Documentary
79 primaveras
Santiago Álvarez · 1969
Synopsis
A tribute to Ho Chi Minh, put together after his death in 1969. An impressionistic biography made of photographs, newsreels and poems of the Vietnamese leader, the film follows his path from militant student to head of the independence movement. Its most famous sequence carries the violence of war images over to the film stock itself, which the filmmaker mistreats.
Context
The film appeared in the very year of Ho Chi Minh's funeral, which the director filmed in Vietnam, and it was edited by Norma Torrado. Travis Wilkerson sees in it the most radical document of the author's most radical period, and a masterpiece of personal cinema. The film circulates in English under the titles 79 Spring Times of Ho Chi Minh or 79 Springtimes of Ho Chi Minh, depending on the distributors. Its running time varies from print to print, from nineteen to twenty-five minutes.
Who it is for
A black-and-white short film with no plot; a few reference points on the Vietnam War shed light on the editing.
Prizes and reception
Golden Dove and International Critics' Prize at Leipzig in 1969, Grand Prize of the Tampere festival in 1970.