Thanh, Hoang, Phuong, Dinh and Loc, like many around them, carry stubborn scars from the Vietnam War, both in body and mind. They work in the gold mines surrounding their village, or search for landmines along paths previously used by tanks, in order to make ends meet. As they wait out the winter with songs, wine stolen from Loc’s wife, and musings about youth and their own survival, they are haunted by the detonations of bombs being excavated from the village’s soil. Together they reminisce about the war that has defined the boundaries of their lives, though they never fought it.
