What is the way forward for the next films about Trinh Cong Son?

Documentary photos from the exhibition about Trinh Cong Son by photographer Duong Minh Long.

On this day 24 years ago (April 1, 2001), musician Trinh Cong Son passed away, leaving behind regrets for those who knew and loved the talented musician. He left this world, leaving behind a legacy of music and a great personality of love for peace, humanity and beauty.

Just like how people still hum Trinh Cong Son's songs, call him "Vietnam's Bob Dylan" and study him on many levels, movie audiences still wish for more films to decode this talented musician.

Two movies are not enough

Vietnamese cinema has had two films about Trinh Cong Son: “Do you still remember or have you forgotten” (1992) and “You and Trinh” (2022). Both are fictional, creative films, telling about one or more stages of Trinh Cong Son’s life in different ways.

“Do You Still Remember or Have You Forgotten” co-directed by People's Artist Nguyen Huu Phan and Meritorious Artist Phi Tien Son, tells the story of the unfinished love between a talented musician named Quang Son (modeled after Trinh Cong Son) and Huyen My, a female singer with a special voice (modeled after Khanh Ly) and a girl named Diem (modeled after Ngo Vu Bich Diem).

At that time, “Do You Still Remember or Did You Forget” not only received the support of the musician, but also sold well in theaters, and was awarded 4 awards at the Vietnam Film Festival in 1993. However, the film was released a long time ago, and only indirectly approached based on a short period, so it left open deeper explanations about the person and the 62-year life of the musician Trinh.

Not having that luck, the film “Em va Trinh” (2022) directed by Phan Gia Nhat Linh caused a lot of controversy when it was released. The film used the real names of the characters, made a biographical film but was opposed by the originals about the way the characters were portrayed, their relationship with Trinh Cong Son, their actions, their personalities as well as the rights to exploit the image.

Even the heavily invested central character, played by young actor Avin Lu and veteran actor People's Artist Tran Luc, has not satisfied viewers.

Journalist and cinema observer Viet Van commented that one film has been released for a long time, the other film has not satisfied many factors. “Trinh Cong Son is a talented musician, many generations listening to his music still have their own aesthetic. With such appeal, two films are not enough.

People's Artist Tran Luc in the role of Trinh Cong Son. (Photo from the film)

In 'Em va Trinh,' actor Tran Luc tried hard but could not fully express Trinh Cong Son's qualities. In my opinion, he needs a more Hue-like, more profound and elegant style; or the young version of Avin Lu is still too playful... The audience needs better, more intimate and more genuine versions of Trinh Cong Son," commented Mr. Viet Van.

“Nowadays we talk too much about humanity, concepts praising truth-goodness-beauty. Sometimes just a documentary about his memories and childhood family life is enough to understand how much he loved his family, from which was born a tolerance, love for humanity, Zen and Buddhist spirit in his words and how he became a person later on,” commented Giang Trang - a female singer born in the 80s who has been pursuing and renovating Trinh's music for 12 years.

Having sung his music and learned about him for a long time, the female singer wanted a film that would explain more clearly about the late musician's family, because this was the environment that nurtured and nurtured the "seeds" of his personality. She believes that interactions with the family, especially with Trinh Cong Son's mother, can also be a topic that awakens today's audience, especially the young audience.

What are the challenges for the next generation?

Director, Meritorious Artist Phi Tien Son - who contributed greatly to the success of "Do you still remember or have you forgotten" (2002) affirmed that in order to have more films about Trinh Cong Son, the efforts of the current generation of filmmakers are needed. Along with that is a certain openness of the audience to receive new interpretations and discoveries.

“Perhaps to fully understand Trinh Cong Son, many people with new perspectives are needed to learn. He is a person who lives forever with time, each different generation will understand him in different ways, the later we are, the more new things we discover.

Trinh Cong Son in his youth. (Photo provided by family)

The interesting thing is that when creating art, Trinh Cong Son himself walked between the sky on one side and the abyss on the other. If we can exploit that, we will be able to say a lot about the generation of artists of the same period, who were immersed in the smoke and fire of the battlefield both from the outside and from within their minds,” said director Phi Tien Son.

He also agreed that making a film about Trinh Cong Son, especially a biography, is a big challenge but at the same time very interesting: "If we only make a film from what history already knows, retelling things on black and white paper, it will not be the function of art."

Biographical films in particular, and films about real and famous people in general, are always controversial. Some films are criticized for portraying real people and events incorrectly, some are criticized for their biased, incorrect perspectives, and even for "whitewashing" characters... However, there are also films that initially caused controversy and were later recognized. An example is the film "I'm Not There" about Bob Dylan - an American musician famous for his anti-war songs, who received the Nobel Prize in Literature for his compositions.

The film, directed by Todd Haynes, cast six actors of different identities, ages, genders, and ethnicities to portray Bob Dylan. The unconventional and non-linear storytelling also made it difficult for audiences to accept, causing great controversy at first. However, later, not only fans but also major review sites such as The Guardian and Roger Ebert recognized the new, unique, and effective way of exploring the musician's strong influence on popular culture.

6 Bob Dylan versions of "I'm not there."

There are many ways to make a film about a famous singer/band or musician. World cinema has had musical films such as “Mamma Mia” (2008) about a modern-day romantic comedy, based on the famous songs of the 80s by the group ABBA; “Across the Universe” (2007) about a turbulent America in the 60s, in which the characters sing songs by The Beatles to send the film’s message about love, youth, and loss.

Or other films that are purely documentary, blend documentary with fantasy, fictional films inspired by music or a certain individual... are how dozens of filmmakers have told stories about this famous British band over the years, providing emotional and novel experiences for the fan community.

Journalist Viet Van also believes that Trinh Cong Son's rich legacy deserves and is abundant enough to be made into more films, perhaps in many diverse genres as the world has done. However, to avoid causing unnecessary controversy, filmmakers still need to handle it skillfully and carefully.

“If we make more films about Trinh Cong Son’s life, we need to respect real stories and events. And films inspired by him also need to be fictionalized appropriately. Or just make films about the spread of Trinh’s music through different generations, between different groups of fans… thereby providing new insights and perspectives on the influence of Trinh’s music today, explaining why it is so well composed and has such great appeal,” said Mr. Viet Van./.

(Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/loi-di-nao-cho-nhung-bo-phim-tiep-theo-ve-trinh-cong-son-post1024021.vnp