/ARTS WEEKLY/FILM-VIETNAM: Filmmakers Question How to Develop Industry

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Tran Dinh Thanh Lam

HO CHI MINH CITY, Mar 9 2004 (IPS) - Vietnam’s movie industry is focused on the question of how to revitalise itself. Some directors say it should produce enjoyable films to appeal to local youth while others believe filmmakers should move away from traditional plot-oriented educative movies to more innovative ones designed to make a strong impression on audiences at home and abroad.

The success of “Bar Girls”, a film that enjoyed success at the box office last year with its combination of sex, drugs and HIV/AIDS, seemed to boost directors who prefer commercial films. However, with the poor quality shown by “Street Cinderella”, the sequel to “Bar Girls”, and with several entertainment films with similar themes scheduled for shooting or for release, art critics are weighing the merits of the two kinds of films.

Le Hoang, director of “Bar Girls” and “Street Cinderella”, says that despite sarcastic comments, he still believes in the significant role of entertainment films and will keep on creating more enjoyable films to attract movie-goers to Vietnam’s vacant theaters.

Le Hoang announced on March 4 that he had finished writing the script of “Woman Pirate”, and would start filming it next June with financial backing from Thien Ngan Ltd Co.

Le Hoang became Vietnam’s most talked-about director when he diverted from the traditional films aimed at educating the audience, to easy-going and enjoyable films that interest and entertain the public.

In the old days, Vietnamese filmmakers hardly thought of making money. For them, producing a film was first and foremost producing a piece of art with a lot of lofty messages attached. They simply did not care if their films were a box-office hit or not.

That is why only a small number of moviegoers frequent Vietnamese theaters, although most of them have been recently renovated and upgraded. Industry insiders blame the situation on a flood of dull or overly serious films that deterred younger audiences.

“Filmmakers usually choose scripts treating traditional subjects – war memories, building socialism – because it is the safest way to win state approval and funding,” says Le Hoang. He believes that only by producing enjoyable hit movies will the film industry lift itself out of its stagnation.

The huge success of “Bar Girls” last year gave great hope to filmmakers like Hoang. They believe the success would bring much change to the film industry. Many film producers now realize they have to attract viewers first before they can make any impact with their films, however lofty they are.

“Entertainment films will be an important genre that will absorb and create new talents for the industry,” Hoang says.

Many ambitious young directors have followed him, making entertainment films that unveil the exciting and mysterious world of singers, fashion models and criminals. Films such as “The Long-legged Girls”, “Launching Techno” and “Sky Net” are scheduled to set their debut early this year.

But all the excitement rapidly faded out when “Street Cinderella” failed to meet the expectations of producers. The film made its debut during “Tet”, Vietnam’s lunar New Year holidays, the best time of year to attract audiences to the cinema.

“Street Cinderella may have attracted some curious young people. But even these people could not say they were glad with it,” says movie commentator Tong Van Hop.

People have found many faults with “Street Cinderella”.

“There are plenty of unrealistic details that prove the movie has been done in a hurry, just to satisfy the curiosity of the public,” says Nguyen Van, an art critic for Van Hoa va Doi Song (Art & Life) magazine.

“Director Le Hoang is repeating himself, but in a worse manner,” Van says, describing the sequel as ”more or less a kind of instant noodles,” a local expression for hastily made video films.

Pham Hoang Nam, the young cameraman who contributed a lot to the triumph of “Bar Girls” with beautifully shot scenes, says, “The film was done in a careless manner. The director did not have a definite scenario in hand. Because of the meager budget, we had to leave out some scenes that could have added more artistic value to the film.”

For Pham Nhue Giang, director of “Deserted Valley” that earned a place at no less than five international film festivals but failed to attract a Vietnamese audience, the option is clear. “We must reject films that have nothing to offer,” she says.

Giang and others are concerned that the local industry may go from one extreme to another. To attract young audiences, producers are casting well-known singers and models in leading roles despite their lack of acting experience. They leave professional actors and actresses out of the game, and ask screenwriters to produce stereotypes based on hit films from other countries in the region.

“If I want to make money, I will go to another place and make it,” Nam says, criticizing the commercial trend adopted by his colleagues at Saigon Giai Phong, the studio that produced both ”Bar Girls” and “Street Cinderella”. Nam also is a famous director of music videos and advertisements that have brought him enough money to lead a comfortable life.

Le Hoang however, remains firm in his choice of making more commercial films to satisfy the demands of the masses. “Empty theaters are always a tragedy (for filmmakers) regardless of the purpose of their films,” Hoang says. He says that huge crowds attracted by “Bar Girls” and “Street Cinderella” provided testimony to their value.

“It’s high time for our movie industry to give priority to the public; unless we want to let American or Korean industries do it for us,” he says.

Pham Nhue Giang counters, ”I tend not to think about the masses when I make a film. I just look for screenplays that inspire me”.

She nevertheless says that a healthy film industry should produce both art and commercial films; art films to meet filmmakers’ need for creativity, the driving force of the industry; and commercial films to sustain it.