The producer of "Cong Tu Bac Lieu " said he spent 10 billion VND on the setting and set construction to recreate life in old Saigon.
Director Ly Minh Thang said one of the most invested exterior scenes in the film was the Saigon - Gia Dinh street in the 1930s. To recreate the old atmosphere, the design team designed many simulated scenes, such as a 100m long street on a one-hectare plot of land, costing three billion VND. The art department repainted many restaurant, coffee shop, and import-export office signs.
Nam Kin Theater - where the young master Ba Hon (Song Luan) meets the beautiful Bay Loan (Doan Thien An) - has classic architecture and interior, with 200 square meters of natural wood flooring, more than 50 custom-made tables and chairs. "To complete the scene, more than 40 workers worked for 20 days with a budget of two billion VND," said the director.
The An Nam Thanh Vuong Bank project - the largest business of Ba Hon's family - was invested with about one billion VND, with a 200 m2 tiled floor. In the film, this is where the main character achieved his first success when starting his business. The boxing ring was also recreated to depict the scene where Ba Hon organized a boxing match to save the bank's business.
The house of "The Prince of Bac Lieu" was filmed at the over 100-year-old villa of the prototype - Mr. Tran Trinh Huy. The ancient mansion of the French Consulate General (HCMC) was first shown on the big screen, becoming the mansion of the Councilor Linh (artist Thanh Loc). The ancient house of Mr. Ca Ba ( Can Tho ) was chosen as the living space of the character Ba Ho Kim (artist Huu Chau) - the rival of the Ba Hon family.
Ly Minh Thang said that the visuals and setting accounted for about 50% of the project's investment. After more than 10 days in theaters, the film earned 33 billion VND (according to Box Office Vietnam), the effects were lower than the crew's expectations. The director said that he and the producer encouraged each other that the entire crew had done their best, and the fate of the work depends on the audience's interest. They plan to release the film early next year in Australia, New Zealand, then the US and the Southeast Asian market, Taiwan.
The film is inspired by some anecdotes about Mr. Tran Trinh Huy (1900-1974), who was famous in the early 20th century for his lavish lifestyle. The film opens with the plot of Ba Hon - the son of Hoi Dong Linh - returning home after studying abroad in France. He acquired a lot of knowledge and was granted a series of certificates such as piloting skills and boxing.
However, his "Western-educated" thinking conflicts with his father's traditional views. His father expects Ba Hon to take over his father's bank, but Ba Hon only sees it as a tool to earn money to buy the plane he desires. The conflict climaxes when Ba Hon encounters an accident, pushing the family business to the brink of closure.
The work has strong visuals, but the script lacks climax. The love story between Ba Hon and the beauty Bay Loan is superficial, only shown through a few dialogue scenes. The director's way of resolving the characters' conflicts is also perfunctory, mainly to convey the message about father-daughter love.
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