Teacher Thứ, also known simply as the Teacher, is the main protagonist of Nam Cao's short story Old Man Hạc as well as the film Once Upon a Time in Vũ Đại Village, a composite adaptation of Nam Cao's stories. He is a teacher from the Vũ Đại Village who is forced to retire due to his school being closed, and a good friend of the titular Old Man Hạc.
In Once Upon a Time in Vũ Đại Village, he was portrayed by Hữu Mười.
Personality[]
Befitting a teacher, Thứ is wise and understanding. He always sympathizes with poor lives like those of Old Man Hạc and Chí Phèo, and despises the elitists like Bá Kiến and Village Mayor Cường. Despite Chí's bad reputation as "the demon of the Vũ Đại village", the Teacher nevertheless befriends him and talks with him on a daily basis as he knows that Chí is just a victim of circumstances. He also tries to expose Bá Kiến and Cường's shady activities on newspaper despite the two threatening to silence him multiple times.
Upon thinking that Old Man Hạc is using dog baits to make money, the Teacher is saddened that the good old man is corrupted by the system at last. However, after learning that Hạc actually uses them to commit suicide due to being unable to live with the guilt of selling Vàng, the Teacher vows to continue his wish to keep the garden at all cost as a last respect for a man who has lived a miserable life. Knowing that he can't stay in the village, he leaves to save his country.
The Teacher likes smoking tobaccos, drinking tea and eating sweet potatoes, telling Old Man Hạc that they're true luxuries in life.
Biography[]
Old Man Hạc[]
Teacher Thứ once taught in school, but retired and returned to the village when it was closed. He often talks with Old Man Hạc about the latter's life, in that Hạc's son has left for the rubber plantation and Hạc has to keep his own garden for him once he returns. One day, Old Man Hạc decides to sell his beloved dog Vàng due to the lack of money, and although the Teacher consoles him by telling him that Vàng may reincarnate into a better life, Hạc says that Vàng may reincarnate into a poor human one like his own.
Later on, the Teacher meets the village's thief Binh Tư, who tells him that Old Man Hạc has asked for him for some dog baits to kill stray dogs to make money, making the Teacher wonder if the old man has finally resorted to a low way to make a living, much to his sadness. However, it turns out that Old Man Hạc actually uses the dog baits to commit suicide, having been unable to live with the guilt of selling Vàng. Saddened by his death, the Teacher vows to keep Hạc's garden until the latter's son returns.
Once Upon a Time in Vũ Đại Village[]
The Teacher's role largely remains the same as in the short story, but here due to the movie also incorporating events from Nam Cao's other short stories, it's added that he's working with the newspaper to expose Bá Kiến and Village Mayor Cường's shady activities. As a result, the two conspire to silence him. It's also added that he's a good friend with Chí Phèo, who is also given Binh Tư's role as the one who gives Old Man Hạc the dog baits. The Teacher would then attend Old Man Hạc's funeral alongside Chí Phèo and the rest of the villagers, burying the old man and paying him respects.
Afterwards, Chí Phèo goes to Bá Kiến's house and kills the latter before committing suicide. However, this results in Cường, Kiến's son, becoming the new canton chief, replacing his deceased father. Sick of all the tragedies that Bá Kiến and Cường have brought onto the Vũ Đại village and knowing that he would die eventually if he stays, the Teacher leaves to an uncertain future. It's implied that he will eventually join the August Revolution.
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Trivia[]
- Teacher Thứ is the representation of Nam Cao himself to speak of his view about society at the time. His entire situation of being a teacher who retires due to school being closed is based on Nam Cao's.
- Interestingly, 21 years after first portraying a teacher, Hữu Mười would become one for real when he became the Head of the Department of Television of Hanoi Academy of Theatre and Cinema and continued to be so until he retired. Hữu Mười himself had noted this.