The movie “Mai” is still “bombing” the box office after many days of showing and is being discussed widely on all websites. Some people joked: “It’s like a few decades ago when the movie was shown in the village”. How can the phenomenon of the movie “Mai” be explained from a professional perspective? And from here, what problems can be recognized in the current Vietnamese entertainment film genre?
Director Dao Thanh Hung, Director of the private film studio "Cinema Land", had an interview with VOV2 reporter.
PV: As a professional, in your opinion, why is Tran Thanh's movie "Mai" so successful?
Director Dao Thanh Hung: “Mai” is a good psychological film. I found the characters to have interesting psychological lives. This is a love story between two characters with opposite lives. Circumstances bring them together but also push them apart.
The sudden developments make the film engaging, the dialogue is realistic, the actors get into character, and the setting is familiar. In my opinion, this makes it successful.
Among the Vietnamese films released during Tet, the film "Mai" stands out for its familiar storytelling, simple story, and deep character psychology that makes viewers excited.
Young people see in the movie "Mai" the closeness in the dialogue, love regardless of distance and age.
Experienced people see the desire for love, see the value of self-respect, no one is perfect in life, only love can fill each other's shortcomings.
As a psychological film, it is easy to reach the masses because everyone has a psychological life and a desire to be listened to, that is the reason the film is successful.
Another factor is that Tran Thanh has a lot of fans. Before becoming a filmmaker, he was an MC and a comedian. He understands psychology so he tells psychological stories very well and engagingly.
The movie was able to stay in theaters for so long, clearly touching the hearts of viewers.
The film has a plot, a suitable setting, and interesting visuals. Film is a story told through images, it cannot be filmed like on television but requires elaborate and meticulous camera design, including lighting.
Another important thing is that the actors must be good and suitable for the role. The characters Mai (played by Phuong Anh Dao) and Duong (played by Tuan Tran) are very successful, portraying two people in two different worlds but in the same context. In my opinion, the actors are a major factor affecting the success of the film.
This cast is very formidable and Tran Thanh has deeply intervened in the acting because he understands psychology very well. And I know that Phuong Anh Dao studied massage outside for a whole month to play the role. Then the 2 main actors went out together, ate together to understand, get acquainted and be able to harmonize in the "hot" scenes in the film.
Another thing I appreciate is the good, intimate dialogue. Some Vietnamese films have cliché lines: “Hello, uncle, you’re here to visit,” but in Mai: “Stop loving me,” “Why is love so painful?” or “Hey, do you love me?” Simple, honest, and real lines always touch people’s hearts more.
The film also touches on social issues, such as the gap between rich and poor, the age gap, but no matter who they are, everyone has the right to love.
PV: People say that the success of Tran Thanh's films is based on a formula: good script + huge investment + diverse media. It seems that this formula is not too strange, but why is the Vietnamese entertainment film genre still lacking products that heat up the box office like the film "Mai" is doing, sir?
Director Dao Thanh Hung: It is said to be a formula but not everyone does it correctly because we need a film industry. In the North, film activities are still very amateur. Although there are many excellent individuals, there is a lack of excellent collectives.
In Ho Chi Minh City, they are better off, there are many professional groups, teams, and filmmakers who understand the market, so investors are willing to spend a lot of money.
There is a formula but it requires a professional team to execute it perfectly.
Meanwhile, there are many people who understand and can do it now, but there are not many groups that can do it together. For example, to break a script, the audience feels it is so simple but there must be meetings for months, dozens of heads sitting together thinking just to adjust the segments to make them most attractive. A certain minute to leave, a certain minute to come back. Those groups work day in and day out. I say, it is necessary to have teams, professional people for that reason. And to have an industry like that, it takes a lot of time.
PV: Does that mean producing entertainment films is not as easy as many people think?
Director Dao Thanh Hung: It's difficult, if not, there would have been many "Mai" last Tet. It's difficult because we have to have strong investors, talented creators to create good films, excellent scripts, and suitable production plans to meet market demands.
Recently, there have been films ordered by the state such as “Dao, Pho and Piano” but they do not have a media or promotion plan, the current effects are due to the audience themselves. But with the film “Mai” it is completely different. They have a media launch plan, the cast meets with fans, there are special screenings for the press, for famous KOLs. They pay a lot of money for these activities so that the film “Mai” can be spread all over the newspapers, so that everyone mentions “Mai”.
People with some knowledge of cinema when watching the movie “Mai” all have the same feeling that the artistic elements, cinematic techniques, storytelling, and messages are not too special or “masterful”. But the movie is very attractive to the audience. That shows that the entertainment film genre is something very different, even filmmakers need to “escape”.
PV: In your opinion, how can we develop the current entertainment film industry?
Director Dao Thanh Hung: To develop entertainment films, in my opinion, there are many factors, but the first thing to talk about is the mechanism of the state's cinema, how to give filmmakers more opportunities to make more. How to censor so that screenwriters can freely swing their pens and search through the Vietnamese treasure trove for good stories. We have many good stories but are very afraid of being censored. For example, a fight scene, but when shown, the question arises: where are the police? But in real life, there are not always police. Censorship is a factor that limits the creativity of the screenwriter team and scriptwriters.
PV: Thank you director Dao Thanh Hung!
Source
Comment (0)