Zhang Jingchu in the lead role of Red River, a Chinese version of The Lover (File photo)

Director Zhang Jiarui is frank in his admission: If his latest drama Red River (Hong He) is not entirely original that sits comfortably with him.

The tale of a Vietnamese girl, middle-aged Chinese man and the beautiful scenery on the China-Vietnam border is strongly reminiscent of The Lover, a film adapted from Marguerite Duras' novel, and Zhang admits: "I've been a big fan of her novels since my college days and have watched The Lover many times."

Zhang conceived his movie after completing his maiden directorial work When Ruoma Was Seventeen (Nuoma De Shiqisui). He took a trip to Red River, which begins in Yunnan and flows through northern Vietnam, and felt that while it was not as grand as the Mekong, it had its own charm.

"I was touched by many films about Vietnam, like Platoon, Indochine and Heaven and Earth," Zhang says. "They depict relations between Vietnamese and Americans or French. Yet, China and Vietnam share such a long border I thought there must be some great stories between people of these two nations, too."

Zhang set out to make his own, Chinese, version of The Lover, lived in the area for months and found a small Chinese border town, where many Vietnamese had migrated to work. He visited more than 100 Vietnamese women from various walks of life, learning how they felt about the Vietnam War and the love stories they had either experienced themselves or heard about.

Zhang created the character of Tao, the film's heroine (played by rising mainland actress Zhang Jingchu), based on these stories.

Tao is a Vietnamese girl who was traumatized when she was 4 years old and witnessed her father being killed by an American land mine in the 1970s.

Twenty years later she migrates to a border town in China and works in her aunt's massage parlor. The child-like girl there meets two men who both fall in love with her. Her choice between the poor Chinese bachelor and the old Vietnamese mafia lord has a lasting impact on all three.

Hong Kong actor Nick Cheung, just honored as Best Actor in the Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards, plays Xia the bachelor and veteran actor Danny Lee is Xia Ba the gangster.

The film, which will premiere on April 10, features not only the stunning scenery of the Red River area, but also the Vietnamese folk songs, sung by Zhang herself.

"Red River is connected with The Lover in some way, but every director has his or her own style," Zhang says. "I am confident in my film's topic, depth and the relationship between the characters."

(China Daily April 7, 2009)