Movie Poster

Someone is dead? So many coffins you have made.

# Review

I’m flying to Korea from Vietnam, so it’s only appropriate to watch a Vietnamese film. This one looks interesting because it won the Golden Lotus Film Award. The story follows Canh (Don Duong), a man who lives in Northern Vietnam and is unable to return to his home in Southern Vietnam. Canh’s wife Thoa (Mai Hoa) is waiting for him back home but things become complicated when she finds out that Canh had a child, Gianh (Do Nguyen Lan Ha), with a younger woman named Tam (Hong Anh) while living up north.

The historical backdrop is very interesting as it occurs right after the Vietnam War. The narrative of the average citizen in Vietnam trying to pick up their lives after the war is often not told in the West, so the film provides an underreported perspective. Personally these types of drama films are not my favourite and this one in particular looks extremely low budget for a film made in 1999 (the overall budget of the film was around $50k USD). There are some good panning shots but overall the cinematography looks aged and I could definitely be fooled into thinking that the film was made in the 60s or 70s. Perhaps due to the translation, the dialogue is also overly direct and lacks nuance. Despite this, the story is interesting and fueled by visceral themes such as coming to terms with loss and sacrifice. The performances by the cast are amazing. The raw performances of Cong Ninh’s Huy, a disabled war veteran, and Mai Hoa’s Thoa are both phenomenal. Do Nguyen Lan Ha’s headstrong Gianh is also solid for a child actress and she has great chemistry with Hong Anh’s Tam.

# Conclusion

Not my cup of tea, but the film does have its moments.

# Overall rating: 7.1

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