Pham Viet Thanh’s love story

Love stories in real life, of course, always have both joy and sadness and moments of reflection. But through his voice, the sad details of the past like the wounds have now healed.

Cinematographer Pham Viet Thanh works in the black and white cinema era

Ask him about that feeling. He said: “Because the people involved have behaved sincerely, frankly, with respect to all sides. They acknowledge and accept the predestined impulses of life.”

His love and marriage story with Ms. Khanh (People’s Artist Le Khanh), starting from a relationship in the field of filmmaking and film production?

The first time I worked with Khanh was in the movie “Hunting and stealing” directed by Tran Phuong, when I was filming the main movie.

The first thing is to take pictures to audition for the role of monk Bang Thanh, choose actors. The first try was the reformed actor Thanh Thanh Hien. Hien is smart but a bit short and chubby.

After that, Khanh was photographed in the attic of Mr. Phuong’s house and Khanh was selected. Khanh at that time was famous in the theater, as with the play “Romeo and Juliet”, and also in the film, with “From a forest” by female director Duc Hoan when Khanh was only ten years old.

With Painter, Photographer Tran Huy Hoan and Director Trinh Le Van

I think, the old people often say it’s because of fate, because of the word predestined, or as some people say, it’s because “She loves…, loves both”.

How about you, what is the current level of popularity of cinematographer Pham Viet Thanh?

At that time, I already had a place in the filming “village”, that is, when the directors had a new film project, they invited me in the sense of asking “Will you go shoot for me?”, but I was no longer there. so he had to say, “Will you let me go with you to film this movie?”.

Khanh at this time is still participating in another movie in Saigon, so every time the scene of this movie ends, he “runs” to another movie to shoot. Just rotate the “tassel”. In the movie I filmed, there is a scene where a nun walks in the night to save a revolutionary soldier.

A “wide view” with the girl riding the buggy uphill. I “catch” the design team to get water to wet the whole bridge to create a shadow for the light so that it will be very beautiful when shown. I heard my brothers mutter: “This guy likes actress Le Khanh, so every scene is fussy, but I have to admit it’s beautiful!”.

Love is mostly from eye contact, but starts with holding hands. What about brothers and sisters?

Once back in Saigon, I was able to borrow a “child” of a Honda PC from a friend, actor Thuong Tin. I invited Khanh and took her to Lai Thieu to play and eat duck porridge. I talk about my career dreams.

Finished the film, Khanh came to return the raincoat. When giving it to me, Khanh said “goodbye!”. After listening to it, I was very upset, so I confided in the senior actor Trong Khoi. Mr. Khoi explained: “You’re too stupid, you have to go back right away. “Goodbye” means that there is a problem, that is, never to see each other again, that is: “Do you want to never see each other again?”.

Director Pham Viet Thanh and three famous sisters in his wife’s family: Le Van, Le Vi, Le Khanh

So I immediately turned around, ran to the place Khanh used to stay in (Khanh’s uncle’s house on Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street) and asked Khanh to have coffee. This time, in a situation of acting as if by accident, I held Khanh’s hand.

And only that.

But then there was the time when I wrote the letters. These letters can be compared to waves that add to the love between me and Khanh that has been rekindled before. I wrote very long, the short picture is a few, seven pages.

After that, I made a hundred-page notebook, sealed it, and asked my friend, director Le Duc Tien, to bring it to her house and hand it over to her. I didn’t come back for Christmas that year, I missed it and sent that book as a gift.

Before that, letters sent by post were ten pages, twelve pages. In it, I once described a gecko looking for a lover, which took 5 pages.

Are you describing a real gecko? What word do you take to describe the gecko and attach it in the theme of love with Khanh?

There is a real gecko in the area at 6 Don Dat (ie, No. 6 Thai Van Lung – where the Vietnam Film Studio used to live) I live.

I describe it as lonely and go alone. When looking for prey, it stalks to bite the bait is a fly or mosquito. When it’s finished, it goes to a hidden corner to eat. I focus on describing its bewilderment. When flies and mosquitoes fly around, geckos tilt their heads and necks to observe and stalk for a long time.

But the prey was so busy flying that it didn’t land anywhere, causing the gecko to turn its head from side to side. In the time I witnessed, the gecko looked back too much and rushed to grab the bait but missed, so it fell to the ground, fell back. I saw it, it turned over and ran very quickly into the dark, climbing up the tree.

People often put birds and butterflies or put something cute in love letters, but I describe a gecko, bewildered and defeated.

Is the confession process still long?

After 1-2 years, making the film “White Flower River” with the “war” crew is director Tran Phuong, deputy director Tat Binh, cinematographer Pham Viet Thanh.

Film crew at Can Tho Provincial Party Committee guest house. Khanh’s room and his room faced each other across the corridor. One thing that I noticed is that when I sing in the bathroom, the sound echoes and echoes through the ventilation duct out to the opposite side of the room. I know that Khanh heard me sing. My voice is not good, so I only sing a few lines, for example:

“Tell me what day”

I know I love you

I know the future…

Which day

Know what to expect

Know how to be happy and sad waiting for you in the rain… (When will you know your love/ Ngoc Chanh – Pham Duy)

I still whistle. Whistling, I whistle well.

The two of us were now holding hands and acting in a “head of your eyes, bottom of your eyes” manner. Also from the previous movie, so the two seem to be dating in this movie. While eating at the same table, our feet also touched each other under the table.

One foot on top of the other. The other leg is still for a while and then moves, put it on this leg again. Like that…

Actress Tra Giang saw the “love movement” of her two legs. She called me to meet in private, sternly told me with a Southern accent: “Be careful, he’s a good kid. Live responsibly, right?”

This time I made a movie, I suggested shooting the big scene in the middle of the river during the day.

The night before, when everyone moved the technical equipment back to the riverbank, I asked Khanh to go out. In the guest house of Can Tho Provincial Party Committee, the space and landscape are very beautiful.

The two went to the gate, when passing a blockhouse, I took Khanh’s hand to pull, Khanh walked low and high steps to follow.

Come inside, I kiss you. She was passive but responsive, shivering. The kiss was very long. But every kiss comes to an end. Khanh stammered: “Now, how should I live?”.

And how do you answer her?

I had to answer with another kiss, long and deep. Honestly, at that time, I just let go of my feelings. But don’t know how. So how can you answer clearly and concisely? How can a philosopher or psychologist be then?

Then how did you and Khanh officially come together?

But then it’s time to give a specific answer. The two met again and again when they finished filming and returned to Hanoi, then made a decision: “You come back to my life, I run back to your life”. The two children agreed after many times of dating, there were mudflats, corn fields … witnessed.

Khanh borrowed a cassette player from Le Van, sat behind her and plugged a headset into her ear – when I was riding a motorbike – and then played the tape “Yesterday” by the group “The Beatles”, meaning that what has passed is only the past. , was just yesterday.

In the corn field, Khanh told me to listen again. Then I told about my daughter, Khanh told about Khanh’s parents. The two of us decided to separate the time in years, to realize for ourselves, do we really need each other?

Then exactly 1 year.

The seniors and seniors like Mrs. Tra Giang, the cameraman Nguyen Khanh Du, etc., were very supportive of their marriage with Khanh, but they all told them to be decisive with the past in order to have a future. Can’t be half-hearted, will make all three suffer.

Then Khanh met and consulted their mutual friend, who is their best friend. She said: “Thanh is very good, but how you do it is up to you”. Meet her boyfriend, the answer is the same. Khanh asked the third person to be director Tran Phuong. Mr. Phuong also said, Thanh is good, it’s good, but short and long fate, I can’t predict it, son.

Finally, Khanh and I moved to live together in area 20 Phan Dinh Phung (Hanoi), which is the house bought by Khanh’s parents: Mr. and Mrs. Tran Tien, Le Mai. My love story with Khanh, I think is beautiful and durable, because there are challenges that both of them have held hands to overcome.

The first days of love, on Long Bien bridge (Hanoi)

We are just waiting and waiting for our two children, Thuc and Hen, to get married and organize a wedding, then we will also “eat along” and organize it for us right away. Because until now, Khanh has not been able to wear a wedding dress in real life.

We look forward to that day!