Sleepy City carries the worldview of Korean director Kim Ki Duk
Before its release in its home country, the film has toured film festivals in Europe, North America, and Asia. It was nominated for the Grand Prix for Best Feature Film at the 25th Tallinn Blacknights Film Festival; selected in the Soul of Asia category at the 50th International Film Festival of India (IFFI); selected in the Panorama category at the 49th FNC Duneuvu Film Festival, Canada; and nominated for the Netpac Award at the 26th Kolkata International Film Festival (India).
Foreign press reviews the movie Drowsy City.
At any film festival, the film leaves a good impression of Vietnamese cinema in the eyes of the jury and the audience. Giovanna Fulvi - Programmer of the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) had a fondness for the film: "Original, sometimes quite uncomfortable but always attractive... each frame is beautifully composed to the powerful visual storytelling and the frames of panoramic views of the city stand out - the space between the bloody brutality of the massacres".
"This is a spectacular 'dark' film, it challenges and breaks conventions. It's unlike anything else you've seen before. The creativity in the film is completely touching," commented Victor Fraga, writer for the UK newspaper DMovies.
Director Luong Dinh Dung uses some abandoned, schizophrenic psychological mechanisms to build his character Tao.
With a film filled with darkness, slow but still captivating and tantalizing storytelling, the film's director - Luong Dinh Dung - even reminded many experts of Kim Ki Duk - one of the genius directors of Korean cinema.
Sleeping City "The film bears similarities to the works, perhaps even the worldview of Korean director Kim Ki Duk (The Isle, Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring again, etc.), but it is also an original film of its own," is one of the comments of Anton Bitel, EyeForFilm, UK.
Not only that, this unique Vietnamese film also surprised even the industry veteran - Mike Newell - director of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Four Weddings and a Funeral. For Mike, this is a great Vietnamese crime drama, an unexpectedly courageous film.
Perhaps Mike felt the film was incredibly courageous because it was the first Vietnamese film that dared to make and delve into an extremely difficult genre - crime and darkness.
The film certainly succeeded in creating a feeling of suffocation, breathlessness, and sometimes confinement with its impressive visuals and music.
The art of "Show don't tell" (telling stories with images, limiting dialogue), camera angles and settings are used by the director to the fullest to "lock" the viewer in a narrow, dark space, feeling like the more you struggle, the harder it is to escape.
And that's exactly what the characters in the movie have to go through. Not only the male lead but also the audience seems to "go crazy" and want to release the discomfort and inhibitions inside.
Director Mike Newell of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
The art of "Show don't tell" tells stories through images, with limited dialogue. The camera angles and settings "lock" the viewer in a narrow, dark space. The more you struggle, the harder it is to escape. That is exactly what the characters have to go through in the film, making the characters and the audience feel frustrated and crazy.
For foreign audiences, they say: Sleeping City It is also an art film that leaves a strong impression with the main character's image reminding them of Joker - a typical villain in cinema - but a more silent version.
After its release in Vietnam , it is not difficult to find analysis, feelings, and even conflicting opinions when talking about Sleepy City . Some people like the way the film uses metaphors, plays with images, and the way the director plays with the characters' emotions, but others find the film... too simple and do not understand what those images mean.
1,000 viewers have 1,000 different interpretations , just like the famous Hollywood director Quentin Tarantino once shared: "If a million people see my movie, I hope they will see a million different movies."
With the skillful art of "Show don't tell", images, metaphorical details and intentions (chicken, rain, blood, ...), the film is difficult for everyone to understand in the same meaning. Each viewer, with different life experiences, will understand the film and interpret it in a different way.
Controversy, dissection of the film's details
On a movie forum with nearly 200,000 members, audience member Thang Pham gave his opinion about the end of the movie: The main character is actually just a chicken and he considers everyone around him as chickens, so he chose such a brutal and strange way to deal with the thugs.
Meanwhile, a viewer with an account named Bui Anh Quoc explained the second half of the film in a different way: The main character turning three thugs into chickens and making them dance can actually be considered revenge for exactly what they did to him – this scene is like a statement of changing positions.
At first, the thugs are the rulers, they see the main character as a pastime and a punching bag to bully, forcing him to "cluck" like a chicken, eat food, etc. Later, when the position has changed, the main character returns to his rightful position - as a chicken butcher - only this time, the chickens are the three thugs.
And these audiences themselves admit that it is difficult for them to find a satisfactory explanation and determine who is right and who is wrong here.
Not only is the detail considered the "twist" of the film being discussed, but the topshot angles of the city pointing straight at the abandoned house where the main character lives are enough to make "everyone have their own opinion".
With this camera angle, writer Anton Bitel of EyeForFilm (UK) believes that this camera angle is like the perspective of the gods, thereby suggesting religious or spiritual metaphors for a story with details that no one could have foreseen.
However, the audience Thang Pham felt that those scenes were quite cold and soulless. When thinking differently, this topshot angle was no different from a human's gaze looking down at an anthill or a chicken coop, all the moving things below were animals.
It can be said that controversial opinions surrounding the content and intention of the film are desirable and necessary when discussing this film because each audience has the right to enjoy, appreciate and understand the film the way they want.
Sleeping City was welcomed and left many positive reactions from the international film market , but when premiered in the homeland, this art-house film did not really have an advantage.
The film has left many mixed opinions with the audience, discussing the metaphorical meaning of the film, the origin of evil, explaining the details, the uniqueness of the theme and the way of expression. But there is an undeniable fact that many audiences struggled, wanting to watch the film but the screening time was not available. in theaters are very rare during this time.
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