The Vietnamese film The Legend is Alive has hit cinemas in time for the Lunar new year. The film is chock-full of burgeoning actors and singers and looks set to be a big hit. The film’s director and scriptwriter, Luu Huynh, spoke about the film.

Director Luu Huynh.

Your name has become known to the public. Why do you tend to shy away from the public?

I am a calm person, and to be honest, I am hesitant to talk to people about my “brainchildren”’. I am afraid of being judged unfairly.

Your film Huyen Thoai Bat Tu will be shown to audiences for the Lunar New Year. So will two other sentimental films Dep Tung Centimet (Beautiful in Every Centimetre) and Giai Cuu Than Chet (Saving the Death). Do you think that your film is calmer than the other two?

When I made it, I didn’t think that the film would be shown during the Lunar New Year only. However, the producer wanted to show the film for Tet. When making a film, I try to weave many different life stories around the plot.

Huyen Thoai Bat Tu is about the life of an unfortunate, unwise orphan boy. He was raised and educated by a single woman. She is a strong-standing member of the community and works as a martial arts master in Binh Dinh. The boy, Ly Tieu Long, becomes a good man under her care and nurture and keeps his pure, childlike soul.

The film evokes many human emotions, like happiness, pain, heartlessness and hope. It walks a careful tightrope between darkness and light, sadness and joy.

The film jumps back and forth between the present and the past. Is it true that you used the material from a Vietnamese folk story called Thieu Phu Nam Xuong (The Woman from Nam Xuong) ?

I love the richness of Vietnamese literature. That’s why I love using original elements from folk stories for my films. For example, I borrowed ideas from the Trau Cau story for my film Ao Lua Ha Dong. In this film, I did borrow detail from Thieu Phu Nam Xuong.

There were quite a lot of martial arts scenes in the film. Was this to attract the attention of younger, action-loving audiences?

It’s not to draw in audiences, it’s to follow the story of the unwise Ly Tieu Long from the Binh Dinh martial arts school. He learned the essence of the martial art from his mother, along with good morality. On his way to look for his father, the innocent man remains respectful and patient as he remembers the compassionate words of his mother. He only reacts physically when people disrespecte his love for his mother. He uses martial arts as a weapon to defend himself. Though the film features quite an amount of martial arts scenes, it’s not an action film.

What do you think about the actors?

I’d like to first talk about Dustin Tri Nguyen. He became known for his portrayal as Sy in the famed film Dong Mau Anh Hung (The Rebel). He is very good at martial arts but he also excels at playing scenes where his characters must show off their innermost feelings. He played the role of Long brilliantly.

The young actor Luc Ba Them, who played the role of Long as a little boy, surpassed our expectations. Actress Kim Xuan played Long’s mother very well. What was very difficult for her was the intense martial arts training. She also patiently co-operated with make-up artists who had to spend a lot of time making her look like an old woman.

How do you plan to celebrate Tet?

Like almost everybody, my wife and I (actress Dinh Y Nhung) and my four-year-old daughter will enjoy some uninterrupted time together for the first time in a long time. I have been devoting all my time to the film lately and am looking forward to time with my family. This Tet, we will await audience reviews about Huyen Thoai Bat Tu. After that, we will get ready for our activities in the new year. I’ll begin a script for a new film.

(Source: VNS)