The Journey to Find Happiness in “Dusty Roads”

“Dusty Roads” is a new work by director Trinh Le Phong, about the journey to find happiness of three men of three different ages, whose fate brings them together in a car trip “running away from the world ”. The film has the participation of Meritorious Artist Vo Hoai Nam, actor Dinh Tu and actor Duc Phong.

The film was filmed in beautiful locations. (Photo: VFC)

This is director Trinh Le Phong's new attempt at a journey film after the success of "One Family".

The film revolves around three men of three different ages, pushed to the margins of life. They board a bus to escape the world, but it is a journey that gives them hope and builds a common roof. It is a warm story of open humanity, shared honesty, and the core values of life are affirmed.

Each person, even though they are “at the end of their rope”, even though they have “no chance”, even though they are on the sidelines, it turns out that within them still shines simple desires, to have a chance to start over, to live well, and to be loved. A story of roads, unique cultural spaces, and fates that, though unlucky, never lack hope.

Meritorious Artist Vo Hoai Nam and actor Dinh Tu in the movie.

A man released from prison in his old age (Mr. Nhan - Meritorious Artist Vo Hoai Nam), a fallen prince (Nguyen - Dinh Tu) and a pickpocket (Phom - little Duc Phong) together create a story rich in masculinity, not dramatic nor related to romantic love stories, but warm, full of laughter and also calls for thoughts about the meaning of life, bringing a bright and positive perspective on humanity in society.

Talking about the difference of the film, director Trinh Le Phong said that the film also has main characters who are all men. However, the film is not filmed in one main setting but spread over many routes, many provinces and cities. This is a rather arduous journey, having to travel a lot, but this creates many experiences that are not always available for the actors and film crew.

“This is a film that can be called a journey film, because the characters have missions and responsibilities to go on. On those roads, they will encounter situations and lives that, for themselves, they will perfect themselves through the events they encounter in that life” – the director said.

Director Trinh Le Phong also shared that the film has beautiful images, mostly filmed in remote areas. Because it was filmed mainly in remote areas, traveling was very difficult, but the film crew was still happy and shared with each other because it is not always possible to have such experiences together. The film was filmed for nearly 3 months and traveled nearly 1000km with beautiful scenes of many regions.

Sharing about this return on the small screen, Meritorious Artist Vo Hoai Nam said, the role of Mr. Nhan in the film is an experienced character, with a not so good past, and is attached to other unfortunate fates to bond and become a family. Meritorious Artist Vo Hoai Nam commented, this is also a strange script and also a strange story to bring to the audience the message to love and protect each other.

As for Dinh Tu, the two most memorable impressions in the film are the wandering roads and "being slapped".

Dinh Tu shared that in the past he often participated in films related to family and love. But this time the film's story is about three uncles and nephews, not a family but always together on the road, on the same car traveling everywhere. "This film does not have a main scene, wandering everywhere up to the mountains and down to the sea. Once the setting was the character's house, I thought it was the main setting, but after about 5-7 days of filming, the crew moved again. The producer announced the destinations every few days such as Hoa Binh , Bac Son, Lang Son, Y Ty. The film's name is "Dusty Roads" so the whole film is about trips. These are also interesting and different experiences for me as well as the film crew in different lands with different emotions".

Talking about being slapped in a movie, Dinh Tu said that he was slapped in almost every movie he acted in, and this movie was no exception. In the movie, Tu received two slaps from Mr. Nhan and Quynh Chau, and each slap was "very painful". To the point that Dinh Tu's friends asked him why he was slapped every time he acted in a movie.

For child actor Duc Phong, “Dusty Roads” brought him unprecedented experiences. “I have never traveled as much as when filming this film. I did not think that many places could be so beautiful and majestic. Only by traveling can I know how beautiful many places are” – Duc Phong shared.

Duc Phong also said that when he was accepted for the role, he was afraid he wouldn't be able to do it because it was too heavy. However, Meritorious Artist Vo Hoai Nam and director Trinh Le Phong were always with him so he was able to complete the role.

"There were parts where I didn't know how to express my emotions, but everyone helped me blend into the character Phom perfectly" - Duc Phong said.

“Dusty Roads” and “My Father, the One Who Stays” are two films with two different styles but both are emotional and meaningful, and will start the new movie times of Vietnam Television in February. The film production unit is the Television Film Production Center. VFC, Vietnam Television hopes that audiences will continue to love and accompany Vietnamese films in this new time slot.

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