Special Tet movie season
On the Vietnamese Tet film race this year are the films: "Mai" by director Tran Thanh, "Gap lai chi bau" by director Nhat Trung, "Sang den" by director Hoang Tuan Cuong and "Tra" by director Le Hoang.
In addition to the four private films competing for screenings from the first day of Tet, Vietnamese films also have two films ordered by the State: "Dao, Pho and Piano" by director Phi Tien Son and "Hong Ha Nu Si" by director Nguyen Duc Viet. However, these two films are mainly shown to audiences in Hanoi , with screenings scattered throughout Tet.
Of the four private films, "Sang Den" directed by Hoang Tuan Cuong was withdrawn after 2 days of release and announced a new release date from March 22. Meanwhile, "Tra" directed by Le Hoang also announced on the evening of the 4th day of Tet that it would stop showing at all cinemas from the 6th day of Tet.
Meanwhile, foreign films are also less competitive for many reasons such as: few screenings, films with age restrictions, etc. Therefore, the Tet film race only has "Mai" and "Gap lai chi bau".
Yen Nhi, an audience member in Ho Chi Minh City commented: “I think Mai is good, and Gap lai chi bau is also good, but I probably like the family theme so I like the movie Gap lai chi bau. The more unique approach is not about family arguments but about resolving past problems.”
Currently, the movie "Mai" by director Tran Thanh almost dominates the box office, continuously leading in revenue and setting a revenue record with nearly 400 billion VND, "Gap lai chi Bau" is more than 67 billion VND.
The fact that "Sang den" by director Hoang Tuan Cuong and "Tra" by director Le Hoang have left theaters is no longer a strange thing in the domestic film market. This is the producer's move to find a better release time, less competition. In Tet 2023, the film "Sieu don gat sieu luan" also withdrew from the Tet film race to be released later when the producer realized that it could not compete with the two Tet films "Nha ba Nu" and "Chi chi em em".
Talking about whether "Gập lại chi bầu" can hold its own at the Vietnamese box office during Tet, director Nhat Trung shared: "I have been working in the profession for more than ten years, and have also made many films in which I directed. I realize that I am living off the audience, and if there are many good works released in theaters that gain the trust of the audience, that is the way I can live."
Expectations for the progress of Vietnamese films
Although Vietnamese Tet movies are creating a fever at the box office, their quality is still not really consistent. According to critic Nguyen Phong Viet, in the movie "Mai", he feels that Tran Thanh is clearly out of breath when switching the genre from family psychology to emotional psychology. Supporting characters such as: the neighbor who throws trash in front of Mai's house, the woman who walks up and down giving morals... clearly show Tran Thanh's forced arrangement, losing the naturalness of a living space.
But from a market perspective, the film can be sympathetic and create trust for the audience, because when they go to the cinema they can watch a good film and Tran Thanh's storytelling makes the audience laugh and cry with the characters. Besides, investing in films, up to now, although some people like it, some people don't like it, but it cannot be denied that Tran Thanh is a very dedicated and hard-working filmmaker.
On the contrary, with "Gap lai chi bau", critic Nguyen Phong Viet said that this is not a bad film, but not good either. The characters' performances are relatively well-rounded, without any breakthroughs or surprises: "When watching Mai, there are two characters who explode with emotion: Mrs. Dao (played by Hong Dao) and the character Mai. These two characters can surprise the audience in terms of acting, which is something that Gap lai chi bau does not have. I also believe that Mai is the best role Phuong Anh Dao has ever had and similarly, Mrs. Dao is also the best role Hong Dao has ever played".
Looking at the screenings throughout Tet and up to this point, we still see that Mai's movie dominates the screenings, leading to fewer screenings for other movies, making it difficult for audiences to find suitable screenings.
According to the theater's explanation, the arrangement of screenings depends on the actual demand of the audience as shown through box office revenue and advance ticket sales, so there is no such thing as squeezing screenings of films.
A Tet movie season with 2 Vietnamese movies leaving theaters after only a few days of showing, which also shows that the Tet movie market is no longer a lucrative market for releasing movies.
Source
Comment (0)