Roman Karmen, an eminent documentary-news film-maker of the former Soviet Union, was present at many hot spots throughout the world, including Spain (during the civil war), China (in the anti-Japan resistance war), Myanmar, India and Cuba. In 1954, he came to Vietnam, a burning spot, which was then attracting great attention from the whole world, and made a documentary film, titled "Vietnam", which is now a valuable asset of the Vietnamese people.

Before coming to Vietnam, R. Karmen had prepared for himself a rich knowledge of Vietnam and its people. Hence, with his camera he introduced truly and sincerely to the audience the country of Vietnam, which was then not well known by many people in the world. It was a peaceful countryside with thatch-roofed houses, rice fields and flying white storks; a gentle river, bamboo hedges, rows of coconut trees laden with fruit. The country had a traditional culture thousands of years old, with its brilliant symbol, Van Mieu (Temple of Literature) and Quoc Tu Giam (First National University). This country and its people had suffered, for almost a century, under the yoke of the French colonialists, in their prisons or with a starving life, in which the fathers and their sons had in turns to pull the plough instead of the buffaloes. But then, the people of this country, millions as one, shared a common oath, i.e. "we rather sacrifice ourselves than to live in slavery", and together they stood up to fight the invaders for national independence.

The entire nation embarked on the resistance war to defend national independence and unification. R. Karmen reflected the Vietnamese people’s staunch will through vivid and truthful scenes. Under the bombs and shells anti-illiteracy classes were opened in many hamlets and villages, that reflected the yearning desire for learning of this nation. Along with the resistance war against the foreign invaders, there was a fight against the feudal regime to take back the land and give it to the farmers.

R. Karmen reserved a rather long part in his film to describe the Vietnamese people's sacred resistance war, with fights to attack the enemy's posts and destroy them on Highway 5. But the most notable scenes were about the historical campaign of Dien Bien Phu. The whole country joined in the fighting: the army men, the artilleries - big and small, the labourers who carried goods on their shoulders or transported commodities and weapons with pack-bikes, by boats or bamboo rafts, to the battle front. R. Karmen recorded scenes of the army men hauling the artillery, tonnes of weight each, over the mountain slopes - an extremely heavy task. He also captured images of General Vo Nguyen Giap, the Commander-in-Chief of the Campaign, working with his staff in the Command Post at Muong Phang. At the time when the Vietnamese people celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu Victory, they were very happy to watch R. Karmen's film "Vietnam" on television. They had a chance to see again a soldier upholding a victorious flag on the top of the command bunker of the French General De Castries, together with a long line with more than ten thousand French prisoners surrendering. R.Karmen's camera lens focused on the sad and frightened faces of the French troops, who had just escaped from death. Showing them, R.Karmen put a question: "For whom did they fight?" and then he gave an answer: "They are merely mercenaries for a unjust war."

Watching R.Karmen's film, the Vietnamese audience was deeply moved to see President Ho Chi Minh, together with other leaders, including Truong Chinh and Pham Van Dong, working in the thatch-roofed and bamboo walled "Presidential Palace" in the Viet Bac resistance zone. The President looked simple, yet very brisk, proving his wisdom and courage and he was the soul of the resistance.

In October 1954, from the Viet Bac resistance zone, R.Karmen came to Hanoi. He witnessed the Vietnamese army men taking power from the French. The streets were quiet, and there were only French troops preparing to withdraw from the city. The scene of the last French troops withdrawing from Hanoi across the Long Bien Bridge brought to a close the colonialists' scheme of invasion. Then came the next scene of Hanoi full of flowers and flags, and people who were happy to welcome the soldiers of the Capital Regiment. Nine years before, those soldiers had quietly crossed the Red River and left Hanoi for the Viet Bac resistance zone to wage a long resistance war. The audience was deeply moved by these scenes recorded by R. Karmen. With only 70 minutes of film, R. Karmen was successful in introducing to the world the country of Vietnam, with a culture of thousands of years old, and its people who were brave and heroic, and who would never live in slavery.

Welcoming Uncle Ho’s soldiers back to Hanoi capital on the liberation day -October 10, 1954.

Fifty years ago, the film "Vietnam" by R.Karmen was widely shown in Northern Vietnam, under the name "Vietnam on the victorious path". This year, on the 50th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu Victory, the Vietnamese people nationwide had a chance again to watch on television the colour version and enjoyed seeing the glorious time of the nation.

Roman Karmen is no more. Of the Vietnamese associates helping R. Karmen make the film, including Mai Loc, Hong Nghi, Quang Huy and Tien Loi, and his literature advisor, writer Nguyen Dinh Thi, some have died. But the valuable documentary of Vietnam recorded by R. Karmen will be alive forever.

Story: Le Sonnbsp; - Photos: File and from the film “Vietnam” by Roman Karmen

Roman Karmen’s memoirs of President Ho Chi Minh President Ho Chi Minh and Roman Karmen at the Viet Bac resistance base. “In all hardest periods of the struggle, the flag for millions of Vietnamese people is the brilliant name of Ho Chi Minh. Inside of the modest appearance are the great objectives of the people, who struggle for freedom.” (Roman Karmen) In his memoirs, Roman Karmen expressed a huge regard for President Ho Chi Minh. He wrote: “There are meetings that are engraved in one’s mind for the whole life and leave a deep and incomparable imprint in the soul and the most inner part of the heart. One of them was the meeting between Ho Chi Minh and us. We went along a small path, an abyss, and passed through a forest of bamboo, palm and wild banana trees and we saw a thatched roof. From the terrace of the thatched hut, a man in farmer’s costume approached us. If we had met him a few days earlier on the path or in the field, we surely would have thought that he was a common farmer.” President Ho Chi Minh paid much attention to R. Karmen’s work and asked everyone to provide the best conditions for him to work. He did not allow R. Karmen to take a car in the daytime to ensure the complete safety for the film-making crew. Only one thing that President Ho Chi Minh suggested to R. Karmen was that the cameraman should record more images of Vietnamese people, who gained the historical feats-of-arms. R. Karmen said that he and President Ho Chi Minh talked and exchanged views with each other in Russian for a full day. When being asked whether Russian was difficult or not, the President said: “A revolutionary has to master the language of Lenin”. Story: Duong Trung Quoc