Many ways to find and restore old scenes in Vietnamese films

N MANY CHALLENGES AND DIFFICULTIES

Especially with the horror-spiritual genre that exploits the content imbued with folk culture, finding and restoring the setting is necessary to create a unique feature for the film. In the film Nha gia tien, which is currently showing in theaters with impressive revenue, director Huynh Lap and his crew spent a lot of time searching and surveying to choose the main setting for the film, the ancient house of Tran Ba ​​The in Thot Not district (Can Tho), which is over 100 years old. Or with Linh lich: Quy nhap trang , the film crew went through a difficult search process in Hue, surveying more than 40 villas, garden houses, and ancient houses to finally choose the 150-year-old ancient villa at 51 Ham Nghi (Hue City). The film Cam by director Tran Huu Tan, filmed in the ancient village of Quang Tri, also spent many months surveying the Central provinces, from which they chose Ha Trung communal house, which is suitable for recreating the life of ancient Vietnamese people.

150-year-old French villa in the movie Lynx: Possessed

PHOTO: Manufacturer

According to director Huynh Lap, when making a film with an old style, one of the biggest challenges is finding a setting. The film Nha Gia Tien has only one setting, a house, so it is necessary to find a space that is suitable for the culture of ancestor worship and beliefs, consistent with the film's message of looking back to ancestors and roots. In particular, it is necessary to ensure the unique features of the worship customs of the West. After finding the setting, the crew met and agreed on the color and space that are in line with the spirit of the film, and if there is a little restoration, it must ensure the integrity of the ancient house.

According to director Luu Thanh Luan, for the film Linh Mieu: Quy Nhap Trang , finding the setting and restoring it was an extremely difficult problem because the family's house in the film had to be a stately house from the 1960s, with French architecture, but still had to have a large screen in front of the house like a Hue house. Behind the screen there had to be a small lake, which was the feng shui structure of the ancient Hue people. Then there had to be a large garden around it so that the house was completely separate from the other houses and still ensured "areca in front, banana in back". In particular, the less people knew about the house, the better, because it would make the film more interesting.

"From those criteria, the crew spent nearly 3 months wandering around Hue City to find ancient French-style houses. At first, it was almost hopeless because the existing ancient houses did not have outside space or were preserved, so they would not be allowed to film... Luckily, in the last days in Hue, the crew and I found an ancient house, located in the middle of a vacant lot that had been abandoned for many years, everything from the walls, doors, wooden floors were badly damaged, there was even a large banyan tree growing deep into the corner of the house wall. And the next difficulty was to restore the house with this vacant lot becoming the family's property", director Luu Thanh Luan said.

According to producer Mai Bao Ngoc, restoration after finding the setting is also a difficult problem. "The crew must carefully research the architecture, interior, and customs to create a lively space that fits the story. One of the biggest difficulties is balancing cinematic aesthetics and cultural accuracy. Sometimes there are suitable locations but we cannot convince the owner to rent them for filming, or the setting has changed a lot over time. At this point, we have to intervene and restore without affecting the original value of the building," said Mai Bao Ngoc.

INVESTING IN CONTEXT IS VERY IMPORTANT

According to some film producers, investing in the setting is one of the major expenses in the film budget, especially with old films, the setting plays an important role in creating atmosphere and emotion.

The ancient house, over 100 years old, is the main setting in the movie Ancestral House.

PHOTO: Manufacturer

Speaking about this issue, producer Mai Bao Ngoc said: "Investing in the setting is a very important and worthy investment. A realistic setting not only helps the audience easily immerse themselves in the story but also enhances the image quality and artistic value of the film."

Director Luu Thanh Luan shared that, for Linh Mieu: Quy Nhap Trang , the total time to find the house, restore the first phase for filming, and restore the second phase to bring the house back to its original space took more than 12 months. To do this, right from the pre-production stage, the crew worked with cultural researchers and historical experts to ensure accuracy in every detail. In addition, the crew also consulted with people knowledgeable about spirituality and feng shui to create a space that is not only correct in form but also reflects the spirit of the story. The selection of the setting is not only based on aesthetic factors but also must respect the cultural values ​​and beliefs of the audience.

"Especially with horror-spiritual films or historical films, finding the right setting will make the film's story more convincing, and viewers will only be able to understand the story if they believe it. Viewers' tastes are very sophisticated now, if the setting is not suitable or just a small design error is enough to make them "walk out" of the film's story," director Luu Thanh Luan emphasized.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/muon-neo-tim-va-phuc-dung-boi-canh-xua-trong-phim-viet-185250403231922514.htm