Despite the peaceful rural setting, the film is shot in black and white illustrating the oppressive and suffocating atmosphere of war.
The theme of sadness and the inevitability of death dominates the film, uncovering a painful daily reality - a living imprint of Vietnam's history on the common people.
Since the actress Lê Vân [vi] played the title role of this film, her name has been closely linked to the character Duyên, the wife of the sacrificed fighter, a symbol of the fate of thousands, even millions of Vietnamese women in the face of war.
With the help of Khang, a local schoolteacher and amateur poet, she tries to hide this devastating news from everyone, especially from her father in-law who is ill and has already lost his other son to war a few years ago.
After authorities reviewed the screenplay numerous times, they forewarned Dang Nhat Minh that he would be allowed to make the film under the condition that the widow whose husband died in the war must not fall in love with the village's teacher.