The fear of People's Artist Lan Huong and the strange fate of People's Artist Bui Bai Binh

After 25 years since its release, the film Guava Season by director People's Artist Dang Nhat Minh is still a beloved Vietnamese film.

Fate and unforgettable memories

People's Artist Bui Bai Binh could not hide his emotions when sharing about the special relationship between the artist and the real-life prototype of the character Hoa. In the 1990s, the artist's family opened a small cafe on To Hien Thanh Street.

"At that time, there was a customer who occasionally came to drink coffee without saying anything, with round, clear eyes and often looked out onto the street and then sat there smiling. He also had a talent for arranging flowers beautifully," People's Artist Bui Bai Binh recalled.

People's Artist Bui Bai Binh and People's Artist Lan Huong at present.

Later, the artist found out that it was Hoan - the brother-in-law of director People's Artist Dang Nhat Minh. From then on, the two became close friends. Every time Hoan went to work as a model at school, he would bring a bouquet of flowers and arrange them himself at the cafe. "In 2000, when I learned that Dang Nhat Minh was making a film based on the story "Old House", I immediately thought of Hoan. He was the prototype for the character Hoa in the film "Guava Season".

Few people know that People's Artist Lan Huong - who played the role of Thuy (Hoa's younger sister) - was once very afraid of the camera lens. Coming from a stage background, cinema was initially unfamiliar to the artist.

"Before filming "Guava Season", I was extremely afraid of the camera. From the day I started filming until the day I finished, I hardly spoke to Minh. I did whatever he told me to do," People's Artist Lan Huong confided.

Director Dang Nhat Minh.

Every time the artist heard the phrase "Machine, machine running", he had to take a deep breath to calmly perform as the director intended. There were scenes that the artist asked for permission to re-shoot because he felt unsatisfied.

People's Artist Lan Huong had special feelings when portraying the character Thuy - a younger sister who is sometimes like an older sister, sometimes like a mother to Hoa. During filming, the artist's eldest brother suffered from kidney failure and needed care, so the emotions of taking care of Hoa in the film carried a lot of real feelings towards family members.

For People's Artist Lan Huong, The Guava Season was a turning point that made the artist no longer afraid of the camera and began to understand many things about acting. The film helped People's Artist Lan Huong win the Best Actress award at the 14th Singapore Film Festival.

Regarding the way to portray the character Hoa - a man in his 40s or 50s but stuck at the age of 13, People's Artist Bui Bai Binh shared about his observations and interactions with the prototype: "Mr. Hoa's eyes must be like a pure child's. He is very thoughtful and devoted to his neighbors. He himself is a clean person, all his clothes are neat... even when he goes to get his salary, he exchanges any torn bills."

Regarding dubbing, People's Artist Bui Bai Binh revealed: "I rarely get to dub in movies. In this movie, the director said, 'I like your voice, so you can dub it.'"

Because the film was filmed in winter - not guava season - the artists could only buy guava tree trunks 3-4m high. Every day they had to buy leaves and fruits to graft on, and when the leaves withered, they replaced them with new ones. Because it was out of season, the fruits were still green, so the crew had to use paint to create yellow fruits like in the film.

Journalist Pham Khac Lam in the movie.

In the film, the character of the lawyer - Hoa and Thuy's father - few people know is not a professional actor but journalist Pham Khac Lam, former General Director of Vietnam Television.

To find someone to play this role, director People's Artist Dang Nhat Minh needed to find someone who exuded the appearance of an intellectual during the French era. When invited to act in the film, Mr. Pham Khac Lam smiled and said: "I have never acted in a film before, but anything the world can do, I can do too."

Duong Chung (Vietnamnet.vn)

Source: http://baovinhphuc.com.vn/Multimedia/Images/Id/130125/Noi-so-cua-NSND-Lan-Huong-va-luong-duyen-ky-la-cua-NSND-Bui-Bai-Binh