880 --> 01:30:06,560
Anthony Hoang
Subtitling: TransPerfect Media