The Deserted Valley
(Thung lung hoang vang)

A small school in a mountainous area of Vietnam’s extreme north, where mainly ethnie minorities live. Two young teachers and a janitor seem to have been at the school forever, teaching children. They overcome many hardships to keep the school running. But the flip side of such a lofty responsibility is that they actually have to face their burning desires for love and to have their own families, as well as cope with the isolation of their spiritual lives. Then there comes a day when the school is in danger of being closed down, and the burden of responsibility is put on the janitor, who struggles with it. He succeeds at last. Only a sense of responsibility and profound benevolence could urge these teachers to stay and keep the school open.