After a bad year in 2013 – when big blockbusters were either banned, as China Town (Bụi Đời Chợ Lớn) directed by Charlie Nguyen, or totally failed at the box office, as Once Upon a Time in Vietnam (Lửa Phật) directed by Dustin Nguyen – 2014 proved much better for Vietnamese films, both at the box office and international film festivals.
There were 24 Vietnamese films commercially released in Vietnam in 2014. The first release of 2014, Revengeful Heart (Quả Tim Máu) by Victor Vu, surprisingly broke the box office record, taking 92 billion VND (US$4.3 million). This record had only been set one month earlier with Younger Brother Teo (Tèo Em) directed by Charlie Nguyen which took US$4.1 million. Both movies starred Thái Hòa, a comedian who made his name in Charlie Nguyen’s first comedy, Fool for Love (Để Mai Tính), in which he played a gay character.
In 2014, comedies were the winners at the Vietnamese box office. Younger Brother Teo is a road trip comedy about a weird and funny journey taken by two estranged brothers; it reminds of the Chinese film Lost in Thailand. Revengeful Heart is a horror movie with a touch of comedy about a girl who receives a heart transplant, and starts seeing a spirit that leads her to the house of the girl who donated the heart.
But these records didn’t last long, as another successful comedy, also directed by Charlie Nguyen with Thai Hoa as the lead star, romped home in December 2014. The highly anticipated sequel to Fool for Love achieved the highest-ever box office take for an opening day, bagging US$270,000. For Fool for Love 2 (Để Mai Tính 2), Thái Hòa revisited his rich, successful gay businessman role of Phạm Hương Hội, who now falls in love with a straight, poor artist. This first co-production between Korean CJ E&M and a Vietnamese local studio earned over US$4.7 million, which made it the highest grossing film at the Vietnamese box office to date.
Throughout this year, there were several movies that also became big hits, such as Hollow (Đoạt Hồn), directed by Hàm Trần (Journey from the Fall, How to Fight in Six Inches Heels), a horror movie about a little girl who comes back to her family after being found dead in a river; Scandal 2 (Hào Quang Trở Lại), directed by Victor Vũ, a thriller sequel to Vũ’s series about the showbiz world; Rise (Hương Ga), directed by Cường Ngô (Pearls of the Far East), a fashionable gangster movie based on true story of Dung Hà, one of the most famous female mafia figures in Vietnam; and Dandelion (Chàng trai năm ấy), directed by Quang Huy (The Talent), a coming-of-age drama based on the true story of a young singer who battled cancer.
There are several reasons for the rising box office. The quality of these movies is better, and there are a growing amount screens for them to be seen. CGV, after buying the biggest theater chain in Vietnam, has been expanding their multiplexes and now have 139 screens in Vietnam, with plans to expand further. They will open the first IMAX theatre in April 2015, which will add to their existing 4DX and premium screens that were opened in 2014. Not only CGV, but also Lotte Cinemas, Galaxy Cinemas, BHD Cinemas and many small privately-owned theaters are also opening new screens all over Vietnam.
Most films have been produced by a few main studios in Vietnam for the past 10 years: Galaxy studio, BHD Studio, Chanh Phuong Films, and HK Film. But 2015 marks a big new comer from South Korea, CJ E&M, which plans to produce more local films. Their first feature film, Fool For Love 2 was a big hit, and their second film, a female Vietnamese version of The Hangover, Triple Troubles (Bộ Ba Rắc Rối) will open in April, 2015. CJ E&M is planning to make more local original feature films, as well as remakes of successful Korean films. They are also betting on first-time directors to find new voices for Vietnamese cinema, and two upcoming projects slated for 2015 are being directed by first-timers.
CJ E&M is not the only newcomer in 2015. There is also Wepro Entertainment (The Talent, Dandelion), Vi-Film (Blind Warrior [Hiệp sĩ mù], Speed and Corner [Tốc Độ và Đường Cong]), Metal Film (No Speak [Không Nói Được]), Vblock (Flapping in the Middle of Nowhere [Đập cánh giữa không trung]), and Skyline (Hush [Chung cư ma]). These new studios have also introduced new faces to the industry, and most of the first-time directors are also the heads of these studios. These include Quang Huy (The Talent, Dandelion), Phan Minh (Speed and Corner) and Nguyễn Hoàng Điệp (Flapping in the Middle of Nowhere). Beside these names, in 2014, there were also a line of new directors to this market, such as Van Tran (Hus), Đỗ Thành An (Missing Corpse [Mất Xác]), Trần Việt Anh (No Speak), and Bùi Kim Quy (Inseminator [Người Truyền Giống]).
At the end of 2014, we saw a special cinema phenomenal in Vietnam, when an indie feature-length documentary, The Last Journey of Madame Phung (Chuyến đi cuối cùng của chị Phụng), directed by Nguyễn Thị Thắm, was distributed independently by a small distribution company, Blue Productions. Blue Productions organised small screenings at culture houses, university halls and pre-sold tickets before each screening. The story of a group of transgender persons traveling around Vietnam to sell lottery tickets touched many people during its first screenings, especially those from the entertainment industry, who later helped to promote the movie to the public. After several packed shows, Blue Productions extended the number of screenings, and even CGV started to show this movie in their new special programme, CGV Art House. This was the first documentary to screen in commercial theatres for many years in Vietnam.
Following the success of The Last Journey of Madame Phung, Vblock Media decided to distribute its first feature film independently. Normally, no big distributors want to distribute art-house films like Flapping in the Middle of Nowhere, an indie art-house film that won Best Film at Venice’s Critic’s Week, because there is no market. For example, an indie film 2030 (Nước), directed by Nguyễn Võ Nghiêm Minh, had to cancel its release several times in 2014, even though it was quite successful on the festival circuit, as no cinemas would screen it. But with the success of Madame Phung, and the support of CGV Art House, Flapping in the Middle of Nowhere, a movie about a young girl who tries to abort of her pregnancy with her irresponsible boyfriend, sold around 20,000 tickets in two weeks and was screened at the theatre for about a month. These two cases give indie directors hope that their films in will be distributed in Vietnam.
Indie films still have issues with censorship. Bùi Kim Quy’s Inseminator was banned in Vietnam, and the Vietnamese Cinema Department even contacted the Busan International Film Festival to cancel its screening. Lê Văn Kiệt’s The Lost Tour, an horror road movie about two young men who travel around Vietnam and discover a zombie village, also couldn’t pass censorship. But 2014 was still a great year for indie films.
The Vietnamese art film scene in 2014 opened with 2030 at the Berlinale, where it screened in the Panorama section. In September, Flapping in the Middle of Nowhere, directed by first time director Nguyễn Hoàng Điệp, won the FEDEORA Best Film at Venice Film Festival. At Busan, there were four Vietnamese films, including first time director Bùi Kim Quy’s Inseminator and Lê Văn Kiệt’s Gentle (Dịu Dàng). And Phan Dang Di’s Big Father, Small Father and Other Stories (Cha và con và...) got into the Berlin competition section, which is the first time a Vietnamese film directed by a Vietnamese director enters this competition.
Also, throughout the year, there were several workshops to support young filmmakers to make their first feature films, such as YxineFF’s Pitchfest, Autumn Meeting with Trần Anh Hùng, and the Hanoi International Film Festival’s Talent Campus.
Many veteran Vietnamese directors failed at the box office and received bad reviews. Blind Warrior (Hiệp sĩ mù), directed by Lưu Huỳnh (A White Silk Dress, Legend Is Alive), Gently Walk to Happiness (Bước khẽ đến hạnh phúc), directed by Lưu Trọng Ninh (Wharf of Widows, The Prince and the Pagoda Boy), and Paradise in Heart (Lạc Giới), directed by Phi Tiến Sơn (Down South Up North), all failed.
It seems that a new wave of young directors are getting ready to take over in 2015.
Phan Xi Nê