After Muon Kiep Nhan Duyen, Muon Vi Nhan Gian comes back: What's up with the movie title?

The film by Vietnamese-American director Tran Anh Hung will be released in Vietnamese theaters with the title Muon Vi Nhan Gian on March 22.

On March 22, the film that won the Best Director award at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival for Vietnamese-American director Tran Anh Hung will be released in Vietnamese theaters with the title Muon Vi Nhan Gian .

The original title of the film is La Passion de Dodin Bouffant (literally: The Pot of Stew on the Fire ), in English is The Taste of Things .

The Vietnamese title Muon vi nhan gian is quite literal and suggestive. However, many people also realize that this title reminds them of the Vietnamese name of a previously released film, Muon kiep nhan duyen (Past Lives).

Don't be afraid to double down

Many viewers agree with the Vietnamese title of Past Lives and comment that it makes the film more profound, and that only that title can explain the human relationships that the film deals with.

However, when comparing Muon vi nhan gian with Muon kiep nhan duyen , some strict viewers think that the movie titles are similar, even similar to the title of a previously published book, Muon kiep nhan sinh , by author Nguyen Phong.

Granted, the two Vietnamese titles above are translated quite well and closely match the movie's content, but since when did the Vietnamese language become so entangled with "muon kiep", "muon vi", "nhan duyen" and then "nhan sinh"?

This does not refer to movies in the same "universe" or series. For example, our country has Flip side (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7), Old girl with many tricks (1, 2, 3, 5)...

There are countless foreign films, not only have they developed into many parts (with the same name, only different in order), but they have also created an ecosystem, not only selling films but also selling accompanying cultural and entertainment products.

However, recently, although not in the same "system", there are quite a few domestic films that "copy" or imitate the names of previously released films, even imitating themselves.

The film "Meeting the Pregnant Sister" by director Doan Nhat Trung has a similar name to "Getting My Pregnant Wife Back " - also by this director - 5 years ago - Photo: DPCC

Some recent examples include Reuniting with the Pregnant Sister by director Doan Nhat Trung, which premiered on February 10 (the first day of Tet this year), with a title that is easily reminiscent of the film Reuniting with the Pregnant Wife - also directed by Doan Nhat Trung - premiered on Tet 5 years ago.

Even the title Meet the Pregnant Sister is considered by some audiences to be a "copycat" of the title Love Reset - the Korean film with the highest revenue last year in our country's market.

Or another example is that two Korean movies released in Vietnamese theaters at two different times have almost "twin" Vietnamese titles: Suddenly Winning the Lottery ( 6/45 , released in late 2022) and Suddenly Winning the Game ( Good Job , late 2023).

Looking at the examples above, it seems that by simply changing one letter, the old movie name is "magically" transformed into a new movie name. What's wrong with movie naming?

Vietnamese is not so poor in vocabulary and expressions that publishers and filmmakers have to imitate each other, even using expressions that have become clichéd.

Dr. Do Anh Vu

Who wants easy?

Sharing with Tuoi Tre , language doctor Do Anh Vu said that the purpose of movies released in theaters is often to make a profit. The more audiences, the happier the distributors are.

"Therefore, sometimes people don't need to think too much, just choose a style that already has an effect to attract as much attention as possible from the audience," said Mr. Vu.

Mr. Vu commented that language is inherently a beauty of culture, of history, of images and symbols, of rhythm and musicality. Especially Vietnamese, a language rich in tones and with tradition and identity.

The Vietnamese title "Suddenly Winning the Lottery" is similar to the movie "Suddenly Winning the Lottery" - Photo: CJ

Film critic Le Hong Lam looks at it from a different angle. Regarding the title, he shared: "Maybe the film importer and distributor want to create a connection and make it easier for the audience to relate to."

Talking about Vietnamese movie titles, Mr. Lam cited the case of two movies Muon Kiep Nhan Duyen and Muon Vi Nhan Gian , saying that "the translation department was very effective and quite appropriate".

This topic once became the focus of debate on a filmmaker's personal Facebook page.

A director of many blockbuster movies asked the question: Should we choose a title that retains the original meaning of the movie's name or a title that promises to sell a lot of tickets? This is also a question that makes many distributors and filmmakers have a headache.

After all, when a movie is released, marketing is often the top priority. Some movies stick to the original name, while others stray completely from the original name. It probably doesn't matter.

When it comes to making movies, no one wants to take it easy and basically no distributor will take a random title. It all depends on each person's perspective.

Quang Huy (Hanoi) - a fan of cinema - thinks that we should not be too strict. If we raise the view that it is bad/poor language like the way of naming movies above, it is not really satisfactory to the filmmakers.

Quang Huy also listed a series of foreign films whose titles were mistranslated when localized in the markets they were imported to. "That's not surprising," Huy said.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/het-muon-kiep-nhan-duyen-lai-muon-vi-nhan-gian-co-chuyen-gi-voi-viec-dat-ten-phim-vay-20240313093116378.htm