Musical film “Letter to the Future” and Le Minh Ngoc's unexpected turn in music

On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of National Day, September 2, the musical film "Letter to the Future" produced by the Arts Department of Vietnam Television has resonated with television audiences nationwide. The film also marked a new turning point in the career of Sao Mai Le Minh Ngoc, who plays the two main roles and is the main singer in the film.

Sao Mai Le Minh Ngoc in the musical film "Letter to the Future".

In this musical film, Sao Mai 2022 Champion Le Minh Ngoc was specially invited to participate in two roles: lead singer and actress. "Letter to the Future" also marks a new and emotional turning point for Le Minh Ngoc herself in her singing career when she turned to chamber music instead of the familiar folk music.

The musical film “Letter to the Future” directed by Lam Ha, aired on VTV1 on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of National Day. The film is 45 minutes long, telling a musical story about the nation’s history through the fate of Mr. Tam’s family - an intellectual who joined the Viet Minh in 1945, who sacrificed his life at the gateway to Saigon Xuan Loc. The story is recreated through Mr. Tam’s letters to his daughter, Mrs. Nho, Ngoc’s grandmother (played by Le Minh Ngoc).

Determined to help Mrs. Nho fulfill her last wish - to find the grave of her martyr father, Ngoc used social media to connect, find Mr. Tam's old comrades and bring his remains back to his hometown. On that journey, Ngoc not only found true emotions for her singing, but also understood more deeply the sacrifices of the previous generation. Mr. Tam's last letter to the future became a sacred message, connecting the past with the present, reminding the younger generation to live up to the sacrifices of their fathers.

Scene from the movie "Letter to the Future".

The film features the participation of many famous artists, such as People's Artists Lan Huong, Ngoc Khang, Meritorious Artist Thien Tung...

With Letter to the Future, director Lam Ha shared: “This is not simply a historical film, but a sacred bridge between generations. On one side is the glorious past with silent sacrifices, on the other side is the proud present with the responsibility of gratitude and preservation. Letter to the Future is a touching answer to the question: How can young people who have never experienced the flames of war understand and carry within them a patriotic heart?

Through the journey of “decoding” the dusty letters of soldier Tam, the young generation - represented by student Ngoc - relived the tragic years of the nation. And that memory became a flame of inspiration, breathing life into the present. It was the most complete continuation, the “letter” from the past that finally found a recipient for the future.

Le Minh Ngoc plays two main roles in the film.

In the film, Sao Mai 2022 Champion Le Minh Ngoc takes on the lead vocal role and plays two roles - Ngoc and young Mrs. Nho. The music performed by Le Minh Ngoc in the film is not the familiar folk music but chamber music.

Talking about Minh Ngoc's performance, People's Artist Quang Tho, a teacher of many famous students from the National Academy of Music, commented: "I think Minh Ngoc is very brave to transform into a 'movie star' and not an ordinary singer. In the world 's big musical films, singers are just singers, there are actors playing and the actors playing have to learn to sing and then lip-sync the singer's lyrics. This is a long musical film with historical elements in which Minh Ngoc plays two main roles for quite a long time in the film."

People's Artist Hong Hanh also gave compliments to Minh Ngoc: "In addition to her beautiful voice, I was very surprised by Minh Ngoc's acting, it was her acting that touched my heart. The film is about war and soldiers, perhaps because Minh Ngoc is also an artist-soldier, so she felt the feelings of the soldiers in the film."

Le Minh Ngoc shares about the movie.

Singer Le Minh Ngoc shared: “Actually, it’s not that I suddenly changed my art. Right after winning the 2022 National Sao Mai Competition, I decided to switch to chamber singing because I felt like I was returning to myself. Therefore, I have constantly practiced my vocal techniques to sing better in chamber music.”

In 2023, Minh Ngoc participated in the National Chamber Singing Competition and won First Prize. This award helped her gain confidence in herself when she decided to develop herself and pursue chamber music. Therefore, when the Vietnam Television Arts Department entrusted Minh Ngoc to perform songs associated with national history in the musical film project "Letter to the Future", she was really excited, happy and put all her heart into the film with the hope that in addition to participating in a well-crafted work of art, contributing a small part of her efforts to show gratitude to the country on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of National Day, the film will also mark a new stage of her development in art.

Director Lam Ha, who made the film, shared that when writing the script for the project, she immediately thought of Minh Ngoc. “I have known Minh Ngoc since she was 18 years old, at that time I saw that her emotional power was very strong, if I could find the key to touch and activate it, it would explode tremendously” – the director said.

Lam Ha also said that she put her trust in Minh Ngoc to perform the chamber music in the film, even though she was the champion of Sao Mai folk music. Minh Ngoc's confidence in asserting herself proved the director's trust.

Being both the lead singer and taking on two roles in the film, Le Minh Ngoc really experienced a lot of pressure.

“The time when my crew and I filmed and broadcasted was very close to the Grand Ceremony, I was very busy because of the tight schedule, I had to arrange my work very carefully and scientifically to maintain the emotions and spirit of filming. The film was broadcast during prime time so the pressure was even greater.

My mood at that time was both excited and worried, nervous because the film carried too many messages of an art work celebrating the 80th anniversary of National Day September 2nd, and I also sent a personal message about the new artistic path that I was pursuing there. Therefore, the pressure was really piling up.

However, I feel extremely honored to be part of a meaningful film like “Letter to the Future” and happy to be welcomed by the audience, to receive compliments for the film and for my chamber music voice. Thanks to that, I am now confident in my choice and my new development,” Le Minh Ngoc emphasized.

After the success of “Letter to the Future”, Le Minh Ngoc is preparing to release a series of 9-10 songs about Hanoi, songs that have been around for years, on the occasion of the 71st anniversary of the Capital Liberation Day (October 10, 1954 - October 10, 2025). This series includes many famous songs about Hanoi selected by Le Minh Ngoc and her team, and will be released regularly every week on her personal youtube channel in the near future.

Le Minh Ngoc said that the reason she chose to sing about Hanoi was because she wanted to show gratitude to the land that loved, protected, and gave her a career and a life like today, and also because the chamber songs about Hanoi are incredibly beautiful. Le Minh Ngoc wants to add another word of “love” to Hanoi through music, in order to spread the love for Hanoi more widely and persistently.

Le Minh Ngoc works at the Army Music and Dance Theater, under the General Department of Politics of the Vietnam People's Army. The female singer won the first prize of the 2022 National Sao Mai Contest and the first prize of the 2023 National Chamber, Musical - Choir Singing Contest.

MAI NGUYEN

Source: https://nhandan.vn/phim-ca-nhac-la-thu-gui-tuong-lai-va-cu-re-bat-ngo-cua-le-minh-ngoc-trong-am-nhac-post908820.html