Within a day of its release, “Pain amidst peace”, composed by Nguyen Van Chung, attracted over 1.8 million views. According to music chart website Kworb, the song's music video was the most viewed video on YouTube Vietnam in the past 24 hours and reached the top 20 globally on the platform.

Hoa Minzy portrays a wife whose husband fought in the 81-day battle to defend the Quang Tri citadel. Director Nhu Dang incorporated scenes from the film Red rain, such as Platoon 1 firing back at the enemy and comrades closing the eyes of a fallen soldier.

The song, with its moving lyrics, melody, and story, has resonated with many listeners. Several viewers said they were moved to tears when the song played at the end of the film, empathizing with the mothers and wives of the soldiers who died on the banks of the Thach Han River. Viewer Thanh Thuy said, "After watching the film, I went home and listened to this song, and tears streamed down my face again. Thank you to those who fell for the peace we have today,".

Hoa Minzy in a scene from the music video. She also played a small role in "Red rain". Photo: Provided by the artist

Director Dang Thai Huyen chose the song as the film's main theme because of its humane message and Hoa Minzy’s emotive vocals. “I believe this song will have its own strong and lasting impact," she said.

Nguyen Van Chung spent almost a week researching and watching the film to cultivate his emotions, then completed the song in three hours. During recording, at the climax of the song, Hoa Minzy broke down crying, moving everyone in the studio. One of the most haunting lines for her was: "Peace has come, but where are my children? / They sleep forever on the battlefield".

In addition to the main theme, “What’s more beautiful”, inspired by Red rain, has reached nearly 6 million listens. While not featured in the film, the song gained attention upon its release before the film's premiere. On TikTok, tens of thousands of users have used the chorus as background music for videos about patriotism: "The war will end, but my child has not returned/ Mother, be happy, you have a heroic son".

Composer Nguyen Hung said he wrote “What’s more beautiful” while reading the script and during the casting for Red rain, completing it after filming wrapped. He is happy that the song has resonated with many young people during the 80th National Day celebrations. Nguyen Hung is also the composer and singer of the song “Miracle”, which became a hit when it was released in 2/2025.

Produced by the People’s Army Cinema, Red rain is set during the battle to defend the Quang Tri citadel and is based on the novel of the same name by Chu Lai. The main character is Dang Huy Cuong, a music student whose father is a veteran of the war against the French and whose older brother is a martyr. Despite being selected to study abroad, Cuong volunteers to go to war.

During his time as a soldier, he meets various people like Platoon Leader Ta, Sen, an older soldier from Saigon, Binh Vau, a former art student from Dong Ha, Hai Gu, a plumber from Ha Tay, and the youngest, Tu, a 16-year-old soldier. They represent different social classes but share the common goal of fighting for peace.

Mai Nhat