"Southern Forest Land" is considered not pure Vietnamese: What does the director say?

Controversy over setting and costumes "not purely Vietnamese"

The movie Southern Forest Land is receiving a lot of attention from the audience. In the movie trailer and promotional poster, the audience commented that the Ao Ba Ba worn by the character Uncle Ba Phi (played by Tran Thanh) is not designed like the traditional Ao Ba Ba.

Besides, the characters' style and the film's color are also commented to be reminiscent of Hong Kong (China), Korean films... and not carrying the atmosphere of the Southern countryside.

Tran Thanh's costumes in music videos and movies cause controversy (Photo: Screenshot).

MV Song of the Southern Land (soundtrack) has just been released   also became a controversial topic. In the MV, Meritorious Artist Trong Phuc performed with more than 300 members of the choir and choir group. Besides, there was the appearance of the cast: Tran Thanh, Tien Luat, Tuan Tran, Mai Tai Phen... .

Some comments praised the emotional atmosphere in the MV, others commented that the actors' costumes did not reflect the Southern people's style, especially Tran Thanh's clothes and the way the actors wore their scarves.

From these details, the audience raised controversy about the film version of Southern Forest Land "losing the traditional Southern character", "not following closely the indigenous culture and history"...

The film's setting was criticized for not having the culture of the old Southern countryside (Photo: Screenshot).

Viewers commented: "The old TV version had simple costumes but had Vietnamese soul. This version does not", "Why does Tran Thanh wear such modernized costumes? It doesn't resemble the Southern style of Uncle Ba Phi in the TV version"...

A netizen asked: "The Western countryside is inherently simple and rustic, from daily life to the struggle for the homeland, but in the MV of a movie remade from a classic about the West, there are actors wearing costumes that are not historically accurate?"

"Movies are not textbooks, not documents"

At the premiere of Southern Forest Land on the afternoon of October 11, director Nguyen Quang Dung frankly responded to reporters about the above controversies.

Regarding the costumes in the MV Southern Song , the director said: "It's true that there are controversies, but the MV Southern Song is just a song, not a movie. The actors came to record, did their own dialogue, and sang the song themselves.

If the costumes and actors' looks were the same as in the movie, it would be quite boring. Tran Thanh just chose a nice shirt to film. The way he wore the scarf was just a fashion element, what's the big deal?"

A scene from the MV "Song of the Southern Land" (Photo: Screenshot).

Regarding the opinions that Southern Forest Land is not purely Vietnamese and contains many Chinese cultural details, the director said: "In the film, you will see Chinese elements. The West, to me, is a land of many immigrants, with Chinese and Teochew communities. That is the characteristic of the land, a place that welcomes many regions."

Director Nguyen Quang Dung further explained: "Regarding the Chinese details on the signboard, I actually also looked at many documentary photos of the actual historical period. Note that this film has changed the setting and timeline compared to the novel.

The novel is set around 1945. We kept the spirit of the TV version, taking the time before 1930. From there, An's journey goes through many environments, meets many cultural communities, and encounters conflicts with many groups. The important thing is that the film carries a message about human emotions. That is, in every Vietnamese person, everyone loves their country, but in different ways."

Director Nguyen Quang Dung responds to conflicting controversies (Photo: Bich Phuong).

Before the controversy over the character of Uncle Ba Phi in the film wearing a costume that does not resemble the traditional Ao Ba Ba, Nguyen Quang Dung said: "The film is not a textbook and does not have the mission of being a historical document.

I myself also researched a lot of documents, met many people, some said this, some said that. There were details that were not done well, but in general, we did things that were suitable for the crew's capabilities.

I'm not blaming anyone, but for me, the film crew did their best. There may have been some mistakes, but the world is the same. There's no film that comes out and historians applaud and say it's exactly like history."

Director Nguyen Quang Dung emphasized that the film needs to bring meaningful and emotional messages to the audience. Elements such as setting and costumes will help the audience understand the story better, but leaving all that responsibility to the film crew is "very difficult".

The movie "Southern Forest Land" is about to be released in theaters, attracting the attention of the audience (Photo: Provided by the film crew).

Sharing more with Dan Tri reporter, actor Mai Tai Phen - who plays Vo Tong - also responded to the controversy surrounding the costumes of the film and in the MV Southern Song.

He expressed his opinion: "I think the audience seems to be a bit harsh on the crew. Like in the MV, the director wanted some actors to wear character costumes, others in the film had to wear a lot of makeup, like my role as Vo Tong, so it was impossible to put that original look in the MV.

Everyone just acted with the purpose of contributing spirit and vitality to the music video . Hope everyone loves and welcomes this film version."

Southern Forest Land is a film version inherited and developed from the novel of the same name by writer Doan Gioi. The film tells the adventure journey of An - a boy who unfortunately lost his mother on the way to find his father.

Following An's footsteps, the audience experiences the richness of nature, the unique cultural beauty of the Southern region, the generosity of farmers who cling to the land and forests, and the patriotism of the early 20th century.

The three characters An, Co, and Xinh are played by child actors Huynh Hao Khang, Ky Phong, and Bui Ly Bao Ngoc, respectively. Tran Thanh plays Uncle Ba Phi, and Mai Tai Phen plays Vo Tong.

Source link: https://dantri.com.vn/van-hoa/dat-rung-phuong-nam-bi-cho-khong-thuan-viet-dao-dien-noi-gi-20231011200555487.htm