Trinh T. Minh-ha’s film Forgetting Vietnam traverses time and space of the filmmaker’s country of birth, North and South, land and water, sounds and images. The film marks the 40th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War and commemorates its survivors. And yet, in 90mins., the Vietnam War is felt and evoked though never “seen.” That is why the role of images and cinematic representation in remembering and forgetting is one of the concerns of this film, but by no means the only theme nor the subject-matter of the film. While profoundly immersed in Vietnamese life, imagery and history, it also interrogates the power of cinema, seeing and recording, and the relation between inside(r) and outside(r). More prominently than in any of her works—with the exception of Surname Viet, Given Name Nam (1989), which is the only other film Trinh made that is concerned with Vietnam—the modes and sites of memory and forgetting are central to the film. The film asks, “Who remembers? Who conceals?” and how are images complicit to such movements? In particular, the movement and role of the sea in Vietnamese history and mythology are captured. We hear the rhythms of water puppet theater; reflect on how the earth remembers; and listen to folk songs and poetry about women and their relationship to water. But the ghosts of war are always lurking, especially in the traces and sounds of war that are barely perceptible and vividly dis-remembered. These stories and memories are woven together through a multi-layered tapestry of images, sounds and voices, overlays, screen wipes, and words moving across the screen. Form and content are interconnected, as are the unknown or unrepresentable with the familiar and the mundane. Both in Trinh’s theorizing about and approach to filmmaking, the what and the how are always necessarily linked. It is with the editing, framing, and camera movements that the film speaks of leave-taking, returns, disappearance, and recording. Forgetting Vietnam thus plays with Trinh’s personal memories, family history, and footage of her father and other family members. The personal and the political are intertwined in the acts of forgetting and

中文翻译：

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忘记越南

Trinh T. Minh-ha 的电影《忘记越南》穿越了导演出生国、南北、土地和水、声音和图像的时间和空间。这部电影标志着越南战争结束 40 周年，并纪念其幸存者。然而，在 90 分钟内，虽然从未“见过”，却感受到并引发了越南战争。这就是为什么图像和电影表现在记忆和遗忘中的作用是这部电影的关注点之一，但绝不是电影的唯一主题或主题。在深刻沉浸在越南生活、影像和历史中的同时，它也质疑电影、观看和记录的力量，以及内部（r）和外部（r）之间的关系。比她的任何作品都更为突出——除了 Surname Viet, Given Name Nam (1989)，这是 Trinh 制作的唯一一部与越南有关的电影——记忆和遗忘的模式和地点是这部电影的核心。电影问：“谁记得？谁隐瞒？” 图像如何与这种运动共谋？特别是，海洋在越南历史和神话中的运动和作用被捕获。我们听到水上木偶戏的节奏；反思地球如何记忆；并聆听有关女性及其与水的关系的民歌和诗歌。但是战争的幽灵总是潜伏着，尤其是在几乎无法察觉和生动地忘记的战争痕迹和声音中。这些故事和记忆通过图像、声音和声音、覆盖、屏幕擦拭和在屏幕上移动的文字的多层挂毯编织在一起。形式与内容相互关联，未知或无法代表的事物与熟悉的事物和平凡的事物一样。在 Trinh 的电影制作理论和方法中，什么和怎么做总是必然联系在一起的。影片通过剪辑、取景和摄影机动作讲述了离开、回归、消失和录制。因此，《忘记越南》与 Trinh 的个人记忆、家族历史以及她父亲和其他家庭成员的镜头有关。个人的和政治的在遗忘的行为中交织在一起 因此，《忘记越南》与 Trinh 的个人记忆、家族历史以及她父亲和其他家庭成员的镜头有关。个人的和政治的在遗忘的行为中交织在一起 因此，《忘记越南》与 Trinh 的个人记忆、家族历史以及她父亲和其他家庭成员的镜头有关。个人的和政治的在遗忘的行为中交织在一起