The challenge of bringing the super-rich to the screen

Many Vietnamese films exploit the theme of the rich and super rich, but producers have to overcome many challenges to create luxurious settings that convince audiences.

If it is a film about ordinary family characters, the producer will not worry much about the cost of investing in the setting. However, when making a film about the upper class, everything must be worthy of the word luxury.

Cost pressure

Bringing the rich to the super rich to the big screen, whether modern or historical, costs a lot of money in terms of settings and costumes. In modern times, rich characters have to live in mansions, renting or recreating them takes time and money. If choosing an ancient setting, the filmmakers not only have to spend money on recreating and investing in costumes, but also on props, renting vintage cars, etc., all of which are expensive.

Scene from the movie "The Prince of Bac Lieu" (Photo provided by the producer)

For the most part, when choosing to make a film about the rich, cost is one of the biggest pressures. It is the filmmaker's effort to make the most of a limited budget to portray the glamour. In 2020, Vietnamese cinema had the film "Gai gia lam chieu 3" by director Bao Nhan - Nam Cito, which explores the life of the upper class in Hue. The film crew chose famous villas and resorts as the setting, which were rearranged accordingly. The luxury is meticulously described from the meals to the scenery and costumes of the actors.

Next, the audience will see a "Gai gia lam chieu 5: Nhung cuoi doi hoang gia" telling the story of the super rich. The film's investment at that time was up to 2 million USD (46 billion VND), the main setting was 6-star hotels and famous palaces: Hue Imperial City Complex, An Dinh Palace. The film crew also spent 2 billion VND to build the 500 m2 Bach Tra Vien set.

Last October, the movie "The Bride of a Rich Family" by director Vu Ngoc Dang was released in theaters, showing the audience the wealthy life of Mrs. Phuong (played by Thu Trang) and her son Bao Hoang (played by Samuel An) - who owns a medical corporation.

The film "Cong Tu Bac Lieu", which will be released on December 6, is also about the super-rich but takes place in the late 19th century - early 20th century. "Films about the rich or super-rich cost more to invest in than usual. The house of Mrs. Phuong and Bao Hoang required a lot of design, and there were also many props. We took advantage of the camera angles, filmed many small scenes, many places and then rebuilt them" - Mr. Will Vu, producer of the film "Co da dau hoa mon", shared.

Effort within limits

In world cinema, films about the super-rich are not rare, but Vietnamese cinema is still a topic that not many filmmakers choose because it is more challenging than other topics. Besides the pressure of limited budget, convincing storytelling, flexibility, and efforts to turn around within a limited budget are very important. Without this effort, the audience, after curiously enjoying the film, will react negatively, thinking that the filmmaker "has a reputation but no substance". At that time, this negative word of mouth will cause reactions in the audience, affecting the overall revenue.

The movie "The Rich Bride" also received some criticism from the audience that the character was described as rich but on the big screen, the luxury and splendor from the house to the actor's charisma were not enough.

Producer Giang Ho of the film "Cong Tu Bac Lieu" said that modern urban films or films set in ancient times depicting the lives of the rich or the super-rich require the crew to carefully research information and documents. "With ordinary or poor people, we can observe more easily from many places in life, but with the super-rich, it is impossible to approach them without a close relationship. Therefore, the crew must research carefully and invest money, the pressure is even greater in the implementation after having done the research beforehand" - producer Giang Ho said.

In a limited budget, Vietnamese filmmakers can hardly make big scenes, they can only take advantage of camera angles, emphasizing the necessary points. Necessary interiors, scenes that need to stand out, exuding luxury and wealth will be invested more than other scenes, other camera angles.

Besides, investing a lot in the script, coherent and reasonable storytelling, and increasing authenticity will overcome the budget limitation.

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