Preserving Vietnamese identity through cinematic language

Vietnamese cinema finds its way to conquer the world

Sharing at the workshop "Developing the film industry in the new era" within the framework of the 24th Vietnam Film Festival taking place in Ho Chi Minh City, director Victor Vu affirmed that for creative people, preserving Vietnamese identity is key. Everything can change, but what belongs to the nation's unique qualities, traditional cultural values will always last over time. If that can be expressed in a subtle and genuine way in the work, it will create a connection with the audience. When the film touches the audience's emotions, the possibility of success will be much higher...

CN3 tieu diem.jpg — Guests attending the workshop "Developing the film industry in the new era". Photo: THUY BINH

In response to the question "How can cinema both conquer the domestic market and reach out to the world?", director Victor Vu shared: first of all, the film must carry a story that is deeply Vietnamese. The further it wants to go, the more it must cling to its own identity and roots. That is the unique value of the work. Based on that Vietnamese story, the film needs to exploit universal themes such as human fate, motherhood, love or tragedy. When these values are told in the international language of cinema, audiences anywhere can sympathize.

It is not until this conference that the story of selecting, transmitting and promoting traditional cultural values in Vietnamese cinematographic works has been discussed. Director Victor Vu has been very successful in exploiting these elements in his two most recent works, The Last Wife and Detective Kien: The Headless Case.

He revealed that he will continue on this path with Detective Kien 2 and an epic film project in the making. In 2025 alone, a series of films with strong Vietnamese cultural imprints were released: Ghost Lights, Ancestral House, Bride Contract, Grave Reform, Thai Chieu Tai ... Cultural elements also play a role as a connecting thread throughout animated films such as De Men: Adventure to the Swamp Village, Trang Quynh Nhi: The Legend of the Taurus... Many successful films with box office revenue of hundreds of billions of VND such as Red Rain, Tunnel: The Sun in the Dark, Death Battle in the Sky, Flip Side 8... also express many Vietnamese cultural values from different perspectives.

Statistics show that if in 2024 Vietnamese films only accounted for 42% of the revenue market share, by 2025, the estimated figure up to now is more than 62%. According to Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Ta Quang Dong, changing the audience's habits to the direction that every time a Vietnamese film is released, they must go see it is not easy. Audiences feel familiar with simple things like costumes, speech, scene arrangement... to the intimacy in each story. All national cultural elements permeate each frame. Only then can we preserve our cultural capital.

Analyzing further on this aspect, Associate Professor, Dr. Bui Hoai Son, full-time member of the National Assembly 's Committee on Culture and Society, expressed his enthusiasm for the term "More local, more international".

According to him, to conquer international audiences, we must tell Vietnamese stories in the language of cinema. Our advantage is to tell Vietnamese stories, concerns about the fate and people of Vietnam to international audiences. Whether those stories can conquer the Oscars is unknown, but they will certainly be highly appreciated.

Harmonizing policy, people and technology

From the perspective of a manager, Dr. Tran Thi Phuong Lan, Head of the Department of Culture and Arts, Central Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Commission, shared that in the draft documents of the 14th National Party Congress, culture is placed in a very high position, on par with economics, politics , society, and is an endogenous strength and resource for national development. With the phrase "social regulatory system", culture will permeate all areas of social life.

"Many people often mention whether ideological orientation inhibits creativity? However, all documents agree on respecting creative freedom, the right to create and enjoy. I think it is necessary to understand that ideological orientation here plays a role in promoting positive values in creativity. These two factors are sometimes misunderstood as contradictory or inhibiting each other, but in fact they exist in an organic relationship. When ideological orientation is correct, it creates motivation and inspiration for artists to promote creative freedom, thereby creating quality works," Dr. Tran Thi Phuong Lan expressed her opinion.

Scene from the movie "Red Rain". Photo: Producer

Looking straight at reality, Associate Professor Dr. Bui Hoai Son gave multi-dimensional analysis. Cinema has a direct legal corridor, which is the Cinema Law. However, for cinema to develop sustainably, many other laws and policies are involved.

"When discussing at the National Assembly, the field of literature and arts in general is entangled in many issues related to tax laws, land, public-private partnerships, management and use of public assets... Investing in cinema is both risky and long-term, and profits cannot be calculated within 3-5 years. Therefore, I hope that tax policies for culture must be separate from other fields," Associate Professor, Dr. Bui Hoai Son proposed.

The issue of human resources and the application of technology to Vietnamese cinema also raises many issues. In terms of human resources, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Ta Quang Dong and Associate Professor, Dr. Bui Hoai Son both recognized that this is a weak link of Vietnamese cinema. Deputy Minister Ta Quang Dong analyzed that the training of cinema human resources is currently mainly focused on directors and actors, while leaving out technical fields - which are constantly changing very quickly.

Associate Professor Dr. Bui Hoai Son believes that the human resource problem is a long-term problem that needs to be fundamentally solved in the coming time, but first of all, there must be a change in awareness. With the current shift in the film industry, there needs to be a change in the mindset of filmmakers, ensuring professionalism, meeting audience tastes, and business problems. Each filmmaker himself does not simply work, but must be aware of building a personal brand.

In terms of technology, from the case of the film Chot Don, Ms. Dinh Thi Thanh Huong, General Director of Galaxy Studio, the film's production director, recognized that technology is a rescue solution in the context of the film crew "having no other solution". Mr. Hang Minh Loi, Founder of Lumination, also believes that technology can help Vietnamese cinema shorten the gap with developed cinema, reduce costs, save time, expand creativity and improve image quality.

Meanwhile, director Dang Thai Huyen gave a more multi-dimensional analysis. Accordingly, current advanced technologies such as CGI, VFX, AI... when used correctly will be very effective, contributing to expanding the creative range, solving problems that reality cannot solve. However, they should only be considered as tools to support filmmakers in expressing each frame more fully, and cannot replace humans.

“International integration is an inevitable story in the current cultural development. I think that the mission of culture in general and cinema in particular is not only to protect Vietnamese cultural identity, but also to contribute to human civilization. I am not worried that when we integrate, we will gradually lose Vietnamese identity. Because more than ever, when integrating internationally, national consciousness must always be put first,” Dr. Tran Thi Phuong Lan, Head of the Department of Culture and Arts, Central Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Commission, shared.

“The way to build a film ecosystem and promote the development of the film industry is to create a hundred flowers blooming effect, inspiring and motivating the whole society to participate in the film industry. To do that, we must form a system of policies and legal regulations that are favorable for all parties to participate and benefit from cinema. When we create a diverse, rich and attractive film market, it will help nurture creativity. If we only focus on a certain genre of cinema, one day the market will turn its back and create a negative reaction,” said Associate Professor, Dr. Bui Hoai Son, full-time member of the National Assembly's Committee on Culture and Society.

VAN TUAN - THUY BINH

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/luu-giu-ban-sac-viet-bang-ngon-ngu-dien-anh-post824939.html