Fresh Blooms: Vietnamese Cinema in 2015

 It started at the end of 2014, when two first-time female directors, Nguyen Thị Tham and Nguyen Hoang Diep, released their indie films through mainstream distributor CGV Art House Cinema. The Last Journey of Madam Phung is a feature-length documentary (directed by Nguyen Thi Tham) about a group of transgender people travelling around the country selling lottery tickets. It was released in a small theatre in Ho Chi Minh City, but it became so popular via word of mouth, that CGV Art House Cinema agreed to distribute it under their new special programme – CGV Cinema aims to support local film and art house/ indie productions by distributing them with cheaper ticket prices. It became one of the most successful documentaries ever in Vietnam, and reached more than 30,000 viewers, many of them from the LGBT community.

 

CGV also distributed Flapping in the Middle of Nowhere, directed by Nguyen Hoang Diep, after the movie won many international prizes including Venice’s FEDEORA best film award. The movie follows the journey of Huyen, a young girl from Hanoi. Huyen gets pregnant, and her irresponsible boyfriend runs away after asking her to have an abortion. 

 

With the hype from The Last Journey of Madam Phung helping Vietnamese indie film, Flapping in the Middle of Nowhere won attention from audiences who would usually ignore this kind of film. 2015 was a great success commercially and critically for movies by first-time directors. Films included: Son Dep Trai (Son the Handsome*, directed by Truong Quang Thinh), a comedy about a not-so-handsome man who tries to escort a beautiful singer, which leads him into a dangerous adventure; Ma Dai (Flexible Ghost*, directed by Duc Thinh and Hoang Duy), a comedy about a beautiful rich girl who is forced to help an ugly ghost complete his wishes; The Returners (Nguoi tro ve – directed by Dang Thai Huyen), a drama about a female soldier who returns from war to discover her lover married someone else; Love (Yeu, directed by Viet Max), a love story inspired by Thailand’s Love of Siam about two lesbian girls who have to fight for their love; Five Steps of Love (Ve duong cho yeu chay, directed by Vu Ngoc Phuong), a romantic comedy about love and friendship between a group of young people; Sweet 20 (Em la ba noi cua anh, directed by Phan Gia Nhat Linh – yes, it’s me who is writing this article), a remake of the Korean movie Miss Granny about a foul mouthed old lady who suddenly transforms into her 20-year-old self. Sweet 20 became a phenomenon in Vietnam after it was released last December. 

 

It became the most commercially successful release of the year, and the most critically acclaimed one, too. It out-performed Star Wars: The Force Awakens at the box office on its opening weekend, and went on to become the highest grossing movie in Vietnam in two months. It also won the Best Audience Award at The Vietnamese Film Festival 2015. Other newcomers include Nguyen Quang Huy (Dandelion / Chang trai nam ay), Phan Minh (Trum Co / Weed Boss*), Ly Hai (Lat Mat / Face-off*) and Nhat Trung (49 Days / 49 ngay).

 

These new directors have been praised by audiences and critics, and their voices have made Vietnamese cinema more diverse and fresh. By contrast, many films by veteran directors were commercial and critical failures, such as Nguyen Quang Dung’s superhero film Super X (Sieu nhan X), Luu Huynh’s musical Hy sinh doi trai (Manhood Sacrifice*), and Vu Ngoc Dang’s gay thriller Con ma nha ho Vuong (A Ghost from Vuong’s Family*).

 

One of the biggest failures was Farewell Berlin Wall (Quyen), directed by Nguyen Phan Quang Binh, which had a budget of 22 billion VND (US$1 million), but earned less than 9 billion VND (US$410,000). Farewell Berlin Wall is an epic drama about the life of a Vietnamese woman who immigrated to East Germany before the fall of the Berlin Wall. The movie also didn’t win critical praise, and was not accepted to any major international film festivals. 

 

In 2015, the state-owned studio movies didn’t make any money at the box office or play at any international film festivals, even though their budgets were high. My Nhan (The Beauty*), a poorly produced and directed historical drama budgeted at 16 billion VND (US$727,000 USD made just 500 million VND (US$22,000). Comedies still perform strongly at the Vietnamese box office, with bankable comedians such as Thai Hoa, Hoai Linh and newcomer Truong Giang. But these comedies don’t get good reviews from film critics.

 

Meanwhile, many critically acclaimed movies are big commercial failures, which leads studios to play it safe and invest primarily in comedies. At the end of 2014 and in early 2015, a drama inspired by a true story became a box-office hit with taking 60 billion VND (US$2.7 million). Dandelion (Chang trai nam ay) follows a young singer who discovers he has cancer, but tries to hide it from his family and friends.

 

Dandelion proved that good drama can also drag Vietnamese audiences to theatres. The lead actor, Son Tung MTP, later became the number one superstar of Vietnam. The comedic drama Jackpot (Trung So), Dustin Nguyen’s second feature as director, became a big hit during the Lunar New Year season. This traditional holiday is the usual time for comedies to perform well at the Vietnamese box office.

 

The film follows a lottery seller who helps other people, although her own life is problematic and miserable. Jackpot was later selected by The Cinema Department to represent Vietnam for submission to the Oscar’s best foreign film category. As previously mentioned, Vietnam’s first superhero movie attempt Super X (Sieu Nhan X), by director Nguyen Quang Dung, was a failure at the box office, earning 16 billion VND (US$727,000) on a 20 billion VND (US$900,000) budget. By contrast Ngay Nay Ngay Nay (Once Upon Nowadays*) the first attempt at a fantasy film from famous actress, and first-time producer, Ngo Thanh Van (Veronica Ngo), proved a limited success. It earned 35 billion VND at the box office (US$1.6 million).

 

It’s a fantasy fairytale about two fairies who journey to present day Ho Chi Minh City. Their quest is to find the Dragon King before evil takes over their Heavenly Kingdom. After making her international film debut in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon 2, Ngo Thanh Van decided to direct the sequel, Tam Cam: The Untold (Tam Cam Chuyen Chua Ke), based on a Vietnamese Cinderella-alike fairy story with a modern twist. Tam Cam will be released later in 2016. In October, another drama became a phenomenon at the box office: Yellow Flowers on the Green Grass (Toi thay hoa vang tren co xanh), directed by Victor Vu, and produced by Galaxy Studio and The Cinema Department. The movie is based on a best-selling novel about two brothers growing up in the Vietnamese countryside during the 1980s. Nostalgia was a big draw for the audience. Up until Sweet 20, this movie was the number one hit at the box office with 78 billion VND (around US$3.5 million).

 

Its success shows that a non-comedy without big stars can still succeed at the box-office. Sadly, the success of Yellow Flowers is the exception to the rule rather than the norm. For example, in early 2016, director Ham Tran’s Bitcoin Heist (Sieu Trom) failed at the box office during the Lunar New Year season, even though the movie was praised by film critics and online audiences. Well edited, fast paced and possessing great action sequences, and an abundance of visual effects, the movie still couldn’t convince Vietnamese audiences to vote with their wallets. It couldn’t compete with the many low-brow comedies during the holiday season, and a battle between local exhibitors and distributors didn’t help. On top of this, several Chinese and Hollywood blockbusters (such as Stephen Chow’s Mermaid and Marvel’s Deadpool) were conquering the box office during the same period. 

 

Some industry insiders feel that movie audiences are resistant to new and interesting genres. Others think the box-office disappointments were due to a lack of emotion, and a lack of sympathetic characters. By the end of 2014, comedy sequel Let Hoi Decide (De Mai Tinh 2), directed by Charlie Nguyen and produced by CJ E&M, had made a record 105 billion VND (US$4.72 million) to become the highest-grossing movie of all time in Vietnam. Early 2015 was disappointing, as many films bombed, such as Detective Henry (Quyen, Tham tu Henry), Triple Trouble (Bo Ba Rac Roi), Kungfu Pho, Hy sinh doi trai... 

 

Comedies still ruled the box office, including Lat Mat, an action comedy (60 billion VND / US$2.7 million), Ma Dai, a horror comedy (40 billion VND / US$1.8 million), 49 Days, another horror comedy (70 billion VND / US$3.15 million), and Gia Gan, My Nhan va gang-to (Old Man, Beautiful Girl and Gangsters*), an action comedy (50 billion VND / $2.25 million USD). 

 

By the end of 2015, Sweet 20 (Em la ba noi cua anh) broke all records when it earned 106 billion VND (US$4.76 million), and at the time of writing is still playing in theatres. CJ also released the movie in Australia, Turkey and the US. But it was a sad year for art house and indie films. 

 

With the exception of the aforementioned Flapping in the Middle of Nowhere and The Last Journey of Madame Phuong, other indie films either didn’t make any money (like Gentle / Diu Dang, directed by Le Van Kiet), or couldn’t even find distribution in Vietnam, such as Nuoc 2030 (directed by Nguyen Vo Nghiem Minh, an opening film for Berlin’s Panorama section 2014), and Big Father, Small Father and Other Stories (Cha, con va..., directed by Phan Dang Di, in Competition Berlinale 2015).

 

Several new talents are working on their first features, such as Tran Dung Thanh Huy, Do Quoc Trung, Truong Minh Quy and Nguyen Phuong Anh (all of them are under 25 years old). Many have a chance to introduce their projects at prestigious festivals such as Pusan (Huy and Trung), Berlin (Quy) and HAF in Hong Kong (Phuong Anh). 

 

They are also supported by Autumn Meeting, a workshop founded by Phan Dang Di, and taught by Tran Anh Hung. 2016 looks set to be the best year yet for Vietnamese cinema, with an exciting line up of films such as Cuong Ngo’s Tracer (Truy Sat, an action crime thriller), Le Van Kiet’s Nu Dai Gia (an action drama), Dustin Nguyen’s Bao Gio Co Yeu Nhau (Have We Ever Loved?*, a horror drama), Vu Ngoc Dang’s Vong Eo 56 (Waist of 56*), Nguyen Quang Dung’s Da Co Hoai Lang (The Exile*), 

 

Charlie Nguyen’s The Fanatic (Fan Cuong), and also first time director Derek Nguyen’s The Housemaid (Co Hau Gai). 

 

 * an asterisk indicates a literal translation from the original title, rather than the official English title.