Stephane Gauger as Dereu - Head of the French Secret Police force. He has been stationed in Vietnam for 10 years and looks forward to retirement so he can return to France. He often insults and condescends to Sy for his failures. David Minetti as Tessier - A powerful French officer who Cuong faces off with in one of the film's pivotal fight scenes. Production "The Rebel's" cast and crew shot for 80 days in Vietnam, where the local film industry is still developing. They had to deal with a number of obstacles, including crew members who got sick, actors who were injured, and cultural officers who monitored the production's every move. In an interview with Johnny Tri Nguyen, he states that one of the hardest problems in making the film was finding the right actress to play the female lead. Parts of the film, mainly street scenes in the first half of the film, were shot in the old port town of Hội An (standing in for Hanoi). Reception The film premiered in Vietnam in April 2007, where it proved to be a huge success, garnering the highest box office gross for a locally made film up to that point. At the time, it was the most expensive Vietnamese film with a budget of $1.5 million. The Rebel was released in the United States as a two-disc DVD set on September 30, 2008 (from Dragon Dynasty). In the special features, Johnny Nguyen, Dustin Nguyen, and Ngo Thanh Van not only provide audio commentary, but also dubbed their own characters for the film's English language track. It was also featured at the 2007 Bangkok International Film Festival, the Austin Film Festival, the Hawaii International Film Festival, and was the Opening Night screening at the 2007 Mammoth Film Festival. Honours and awards VIFF 2007 Feature film of 15th Vietnam Film Festival References External links 2007 films Films about rebels Films set in French Indochina Films shot in Vietnam 2007 action films Vietnamese martial arts films Vietnamese historical films