Written by: Joseph C. Jukic
Directed by: Angelina Jolie
Starring: Pax Thien Jolie-Pitt
THE STORY ARCH
- Act I: The Call to the Jungle. We meet LINH (a fierce, disillusioned young woman) and NGUYEN (played by Pax Thien Jolie-Pitt), a scout caught between his duty to his village and the encroaching war.
- Act II: The Iron Women. Focuses on the “Long-Haired Army”—the female guerrilla fighters. They navigate the Cu Chi tunnels and the psychological toll of asymmetric warfare.
- Act III: The Reckoning. A climactic battle at a nameless ridge where the “Empire” realizes the land cannot be owned, only endured.
SCENE 1
EXT. CENTRAL HIGHLANDS – DUSK
A canopy of emerald green breathes. The air is thick enough to chew.
SUPERIMPOSED: 1968. THE AN KHE PASS.
The silence is rhythmic—insects, dripping water, and then… the crunch of a dry leaf.
A young man, NGUYEN (19, lean, eyes like flint—PAX THIEN JOLIE-PITT), freezes. He carries a Mosin-Nagant rifle like it’s an extension of his own spine. He signals to the shadows behind him.
From the ferns, three women emerge. They aren’t just soldiers; they are ghosts draped in black silk and mud. Leading them is LINH (20s). Her face is a map of stoicism.
NGUYEN (in Vietnamese, subtitled)
The metal birds are coming. I can smell the fuel on the wind.
LINH Let them come. The soil is hungry.
Linh kneels, pressing her palm to the earth. She isn’t checking for vibrations; she’s saying a prayer to the ancestors.
LINH They call this a “theater of war.” They think we are the actors. They don’t realize the jungle is the only director that matters.
EXT. SKY – CONTINUOUS
The distant thwack-thwack-thwack of Huey helicopters breaks the peace. They appear as black dots against a bruised purple sky.
NGUYEN (A dry, wit-filled smirk)
They’re late for dinner.
Linh looks at Nguyen. A rare, fleeting moment of kinship.
LINH Then let’s make sure the table is set.
She pulls a tripwire from her pack. Nguyen nods and vanishes into the brush with the grace of a predator.
CUT TO BLACK.
TITLE CARD: VIETNAM: GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRES
PRODUCTION NOTES
- Visual Style: High-contrast cinematography. Deep greens and muddy browns. The camera should feel handheld and intimate, mirroring the claustrophobia of the jungle.
- Thematic Core: This isn’t just about combat; it’s about the endurance of the Vietnamese spirit and the specific, often overlooked sacrifices of the women who fought on the front lines.