Family drama attracts audiences

Family story in urban life

Tran Thanh can be said to be the most successful director in Vietnam in this genre when Bo Gia (2021) and then Nha Ba Nu (2023) both broke the Vietnamese box office record when each film earned up to several hundred billion VND. Mai (2024) also by Tran Thanh is currently the highest-grossing film in the history of Vietnamese cinema with 500 billion VND. Although it is a romantic film, Mai does not lack family elements with the appearance of the mother-daughter relationship between Mrs. Dao (Hong Dao) and Duong (Tuan Tran) or Mai (Phuong Anh Dao) and Mr. Hoang (Tran Thanh) with so much love, conflict, struggle and even bitterness.

Phim tình cảm gia đình hút khách- Ảnh 1. — Scene from the movie *Grandma's Legacy*

Looking at the famous series of films by Ly Hai, we will see a huge difference in the revenue of the latest part , Lat mat 7: Mot giau uoc, compared to the previous parts. Lat mat 7 revolves around the story of Mrs. Hai's family (Thanh Hien), in which the children push each other to take care of their old mother when she is sick, earning more than 470 billion VND. The previous parts of Lat mat did not have heavy psychological content, family affection but mainly leaned towards action. From Lat mat 1 to Lat mat 6, they respectively reached 70 billion VND, 80 billion VND, 85 billion VND, 117 billion VND, 156 billion VND and 300 billion VND. It can be said that with the risk of entering a different genre of film than the previous parts, Lat mat 7 has created a breakthrough in the revenue of this series.

Some people will think that the above family films attract audiences thanks to the names of Tran Thanh and Ly Hai. However, the Thai film Gia Tai Cua Ngoai, which is currently showing in Vietnamese theaters, is also earning a revenue of up to 65 billion VND. The film revolves around a family story with calculations to seize the inheritance from the children and grandchildren. But then everything ends with humanity when each member realizes that family affection is the most valuable asset. The film has brought many tears to Vietnamese audiences. The film crew of Gia Tai Cua Ngoai flew from Thailand to Vietnam to interact with the audience right when the film was showing.

Film critic Le Hong Lam commented: "The very high box office revenue of Bo Gia and Nha Ba Nu is thanks to Tran Thanh exploiting the popular materials of contemporary Vietnamese social life, touching the wounds of the "collective unconscious" type, then finding ways to heal and leaving appropriate lessons. In other words, Tran Thanh's films are about urban people and offer a familiar popular philosophy. Both films have a narrative style, allowing the narrator to express his personal ego, the subjective perspective of two children in a discordant relationship, generational conflict with their father and mother."

Movies without "stars" still win big

Looking back at the films of Tran Thanh and Ly Hai that have achieved "huge" revenue in recent times, it is easy to see that the star is not the factor that attracts customers to the theater, but comes from the director's storytelling talent.

Film critic Nguyen Phong Viet believes that for Vietnamese people in particular and Asians in general, family is the pillar of society, so this topic is never old. Before Tran Thanh and Ly Hai, there were producers and directors who made films about family love. However, they were not successful, simply because their storytelling did not convince the audience.

"Tran Thanh and Ly Hai have talent and finance, along with charming storytelling, conquering the audience, making them laugh and cry, happy and sad with each character. The same goes for the movie Thai Gia Tai Cua Ngoai , the relationship between mother - child, grandmother - grandchild is not new, but the story and the way director Pat Boonnitipat told it moved the audience," Phong Viet commented.

According to film critic Phong Viet, in the next 5 years, the family drama genre will still be a "hot" topic, but the important thing is how many directors are capable of telling good stories. Many directors choose other topics, make films with passion but do not touch the emotions of the audience. While watching Tran Thanh and Ly Hai's films, the audience sees themselves or their loved ones in them.

"Vietnamese cinema now depends less on stars but needs good filmmakers. In the past 2 or 3 years, audiences have paid less attention to the young and beautiful main actors, but focused on how they act. The actors in Bo Gia, Nha Ba Nu, Lat Mat 7 are not stars but still attract audiences. This is a good sign in terms of how actors' talents are perceived," said film critic Nguyen Phong Viet.

10 highest grossing films at the Vietnamese box office, according to the producer's announcement

Mai (directed by Tran Thanh) - 500 billion VND; Lat mat 7 : Mot giau (Ly Hai) - 478 billion VND; Mrs. Nu's house (Tran Thanh) - 475 billion VND; Bo gia (Tran Thanh) - 427 billion VND; Lat mat 6: The fateful ticket (Ly Hai) - 300 billion VND; Cua lai vo bau (Nhat Trung) - 191 billion VND; Mat biec (Victor Vu) - 180 billion VND; Tiec trang mau (Nguyen Quang Dung) - 175 billion VND; Em chua 18 (Le Thanh Son) - 171 billion VND and Gai gia lam chieu 3 (Bao Nhan, Nam Cito) - 165 billion VND.