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| Cinema of Vietnam | |
|---|---|
 | |
| No. ofscreens | 901 (2019)[1] |
| Produced feature films (2011)[2] | |
| Fictional | 3 |
| Animated | 4 |
| Documentary | 28 |
| Number of admissions (2011)[3] | |
| Total | 13,500,000 |
| Gross box office (2012)[4] | |
| Total | $43 million |
Thecinema of Vietnam originates in the 1920s and was largely influenced by wars that have been fought in the country from the 1940s to the 1970s.
Some proclaimedVietnamese language-films includeCyclo,The Scent of Green Papaya andVertical Ray of the Sun, all byTran Anh Hung, challenged the war-torn depiction of Vietnam at the time.[5] In more recent years, as Vietnam's film industry has modernized and moved beyond government-backed propaganda films, contemporary Vietnamese filmmakers have gained a wider audience with films such asBuffalo Boy,Bar Girls andThe White Silk Dress.
More recent notable works include Vietnamese-languagedrama film,Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell, byPhạm Thiên Ân, which won theCaméra d'Or in 2023 for best first feature film at the76th Cannes Film Festival (2023). In the same event, the French film,The Taste of Things byTrần Anh Hùng wonBest Director at the2023 Cannes Film Festival.[6]
In the 1920s, a group ofVietnamese intellectuals formed the Huong Ky Film Company inHanoi. It produced documentaries on the funeral of EmperorKhải Định and the enthronement ofBảo Đại.[7] There was also the silent feature,Một đồng kẽm tậu được ngựa (A Penny for a Horse).The first sound films were produced from 1937 to 1940, withTrọn với tình (True to Love),Khúc khải hoàn (The Song of Triumph) andToét sợ ma (Toét's Scared of Ghosts) by the Asia Film Group studio in Hanoi with the participation of artistTám Danh. The Vietnam Film Group, led byTrần Tấn Giàu producedMột buổi chiều trên sông Cửu Long (An Evening on the Mekong River) andThầy Pháp râu đỏ (The Red-Bearded Sorcerer).
Two other films,Cánh đồng ma (The Ghost Field) andTrận phong ba (The Storm), were made in 1937 and 1938 in Hong Kong with Vietnamese actors and dialogue, but both were financial failures.
The government's Ministry of Information and Propaganda formed a film department around 1945 and documented battles in theFirst Indochina War in the documentariesTrận Mộc Hóa (Mộc Hóa Battle) in 1948,Trận Đông Khê (Đông Khê Battle) in 1950Chiến thắng Tây Bắc (North West Victory) in 1952,Việt Nam trên đường thắng lợi (Việt Nam on the Road to Victory) in 1953 andDien Bien Phu (1954).
With the end of the First Indochina War and the creation ofNorth Vietnam andSouth Vietnam, there were two Vietnamese film industries, with the Hanoi industry focusing on documentary and drama films and Saigon on war or comedy films.
Hanoi's Vietnam Film Studio was established in 1956 and the Hanoi Film School opened in 1959. The first feature film produced in the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was a nationalistic work directed by Nguyễn Hồng Nghị,Chung một dòng sông (Together on the Same River). There was even an animated feature,Đáng đời Thằng Cáo (A Just Punishment for the Fox) in 1960.
Documentaries and feature films from Hanoi attracted attention at film festivals inEastern Europe at the time. The documentaryNước về Bắc Hưng Hải (Water Returns to Bắc Hưng Hải) won the Golden Award at the 1959Moscow Film Festival, and the 1963 feature by Phạm Kỳ Nam,Chị Tư Hậu (Sister Tư Hậu) won the Silver Award at Moscow. It starred lead actressTrà Giang.
The Hanoi-based industry mainly documented theVietnam War. Between 1965 and 1973, 463 newsreels, 307 documentaries and 141 scientific films were produced, in contrast to just 36 feature films and 27 cartoons. Films during this period include the documentariesDu kích Củ Chi (Củ Chi Guerillas) in 1967 andLũy thép Vĩnh Linh (Vĩnh Linh Steel Rampart) in 1970, which included footage from battles. Other films, such asĐường ra phía trước (The Road to the Front) in 1969 andNhững người săn thú trên núi Dak-sao (Hunters on Dak-sao Mountain) in 1971 were docudramas.
Feature films from this time includeNguyễn Văn Trỗi (1966),Đường về quê mẹ (Road Back to Mother) (1971),Truyện vợ chồng Anh Lực (The Story of Anh Lực and his Wife) in 1971, andEm bé Hà Nội (Girl from Hanoi) in 1975.
Saigon produced numerous documentary andpublic information films, as well as feature films. The most well known feature film of the late 1950s wasChúng Tôi Muốn Sống (We Want To Live), a realistic depiction of the bloody land reform campaign in North Vietnam under Communist-dominatedVietminh. Some mid-1960s black-and-white features dealt with war themes, with actors such as Đoàn Châu Mậu and La Thoại Tân. Some later popular color features revolved around the theme of family or personal tragedy in a war-torn society, such asNgười Tình Không Chân Dung (The Faceless Lover) starringKiều Chinh,Xa Lộ Không Đèn (Dark Highway) starring Thanh Nga,Chiếc Bóng Bên Đường (A Silhouette by the Road) starring Kim Cương and Thành Được. Comedy movies were usually released aroundTết, the Vietnamese New Year; most notable wasTriệu Phú Bất Đắc Dĩ (The Reluctant Millionaire) starring the well-loved comedian Thanh Việt.
Joseph Mankiewicz's adaptation ofGraham Greene'sThe Quiet American was filmed in and around Saigon in 1957. American actorMarshall Thompson directed and starred inA Yank in Vietnam, orYear of the Tiger in 1964.
AfterReunification ofNorth Vietnam andSouth Vietnam, studios in the former South Vietnam turned to makingSocialist Realism films. Vietnamese feature film output increased and by 1978 the number of feature films made each year was boosted from around three annually during the war years to 20.
Films from the years following the war focused on heroic efforts in the revolution, human suffering created by the war and social problems of post-war reconstruction. Films from this time includeMùa gió chướng (Season of the Whirlwind) in 1978 andCánh đồng hoang (The Abandoned Field: Free Fire Zone) in 1979.
Theshift to a market economy in 1986 dealt a blow to Vietnamese filmmaking, which struggled to compete with video and television. The number of films produced in Vietnam has dropped off sharply since 1987. Still, a number of filmmakers continued to produce films seen on the arthouse circuit. These includeTrần Văn Thủy'sHà Nội trong mắt ai? (Hanoi Through Whose Eyes?, 1983) andChuyện tử tế (Story of Good Behavior, 1987) and Trần Anh Trà'sNgười công giáo huyện Thống Nhất (A Catholic in Thống Nhất District, 1985), Trần Vũ'sAnh và em (Siblings, 1986),Đặng Nhật Minh'sBao gio cho den thang muoi (When the Tenth Month Comes, 1984), Đặng Nhật Minh'sCô gái trên sông (Girl on the River, 1987), Nguyển Khắc Lợi'sTướng về hưu (The Retired General) and Đặng Nhật Minh'sMùa ổi (Guava Season, 2001).
Tony Bui'sBa mùa (Three Seasons, 1998) won prizes at theSundance Film Festival in 1998. Trần Văn Thủy'sTiếng vĩ cầm ở Mỹ Lai (The Sound of the Violin at My Lai) won Best Short Film prize at the 43rdAsia Pacific Film Festival in 1999.Đời cát (Sandy Life) by Nguyễn Thanh won best picture at the same festival the following year. Bùi Thạc Chuyên'sCuốc xe đêm (Night Cyclo Trip) won third prize in the short film category at theCannes Film Festival in 2000.
European productions in Vietnam are better known. These includeThe Lover,Indochine and films byViệt Kiều directorsTran Anh Hung andTony Bui. Tran's first feature,The Scent of the Green Papaya won the Golden Camera at theCannes Film Festival in 1993 and was the first Vietnamese film nominated for an Oscar in 1994. His other films includeXích lô (Cyclo, 1995) andMùa hè chiều thẳng đứng (Vertical Ray of the Sun) in 2000. Another European co-production,Mùa len trâu (The Buffalo Boy) by Nguyễn Võ Nghiêm Minh, has won numerous awards at film festivals, including theChicago International Film Festival in 2004.
In early 2000s, Vietnamese filmmakers have moved in a more commercial directions to try to regain audiences lost to television and DVDs. One of the most successful films of recent years at the Vietnamese box office has been Phi Tiến Sơn'sLưới trời (Heaven's Net), a film about corruption that closely mirrors the trial of Ho Chi Minh City gangsterNam Cam.
An even bigger film was Lê Hoàng's 2002Gai nhay (Bar Girls), which depicted Ho Chi Minh City's titillating and seedy nightlife while also warning of the dangers ofHIV andAIDS. Featuring the first government-approved topless scene, it spawned a sequel,Lọ lem hè phố (Street Cinderella), in 2004. Another film along these lines isNữ tướng cướp (Gangsta Girls). There are also romantic comedies, such asHon Truong Ba Da Hang Thit (Truong Ba's Soul in Butcher's Body) in 2006 andKhi dan ong co bau (When Men Get Pregnant) from 2004.
In 2007,Muoi (Muoi: the Legend of a Portrait), the firsthorror film in Vietnam afterthe Fall of Saigon (collaborated byKorean producers), also became the first rated film with an under-16 ban.[8][9]
Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell (Bên trong vỏ kén vàng) byPhạm Thiên Ân won theCaméra d'Or, for the best first feature film at the76th Cannes Film Festival (2023). Similarly,The Taste of Things byTrần Anh Hùng wonBest Director at the2023 Cannes Film Festival.[6] Cu Li Never Cries (Cu li không bao giờ khóc) directed by Phạm Ngọc Lân has also won the “Best First Feature” award at the Berlin International Film Festival 2024.[10]
Mai byTrấn Thành is currently the highest-grossing Vietnamese movie, making over 500 billion ₫.[11]
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