TV series borrow foreign scripts again

"Old" is still attractive

On primetime TV, there have been many Vietnamese TV series using foreign scripts that have "caused a storm" such as The Judge, Taste of Love, Love and Ambition, Love on a Sunny Day... And most recently, Doc Dao, a film about criminal police inspired by the script of the Colombian TV series One Way Out in 2019, has created a storm with a "huge" rating in 2024. Currently, the film My Father, the One Staying is being broadcast on VTV3 in primetime, a remake of the Chinese film In the Name of the Family, which has also attracted the attention of the audience. The common point of TV series remade from foreign scripts is to create an effect that attracts attention first and will often have a certain "hotness" with viewers.

Scene from the movie My Father Who Stayed

PHOTO: VFC

According to some screenwriters, audiences watch "remake" movies to find something new in familiar works. They may already know the plot and ending, but still want to experience it again with a new mindset, or wait to see how the remake will change. Therefore, exploiting the audience's attachment and nostalgia for the original, making them interested in discussing, even arguing in different ways about the remake, is also a factor that contributes to the success of "remake" movies.

"I think first of all, the audience finds similarities and cultural, social and spiritual exchanges between the original (Korean, Chinese...) and the Vietnamese version. Besides, there are popular themes and genres that suit the tastes of Vietnamese audiences such as social psychology, emotions, and family. For example, the films Huong vi tinh than, Thuong ngay nang ve... all exploit universal and humane messages about family love, paternal love, maternal love... that Vietnamese people care about and love," said screenwriter Trinh Dan Phuong.

According to screenwriter Pham Dinh Hai, TV series remade from foreign scripts are always "hot" because those films are carefully selected before deciding to buy the script. Because the amount of money spent to buy a foreign film script can sometimes be as expensive as the cost of producing a purely Vietnamese film, so producers have to consider very carefully.

Must suit the "taste" of Vietnamese audiences

The first episodes of the film My Father Who Stays are currently airing and have received many positive comments from the audience because of the high-quality cast. In particular, it can be seen that the crew has put a lot of Vietnamese elements into the film, such as the scene where Mr. Binh plays the zither and sings folk songs or the scene where he sings cheo with his wife in a very Vietnamese space. Director Vu Truong Khoa shared that the film has similarities and differences compared to the original because it only takes the framework and model of the original script, the rest of the screenwriter will exploit the culture and Vietnamese colors to the fullest extent to put into the film.

Speaking more about the above issue, screenwriter Trinh Dan Phuong said: "Director Vu Truong Khoa inspired us to incorporate into the film ethnic materials such as cheo melodies and hat van through the character of Bo Binh performed by Meritorious Artist Thai Son. The first part of Cha toi nguoi o lai may be being "remade" quite faithfully to the original, but in the next part, we will tell the story with many new colors, different from the original and hope to suit the "taste" of Vietnamese audiences."