Exploiting the literary "treasure" to create quality entertainment products

Variety of unique ideas

Remember in 2015, the movie “I see yellow flowers on the green grass” adapted from the novel of the same name by writer Nguyen Nhat Anh became a box office phenomenon, attracting audiences of all ages and film enthusiasts. The movie set an unprecedented record in the history of Vietnamese cinema, earning 78 billion VND (more than 3.5 million USD) after only one month of release, something that could only happen with comedy films shown during Tet up to now.

Even the film’s director, Mr. Victor Vu, was surprised by this record. The director also shared that he had the idea of filming this film for a long time. For Victor Vu, the works of writer Nguyen Nhat Anh such as “I see yellow flowers on green grass” and “Mat biec” have words and images that are full of cinematography. Later, when adapted, these two films also created poetic scenes, romantic love stories, and tragedies of the characters.

Not only is the film “I see yellow flowers on the green grass” a successful adaptation, but recently, literature has been creating momentum for many other attractive television and film series. For example, the film “Tet in Hell Village” was adapted from the novel of the same name by writer Thao Trang, becoming the top “hit” film on many platforms in Vietnam in 2023 - 2024.

The film is set in the Vietnamese society of the 16th - 17th centuries, and folk cultural elements are exploited and cleverly integrated into the story. These are materials about images, cultural activities, lifestyles, beliefs, spirituality, concepts and beliefs of the Vietnamese people. These elements have created a unique tone for the film and the novel, contributing to attracting many young audiences.

In addition to films adapted from literary works, there are many music videos inspired by literary stories that have been deeply imprinted in the minds of many generations of Vietnamese people. For example, in the music video “Gội gấm”, singer Phương Mỹ Chi was inspired by literary works such as “Tu tình 2”, “Lay chong chung”, “Canh khuy” by poetess Hồ Xuân Hương; or other famous music videos such as “Mat trang” by Bùi Lan Hương inspired by the love story of Mị Châu - Trọng Thủy in the story about King An Dương Vương and Mị Châu, or MV “Ngay la mot bài hát vui” by Jun Phạm inspired by the excerpt “Hanh phuc cua mot tang gia” in the novel “số đỏ” by writer Vũ Trọng Phụng... All of these songs are loved by audiences of different ages.

It is necessary to preserve the value of literary works when making entertainment products.

Vietnamese literature from the past to the present has not lacked good works, valuable in both content and art. The combination of literature imbued with traditional identity and valuable products is becoming a trend that attracts many audiences. However, literature, history, and folk culture are treasures that have existed for hundreds of thousands of years, painstakingly researched and studied by previous generations, and cannot be "fabricated" or changed. Therefore, in order to exploit them, artists must have a certain understanding, a heart, and a vision, and cannot do it superficially or carelessly, otherwise it will easily lead to distaste, "ridiculousness", and even be "turned away" by the audience if they do not really research and invest their efforts carefully and wholeheartedly.

For example, one of the few failed Vietnamese film adaptations is the series of films about “The Tale of Kieu”. With more than three thousand six-eight verses, “The Tale of Kieu” by the great poet Nguyen Du has been with the Vietnamese people for many generations. Therefore, adapting a literary work as monumental in style, meaning, and ideology as “The Tale of Kieu” is difficult to convey all its value when adapted to the big screen. Vietnamese cinema has failed three times in “Saigon Eclipse”, “Kieu@” and “Kieu”. All three films were judged by many to have pushed the image of Kieu, “a beautiful woman with a tragic fate”, too far from the original, becoming bare, bland, and lacking depth.

For musical works inspired by folk literature such as “Chuyen nguoi con gai” by Thu Hang, “Hai ban tay” by Jun Pham or “Truyen thai y” by Ngo Kien Huy and “Tu tam” by Nguyen Tran Trung Quan, they received mixed reactions from the audience. These music videos have not really brought the value of honoring Vietnamese culture and traditions. On the contrary, the content of the music videos is somewhat challenging to the audience. Some MVs also use costumes and images that have many similarities with Korea, Japan, and China, so they have not received the support of the audience.

In fact, there are entertainment works that have been transformed and adapted to suit the tastes of the audience. For example, the animated film "The Legend of Kim Nguu" takes the image of the boy Trang Quynh, famous for being mischievous and intelligent in Vietnamese literature. Trang Quynh in the film and his four friends solve many thrilling and attractive cases. Although there are changes compared to the original story of Trang Quynh, the animated film has attracted viewers thanks to its good content, meaning about friendship, family affection, especially the film uses the poetic and vivid setting of the countryside in Northern Vietnam.

Huong Ngoc

Source: https://baophapluat.vn/khai-thac-kho-tang-van-hoc-tao-ra-san-pham-giai-tri-chat-luong-post552242.html