The family and fiancée of a valiant Vietnamese military officer fall victim to injustice and ruin during the turbulent period in the divided country.
"Krus Na Kawayan" is a true story about a valiant Vietnamese Military Officer whose family and fiancé fell victim to injustice and ruin during the Communist insurgency in Vietnam.
The story and screenplay was written by a distinguished Vietnamese writer, Vinh Noan; and was filmed in black and white, in 1955-1956, entirely on location, in Vietnam under the direction of Manuel Conde.
The film was shot in two versions, a Vietnamese and a Tagalog version, and with each version's main characters played by its own set of native actors. Two battalions of Vietnamese soldiers were engaged to act as extras for the film.
Due to budget constraints, Conde, in the Tagalog version of "Krus Na Kawayan", employed not only professional actors like Aida Cariño, Africa de la Rosa, Ding Tello, Myrna Mirasol and Bruno Punzalan, but also tapped into the hidden acting talents of his driver (Julian Yulo as the refugee barber), booker (Paolo Salvacion, as his father), secretary (Sol Gaudite, as an accuser), son (Jun Urbano, as another accuser), nephew, and next door neighbor, giving them all a chance to emote with speaking lines; and well enough at that.
The Vietnamese version, "Chung Toi Muon" was a blockbuster in Vietnam, while the dubbed English version, "Let Us Live", was viewed at international art theaters up to the mid-80s.
Direction: Manuel Conde
Screenplay: Vinh Noan
Cinematography: Emmanuel Rojas
Sound: Flaviano Villareal
Music: Francisco Buencamino, Jr.
Cast:
Manuel Conde
Aida Cariño
Ding Tello
Myrna Mirasol
Bruno Punzalan
Ben Castillo
Frica de la Rosa
Totoy Torrente
Paul Salvacion
Julian Yulo
Solano Gaudite
Daniel Timog
Manuel Urbano, Jr.
Ricardo Remias
Henry Urbano
Max Rodriguez
Betty Zamora
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