Director: Bùi Thac Chuyên
Year: 2026
Country: Vietnam
Alternate Titles: Địa Đạo: Mặt Trời Trong Bóng Tối
Genre: Action/War
Plot:
It is 1967 and Binh An Dong village, on the outskirts of Saigon, lies in ruin. The ground below it, though, teems with activity. A vast network of crudely bored tunnels spreads underneath the whole of Cu Chi district. There, a band of poorly equipped resistance fighters keeps watch and prepares for an impending American attack. Complications arise when an outsider, claiming a vague family link to the village, is captured. His identity is in question, though his skill at improvising bombs is not. Despite her misgivings, the stern fighter Ba Huong finds herself drawn to him. Meanwhile, a team of intelligence officers has arrived on a vital, secret mission, and the Cu Chi guerrillas are tasked with safeguarding them through the hell their enemies are on the verge of unleashing.
Review:
Overall, this was a really strong and effective war film. One of the better factors here is the impressive focus on humanity and characters while taking place in a dramatic, action-packed war film like this. The fact that each of the participants here can be quickly called upon and given a genuinely defined character and plenty of exploits to figure out their motives for what they want out of life and the bond that’s established within the tunnel system they’ve developed as a means of surviving what’s going on at the world above them serves everything quite nicely. There’s a rapid-fire intensity to the first-half to get us invested in this particular part of the war and understand the situation they’re faced with, the kind of odds they have tyo fight back, and the general state of the world that’s forced them into these roles who are also shown to be just as flawed as they are skilled in their craft, creating the kind of character-fosed storyline that helps to make quite an impression.
Still, being a war movie, there’s a fantastic amount of Action here when the story depends on it. The claustrophobic surroundings and cramped locations of the tunnels are the major setting for the majority of this one, as it sets up the fragile nature of where they’re located and how to battle back against the US forces closing in, bringing up some impressive sequences here with various tactics designed to flush the guerrilla team out and them relying on their ingenuity, wits, and bravery to fight back. Those scenes are quite enjoyable, with them surviving bombing raids, artillery fire, and general chaos trying to take out enemy forces while they try to stay alive, which is a lot of fun and keeps this going against a few minor drawbacks to this one. The one lone issue here is that the setup manages to drain some of the impact from the storyline by placing too much going on to really distract from the main story, as there are some big subplots that don’t need to be there, but beyond that, there’s not much to hold it down.
Overview: ****.5/5
An immensely effective and likable take on the war film, there’s plenty of worthwhile elements present here to generate plenty of likable factors that are enough to keep it going overall. Those with an appreciation for the subject matter or who are curious about it will have a lot to like here, while most others out there should heed caution.
This review ran as part of our coverage of the 2026 edition of the Fantasia Film Festival. Click here to follow the rest of our articles about the festivities!
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