Exactly 30 years after receiving the Golden Camera award for his debut film with the film "The Scent of Green Papaya", Tran Anh Hung has just won the Best Director award at Cannes.
The film La Passion de Dodin Bouffant (The Passion of Dodin Bouffant) has just brought home the Best Director award to French director of Vietnamese origin - Tran Anh Hung (60 years old) at the closing ceremony of the Cannes Film Festival.
Exactly 30 years after winning the Golden Camera at the Cannes Film Festival with his debut film The Scent of Green Papaya , Tran Anh Hung won the second biggest award at the world's leading film festival. During his 30 years of filmmaking, Tran Anh Hung has only released 7 films, starting with The Scent of Green Papaya and ending with The Passion of Dodin Bouffant .
As a French director of Vietnamese origin, Tran Anh Hung has had a fulfilling journey to pay tribute to two cultures that have inspired him in cinema. The Scent of Green Papaya (1993) is imbued with Vietnamese soul, while The Passion of Dodin Bouffant (2023) explores the beauty of French cuisine.
Both films were highly appreciated at the Cannes Film Festival and brought the director two of the most important awards of his career.
"The Scent of Green Papaya": Vietnamese-language film conquers the world
Director Tran Anh Hung's love for cinema began with his love for Vietnam. This love is fully expressed in his first feature film - The Scent of Green Papaya .
To this day, when mentioning director Tran Anh Hung, people still immediately mention The Scent of Green Papaya - the most important film in the filmmaking career of this French director of Vietnamese origin.
The Scent of Green Papaya won the Camera d'Or for Best First Film at the Cannes Film Festival. It also won the César Award for Best First Film (the French César Award is comparable to the American Oscars). In 1994, the film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.
The Scent of Green Papaya is a movie that is deeply Vietnamese. The film tells the story of a girl named Mui, who has been a servant since she was a child until she becomes a young woman and finds the beautiful love of her life. The film is set in Saigon in the 1950s, however, the film set was entirely built in Paris (France).
The two actresses who play Mui are both French of Asian descent. Among them, actress Tran Nu Yen Khe, who plays Mui as an adult, is French of Vietnamese descent. She is also the wife of director Tran Anh Hung.
In The Scent of Green Papaya , the typical traits of Vietnamese people are clearly depicted. The most clearly reflected are the patience and sacrifice of women.
Besides the feeling of human identity and personality, the director also leads the audience to subtle feelings about Vietnamese nature even though the studio is located in France. Through close-up frames, the beauty of daily life in Vietnam is vividly, romantically and poetically depicted.
Moviegoers will love the girl Mui, who is always surprised by the small natural phenomena happening around her. The image of Mui with wide eyes watching the white papaya sap drops falling on the green leaves, or happily watching the small white seeds in the green papaya are expressive scenes.
The Scent of Green Papaya has become a memorable milestone in director Tran Anh Hung's film career, helping him receive prestigious awards and recognition from the Western film industry.
"Cyclo", "Vertical Summer": Extended love for Vietnam
Even before making his first feature film The Scent of Green Papaya , Tran Anh Hung had a special inspiration for films about Vietnam. The short film The Woman of Nam Xuong was made by him as a graduation project at the prestigious Louis Lumière Film School (France) in 1987.
The Young Woman of Nanchang was nominated for the Palme d'Or for Short Film at the Cannes Film Festival in 1989. This is the most prestigious category for short films at the Cannes Film Festival.
After that, the director made another short film Hon vong phu (1991), before starting to make the feature film Mui du xanh (Green Papaya Scent) (1993).
The success of The Scent of Green Papaya gave Tran Anh Hung the impetus to make his next film - Cyclo (1995) about the lives of poor workers in Ho Chi Minh City. Cyclo won the Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival. At this time, only 33 years old, Tran Anh Hung was considered a phenomenon in Venice because he was one of the youngest filmmakers to ever receive this prestigious award.
After exploring the setting of Ho Chi Minh City in Cyclo , Tran Anh Hung turned his attention to the capital Hanoi and made the film Vertical Summer (2000). The film revolves around the life of a family with 4 children, including 3 sisters. The story revolves around the love and marriage of 3 women.
The first three films made in Tran Anh Hung's directing career, including The Scent of Green Papaya , Cyclo and Vertical Summer, are considered a trio of films about Vietnam that left a special mark at international film festivals.
The Scent of Green Papaya won the Camera d'Or at Cannes. Cyclo won the Golden Lion at Venice. Vertical Summer was nominated in the Un Certain Regard category at Cannes.
It was not until 9 years after making the trilogy about Vietnam that Tran Anh Hung made a new film, but the effect was not really impressive. The 3 films including I Come with the Rain (2009), Norwegian Wood (2010) and Eternity (2016) witnessed Tran Anh Hung's efforts to shift the subject matter on his filmmaking path, although he did not achieve any success.
It was not until La Passion de Dodin Bouffant (2023) that the director truly achieved success since searching for new inspiration.
Exactly 30 years after winning the Camera d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, Tran Anh Hung has won his next major award, marking a successful step forward in his filmmaking journey.
After 30 years of a journey with changes in inspiration and subject matter, director Tran Anh Hung at the age of 60 continues to surprise. He makes those who love his aesthetic cinematic style and poetic frames continue to eagerly wait.
Dantri.com.vn
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