Based on the story of the same-named series by writer Nguyen Nhat Anh, with a beautiful setting, a compelling story, “Kaleidoscope” has yet to be successful in theaters. Audiences are wondering why, because this is also one of the most anticipated projects of 2024.
“Kaleidoscope” is a new work by director Vo Thanh Hoa, with his wife, Mai Bao Ngoc, as producer. The project was announced in early 2024, with a young cast of actors Hung Anh, Nhat Linh and Phuong Duyen trying their hand at film for the first time, as well as the return of the trio who starred in the 2006 TV series Ngoc Trai, Vu Long and Anh Dao. The film has a very beautiful filming location, passing through the provinces of the South Central Coast, with typical mountains, forests, seas and some unique traditional cultural features of the coastal region.
The film is based on two short stories “Bat han hoa sua” and “Con ma con ma” by writer Nguyen Nhat Anh, revolving around the trip back to Long’s hometown of the trio Long, Quy, Hanh during the summer vacation. Along with causing trouble in the neighborhood, making friends with the children of both the upper and lower neighborhoods, the trio had a summer of their lives when they discovered the long-standing mystery of this peaceful countryside.
Released in theaters nationwide during Christmas, up to now, according to statistics from Box Office Vietnam (a website that tracks Vietnam's theater ticket revenue), the film's total revenue is more than 5.4 billion, much lower than the producer's expectations.
This is an unexpected result, because “Kaleidoscope” is one of the projects that audiences are interested in in 2024, because the series is built on the best-selling literary work of a famous author. In addition, director Vo Thanh Hoa is also a name that has achieved many successes in previous film projects such as “Ghost Dog”, “Super Swindler Meets Super Stupid”, “Super Easy Job”, “Hundred Billion Key”…
One thing that is easy to notice is the "disappearance" of the film on social media. The film was launched in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, but while many other films were mentioned by artists, actors, KOLs, and celebrities in their introductory articles and statuses, creating a "wave" of media that attracted the attention of the audience, "Kaleidoscope" seemed quite obscure, rarely mentioned, except for the promotional channels, PR of the film crew, distributor, producer, theaters, and individual actors participating...
In addition, at the same time of its release, “Kaleidoscope” had to “compete” with another “big” name of Vietnamese cinema, “Sister-in-law”, which is leading in revenue and being widely promoted, as well as receiving many compliments and good comments from both the audience and artists, celebrities… Released less than a week before “Kaleidoscope”, but up to now “Sister-in-law” has reached about 89 billion VND in revenue, almost approaching the 100 billion VND mark.
Being based on a famous literary story is an advantage, but on the contrary, it is also a pressure for the film, if the script and acting are not "up to par", it will be easily compared to the original. This is also what the movie version of "Kaleidoscope" faces. In particular, this pressure is doubled when the movie version of "Kaleidoscope" also has to endure comparisons with the TV version from 20 years ago, which was very famous and loved by a large audience.
The acting of the actors in the film is also what makes the film "minus points" in the eyes of the audience, when the young cast has not integrated well with the film's story, the acting and dialogue are still a bit stiff and forced in the beginning of the film. However, the plus point of the film is the good supporting cast, especially Dang Hoang Nam in the role of Luom, Long's mischievous and mischievous cousin in the countryside. Dang Hoang Nam really shines when transforming into a sunburned country boy, hyperactive but also shy when participating in mischief with friends.
Along with the acting, the film's storyline is also not "smooth" when resolving some conflicts that are quite "urgent", such as the argument between the three friends when discovering the reason for Quy's trip, or the "reconciliation" between the three is also quite forced, not really convincing to the audience. The acting space and stories for the three characters when they grow up are also relatively limited, and do not have much connection with the story in the past.
In addition, “Kaleidoscope” also received negative comments from the audience right after its release, which was very disadvantageous for the film. Director Vo Thanh Hoa once angrily shared on his personal page that the film had just held a sneakshow the day before, but the next morning his personal page received a series of negative comments, even from people who had never seen the film. This also affected the film’s release in theaters and the audience’s choice when watching the film. Unfortunately, this situation has also happened to a number of Vietnamese films when released in theaters…
Overall, “Kaleidoscope” is not a bad movie, or as flawed as some previous disastrous Vietnamese movies. The movie has a light, bright story, with twists and turns, suspenseful parts but also humorous and amusing parts. It can be seen that many young audiences are very excited about the movie, through the joyful laughter of the children in the theater. It is a pity for “Kaleidoscope”, when the movie could have brought in better revenue and received more attention from the audience.
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