A ghostly affair
Published: 24/04/2009 05:00
An award-winning director prepares to shoot his next movie about an exotic dancer in love with a ghost. | |||||||
Nguyen Vo Nghiem Minh, director of the critically acclaimed art house film Mua len trau (The buffalo boy), has surprised fans with the announcement of his next big project â“ a movie about a stripper in love with a phantom saxophone player. âI donât stick to one directing style. To me, each film is like a new adventure,â Minh said. The expat director is now in Vietnam completing the script and casting for the feature Khi yeu dung quay dau lai (Donât look back in love), produced by local entertainment company Thien Ngan (Galaxy) and slated to hit local cinemas early next year. The film tells the story of a girl who is passionate about dancing but ends up working as an exotic dancer to pay for her dance classes. Not allowing herself to be taken advantage of, however, she turns the table on her customers and exploits them instead. The girl finds work at a strange club and meets a captivating saxophonist. In the beginning, she tries to manipulate him, but instead a love blossoms between the two thanks to their shared interest in art. Later to her astonishment, the girl discovers that the club is selling special pills which can revive and rejuvenate the dead. She then has her biggest revelation of all â“ her boyfriend is actually a ghost. âThe script describes an eerie atmosphere and will make a romantic, moving, ghostly film which will likely appeal to an eclectic, wide audience â“ especially teenagers,â says Minh. âThe film will also convey profound underlying meanings.â The screenplay for Khi yeu dung quay dau lai won the award for best scriptwriting from Vietnamâs Department of Cinematography in 2006. âI think such a story line is suitable for teenagers who are ready to involve themselves in love adventures, nurture dreams about romantic love, and love with all their heart like the protagonist in the film,â Minh adds. Two recent blockbusters, Nu hon than chet (Hot Kiss), and Giai cuu than chet (Hot Kiss 2), directed by young talent Nguyen Quang Dung, also deal with similar themes of love and death. However, Minh asserts there are striking differences between his work and the âHot Kissâ movies. âI just watched these two films and though there are similarities, Khi yeu dung quay dau lai is an entirely different story and has a different message. There wonât be special effects like the two [Hot Kiss] films; the âghostlyâ quality in Khi yeu dung quay dau lai is manifest through the atmosphere, setting and characters,â says Minh. He spent days trying to figure out the perfect ending for the film, but eventually, the director came up with a fitting conclusion. Minh says the final message is that despite adversity, those who truly love each other will find a way to accept each otherâs differences and trust one another. Minh also says he enjoyed working with the all-Vietnamese crew. âWhat I like most is that I donât have to speak different languages. Mua len trau was a nightmare for me as I had to speak Vietnamese, English and French to the crew.â From physicist to movie-maker Despite his success as a filmmaker, Minh started out on a very different career path. Born in 1956 in the southern town of Vung Tau, Minh began studying in France in 1974 and moved to the US in 1978. He earned a Ph.D. in physics and worked as a physicist at the University of California, Los Angeles in the US for 16 years. But a long-standing passion for filmmaking eventually drew Minh in another direction and he turned to studying cinematography in 1998. Before directing his critically acclaimed feature debut Mua len trau, he produced the short film Crimson Wings and the documentary Noi chon va thoi gian (Place and time) which was screened at a select group of festivals in the US. Mua len trau won several international film awards, including the Golden Unicorn Grand Prix at the Amiens International Film Festival 2004 in France, and the Silver Hugo Award for New Directors at the 40th Chicago Film Festival 2004. It was the official entry from Vietnam for Best Foreign Language Film category at the 78th Academy Awards in 2006. The film is set in the 1940s in the Mekong Delta, and tells the story of 15-year-old Kim who must herd his familyâs buffalo to safety during the flood season. Fraught with danger, his journey finally leads to a devastating revelation about his family. Reported by Pham Thu Nga |
Provide by Vietnam Travel
A ghostly affair - Lifestyle - News | vietnam travel company
You can see more
- Discover mushroom-house in Y Ty
- HCM City to launch more book streets
- Vietnam Junior Fashion Week 2017 to open in HCM City
- Overseas Vietnamese wins TV's Master Chef
- Female choir conductor hopes of bright future for local choirs
- Vietnamese woman to be a judge of Mrs. USA pageant
- Vietnamese models appreciated at Asian Contest
- Vietnam’s documentaries funded by Amsterdam film festival
enews & updates
Sign up to receive breaking news as well as receive other site updates!
- Hanoi ranked top 3 cuisine in the world in 2023
- Beautiful resorts for a weekend escape close to Hanoi
- Travel trends in 2023
- In the spring, Moc Chau is covered in plum blossoms.
- The Most Wonderful Destinations In Sapa
- Top 3 Special festivals in Vietnam during Tet holiday - 2023
- 5 tourist hotspots expected to see a spike in visitors during Lunar New Year 2023
- How To Make Kitchen Cleaned
- Health benefits of lime
- Cooperation expanding between Havard University and Vietnamese universities
-
vietnam travel
http://www.vietnamtourism.org.vn " Vietnam Tourism: Vietnam Travel Guide, Culture, Travel, Entertainment, Guide, News, and...
-
Vietnam culture, culture travel
http://travel.org.vn " Vietnam culture
-
Vietnam travel, vietnam travel news, vietnam in photos
http://www.nccorp.vn " Vietnam travel, vietnam travel news, vietnam in photos
-
Vietnam tourism
http://www.vietnamtourism.org.vn " The official online information on culture, travel, entertainment, and including facts, maps,...
-
Vietnam Travel and Tourism
http://www.vietnamtourism.org.vn/ " Vietnam Travel, Entertainment, People, Agents, Company, Vietnam Tourism information.
-
Information travel online
http://www.travellive.org "Information travel online