Why are audiences rushing to "throw bricks and stones" before even watching?

Southern Land is a classic TV series about the lives of Southern people during the resistance war against France. In 2023, director Nguyen Quang Dung released the film project Southern Forest Land with a famous cast: Hao Khang, Tran Thanh, Mai Tai Phen, Tuan Tran, Hua Vi Van...

The film tells the story of a boy named An, played by Hao Khang, on his journey to find his father. However, the person who has attracted the attention of the audience since the film released the characters' images is Tran Thanh.

The actor born in 1987 plays Uncle Ba Phi - a talkative man with a kind heart considered a symbol of the people of the South.

The character of Uncle Ba Phi played by artist Mac Can in the TV series "Southern Land" left a deep impression on the audience.

It is worth mentioning that as soon as the film production crew announced the cast list, Tran Thanh was questioned by many people about his acting ability when playing the role of Uncle Ba Phi. In addition, when the character's appearance was introduced to the audience, the wave of reactions became even stronger.

In fact, the film has not yet been widely released to the public, but many people have spoken out to criticize and even demand a boycott of the film just because of Tran Thanh.

So what is the reason why the actor "received bricks" even before the movie was released? First of all, it must be mentioned that Dat Phuong Nam with famous characters such as Uncle Ba Phi, Vo Tong... is already a monument that is difficult to overthrow in the hearts of the audience.

Tran Thanh's image of Uncle Ba Phi in "Southern Forest Land".

Many generations of audiences from 6X, 7X, to 9X love this film even though it was first broadcast nearly 30 years ago. It is not difficult to understand why audiences compare and doubt the new film called Southern Forest Land .

Likewise, the character of Uncle Ba Phi, portrayed by artist Mac Can in the TV version of Dat Phuong Nam, left a deep impression on the audience. This is a big challenge for the actors who are assigned to play Uncle Ba Phi in the next versions of the film. Because they will have to accept the comparisons and the audience's skepticism and opposition right from the moment they accept the role.

In fact, the audience is completely right to express their skepticism towards Tran Thanh. Because in the original, Uncle Ba Phi is a middle-aged man in his 50s, while the actor born in 1987 is not yet 40 years old.

Tran Thanh had a hard time convincing the audience with the role of Uncle Ba Phi.

The age difference not only makes Tran Thanh's portrayal of Uncle Ba Phi difficult to convince the audience, but also deepens the difference in life experience and style between the actor and the character.

People love the movie and the character of Uncle Ba Phi so much that it is difficult to accept that their "idol" is "remade" or portrayed from a different perspective. Therefore, it is not difficult to understand why a large part of the audience has a mentality of comparison and skepticism towards the movie Dat rung phuong nam in general and the role of Uncle Ba Phi played by Tran Thanh in particular.

In particular, the information that Tran Thanh is the co-producer, co-creative director, actor, co-editor, and script consultant of the film Dat rung phuong nam makes the public even more skeptical about the director's impartiality when choosing him for the role of Uncle Ba Phi.

In addition to the above reasons, the wave of reactions towards Tran Thanh also comes from the actor himself. For a long time, Tran Thanh has been continuously caught up in scandals regarding his statements regarding the position of an artist in relation to the public.

The audience has not forgotten Tran Thanh's arrogant and "claiming credit" statements such as: "If you find the comedy lame, turn off the TV", "The life of an artist is hard to swallow"... It cannot be denied that in the public eye recently, the actor's image has been "damaged" quite a bit.

This creates a mentality of resistance and exclusion from the public. Therefore, any product of Tran Thanh will make the audience question, even boycott.

With the recent noise about his statements, Tran Thanh's products have caused skepticism among the audience.

In the face of the noise related to whether Tran Thanh is "worthy" of the role of Uncle Ba Phi or not, director Nguyen Quang Dung had to speak up to affirm Tran Thanh's acting ability as well as his own impartiality when choosing the actor born in 1987 for this "heavy" role:

"The character of Uncle Ba Phi is a very talkative person, with funny stories, stories that people think are real, stories that people think are not, but the stories all have their own meaning and philosophy, so I think Thanh is a very suitable person."

Regarding the age difference between the actor and the character prototype, director Nguyen Quang Dung emphasized:

"When watching the movie, the audience will also see that there are highlights that we need good actors, not just suitable appearance. Appearance can be shaped, to me the spirit is the important thing. And I think the spirit of Tran Thanh and Uncle Ba Phi have things in common."

The film will be released to audiences from October 13, 2023.

As for Tran Thanh, during the first screening of the movie Dat rung phuong nam in Ho Chi Minh City, he appeared quite calm in the face of the audience's praise and criticism. The actor said: "You are interested in watching and that's enough to make me happy. The most frightening thing is that no one talks about the movie when it comes out, but if they do, it's already fun. Of course, there will be people who like it and people who don't like it.

This job is serving hundreds of families. When the movie is released, everyone has the right to give their opinion. If what they say is right, then I will learn from it."

The audience’s criticism of Tran Thanh’s role in the film Dat rung phuong nam before was more or less emotional. Perhaps after the film is widely released, the public will have enough basis to comment on the actor’s performance and be able to accurately answer the question: Did Tran Thanh portray the character Ba Phi well?

An Nguyen

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