Summaries

Synopsis

Scene 1: The film opens with provocative gunfire by French soldiers in front of Ngoc Son temple. Among the tumultuous crowd were two members of the National Guard, Lam and Toan, both former law students. Lam was invited to the North to deny his new job, there, he met President Ho who was receiving the delegation of Elder Thai Binh. Because Lam has a bachelor's degree in law, he was assigned the job of a personal secretary by President Ho Chi Minh, which is actually a special envoy to deal with delegations representing the French government.Scene 2: The Hanoi Opera House was entrusted with a self-defense group, the French mobilized a platoon to bring large guns to attack. The Vietnamese side heard new news and proposed to the inter-inspection committee, but when the representative of the French-Vietnamese inter-inspection came, it was too late. The whole self-defense squad was destroyed, only a couple of soldiers and a lucky baby survived.Scene 3: Lam's wife is about to give birth, waiting for her husband, while he is just engrossed in work.Scene 4: During the war, President Ho wrote a letter urging his compatriots to "calmly wait for the government's orders".Scene 5: Jean Sainteny visits the sick President Ho. He reassured him about the Hai Phong case and announced that the newly elected French prime minister was Léon Blum - former leader of the Popular Front, considered sympathetic to Vietnam. In response, President Ho asked his secretary to compose a congratulatory letter, raising hopes that the Blum government would ease the situation.Scene 6: A forge on Lo Duc Street begins to make swords, silently waiting for the government to issue a battle order.Scene 7: Painter Han went to the Northern Government to beg President Ho to allow him to finish the unfinished portrait, although the deadline had expired, President Ho still happily allowed it. He drew him while he worked.Scene 8: At the coffee shop, Toan was listening to the singer Huong sing the Vietnamese Dan Bird when a group of Quoc Dan Party members pulled out their guns and demanded that the musician change the song To Chau Nocturne. Toan then grabbed the leader, forcing them to leave the shop. Just then, a comrade ran in to tell him that they had discovered a French boat full of weapons on the Red River.Scene 9: The self-defense team led by Toan ambushed and killed the French soldiers on the boat, stole countless guns and then escaped. Meanwhile, Lam had just returned home when the French army raided the information house, he rushed out with everyone to rescue.Scene 10: On the early morning tram, Lam met Toan, scolded him for being "cold" and took Toan to an acquaintance's house in Hang Bun to take shelter. Huong was shown the place by Lam, that afternoon she went to see Toan. She had just retreated on her pink heels when French tanks entered the street and shot and killed indiscriminately. Although the owner of the house tried to stop him, Toan was still angry and rushed to save a baby and was shot dead by French soldiers.Scene 11: The people of Hang Bun read the letter of condolence from President Ho in front of the photo of their loved one being massacred. There was the sound of a car engine, and when they ran out, they knew that Mr. Ho was acting.Scene 12: The news was as tight as a lute, President Ho sent Lam to meet Jean Sainteny, telling him to wear civilian clothes. Next to him was only Michel, he hurriedly gave Michel the protest note of the Vietnamese government to submit to Sainteny. Michel asked Lam for a photo of President Ho, which Lam immediately gave.Scene 13: Painter Han happened to meet Ms. Hue on the street, so he invited her to the gallery and made a life-long painting of a Girl with a Lily.Scene 14: The situation is getting more and more urgent, the government secretly arranges to bring Uncle Ho to the suburbs, to stay in the house of a rich man in Van Phuc village.Scene 15: The streets gradually dispersed, while Le went into labor. Lam had to rush to bring his wife to the Western maternity home, to send the nuns.Scene 16: President Ho rushes to the North to discuss the response plan in case of war. While the North Vietnamese soldiers were busy preparing to evacuate, painter Han came again to ask to paint President Ho, and Uncle Ho advised him to draw fellow soldiers.Scene 17: On December 19, Lam came to find Sainteny again. Michel entered Sainteny's room to ask him to come out, but the guards stopped him, saying that he was "busy". In fact, Sainteny had left the inner city of Hanoi since morning to prepare for war work after the ultimatum expired. Lam only noticed Sainteny's bodyguards hurrying to practice.Scene 18: On the evening of December 19, while the gunfire of the resistance was roaring everywhere, Le's condition deteriorated, and he had to give birth by caesarean section. Lam went to the hospital bed and advised her to try to stay in Hanoi to raise her children, and he followed the army to the base, waiting for the day of victory to reunite. In the middle of a busy street with people building barricades against tanks, Lam met Huong and asked her to take care of Le.Scene 19: In Van Phuc village, President Ho plays a sign calling for the nationwide resistance.Scene 20: The Tonkin Guard Company fights to the last man to protect the symbolic government agency, but actually to give the evacuees enough time to withdraw to the suburbs.Scene 21: The eldest son of Duong's family said goodbye to his wife and children and followed the evacuation group to Viet Bac to work as his brother to raise the army, the young son ran after his father and begged his father to accompany him. Uncle Ho met him by chance and encouraged him to let the boy go with him. The group had reached the north bank of the Red River, looking back at the burning city behind.