Vietnamese films invest heavily in historical costumes.

In recent period-themed films like "Cám," "Linh Miêu: Quỷ Nhập Cốm," and the upcoming "Detective Kiên: The Headless Case," filmmakers have invested heavily in period costumes. This not only enhances the visual effect but also adds cultural depth and increases the value of the films.

Traditional Vietnamese clothing is honored .

The film "Cám" impressed audiences with its investment in costumes, as producer Hoàng Quân affirmed: costumes played a crucial role in recreating a semi-epic, distinctly Vietnamese setting. Not only did it feature a diverse cast of characters including villagers, officials, palace maids, and members of the royal family, but the film also included large-scale scenes involving hundreds of extras, resulting in a massive amount of costumes requiring meticulous attention to detail. According to the producer, the highlight was the ceremonial attire worn by Tấm and the Crown Prince – a procession that took nearly half a year to prepare, from design and material selection to hand embroidery. Each outfit consisted of multiple layers of clothing, with the inner layer being Giao Lĩnh and the outer layer Đối Khâm, combined with traditional accessories such as Vân Kiên and Tế Tất. This was not only an effort to revive ancient costumes but also a creative journey guided by respect for history.

Some images of traditional costumes in the movie Detective Kien: The Headless Case.

PHOTO: MANUFACTURER

Hay Linh Miêu: Quỷ Nhập Cốm (The Cat Spirit: The Demon Possessing the Corpse) is set in the late feudal era – a unique period where traditional culture and modern elements strongly intersected. Therefore, the costumes had to bear the responsibility of reflecting the movement of society through the characters. With over 200 costumes costing more than 600 million VND, the film created a clear aesthetic diversity. The character My Kim – representing the feminine young intellectual class, yet not entirely bound by old norms – possesses a series of costumes ranging from traditional ao dai to various Western-style suits, expressing the character's inner feelings and personal struggles through her attire.

In the film Detective Kien: The Headless Case, set to premiere on April 30th this year, the producers have revealed a massive investment in traditional costumes. This is also one of the rare films to bring Vietnamese traditional costumes to the big screen, with nearly 1,000 completely new outfits, all hand-dyed, bleached, and treated to create a "worn" yet contemporary look. The film crew proactively developed a costume system that respects the circumstances and social context of the Nguyen Dynasty. According to producer and actress Dinh Ngoc Diep, the film clearly shows the hierarchical distribution of costumes between different social classes: from commoners wearing four-panel dresses to the nobility with five-panel silk robes, conical hats, and headscarves... Not only do the costumes create a complete artistic layer, but they also contribute to portraying the psychology and status of the characters in the storyline, helping to raise audience awareness of Vietnam's cultural heritage in clothing.

Sharing with Thanh Nien newspaper about the reason for investing heavily in costumes, director Victor Vu said: "One of the biggest attractions of historical films is the costumes. So from the beginning, I decided that I had to invest well in costumes and do very thorough research. Although this is not a historical film, the story is related to cultural issues, so I have to balance and consider what is fictional and what is real. I have made more than 5 historical films, and the more I make them, the more I see how beautiful and diverse Vietnamese costumes are. Through investing in costumes, I hope that Vietnamese traditional costumes will be honored and that the audience will have the opportunity to learn more about the cultural aspects of a certain period."

UNDERSTANDING THE CHALLENGES OF RECREATING TRADITIONAL COSTUMES

It can be said that investing in costumes for films can become a key element in conveying emotions, enhancing spatial depth, supporting acting, and creating powerful visual effects. And investing in period costumes for Vietnamese films is not simply a matter of tailoring; it's an elaborate process requiring a combination of cultural research, craftsmanship, and cinematic aesthetic thinking. This becomes particularly challenging when film crews have to recreate Vietnamese traditional costumes – a rich heritage but lacking consistency in documentary imagery.

The film "Cám" impressed with its traditional costumes.

Ghia Ci Fam, the art director of the film "Detective Kien: The Headless Case," said that each costume was created from the selection of materials and colors to the handcrafted tailoring, all based on research from sources such as the Annamese Technical Books and works on the Nguyen Dynasty. Ghia emphasized: "We had to manually age each costume: dyeing, fraying the fabric, and processing it according to the work and the character's psychology… so that the costumes looked both realistic and had depth on screen. Besides that, maintaining the consistency of costumes between scenes was also a significant challenge, especially with large-scale scenes requiring a large number of costumes in a short time. This required the costume team to coordinate closely and meticulously control every detail, from accessories and stains to even the creases on the clothing."

Meanwhile, Art Director Xu Min of the film "The Spirit Cat: The Corpse Possessed " stated that the difficulties stemmed from the filming conditions, particularly the hot weather in Central Vietnam: "Traditional costumes often have many layers, especially women's outfits with ao dai (traditional Vietnamese dress), petticoat, and outer jacket. If we kept this structure, it would be very difficult for the actors to move and act. Therefore, we had to simplify some details and change some materials to make the costumes lighter while still maintaining their proper shape."

Speaking further about the challenges of designing costumes for period films, according to Xu Min, the challenge is to ensure the costumes are not too modern but also not rigidly akin to historical reconstruction. Therefore, small adjustments are necessary to make the costumes more cinematic. He emphasized: "Ultimately, one of the biggest challenges is how to make the costumes harmonize with the overall setting and color palette of the film. We must ensure that the costumes are not too flashy to overpower the setting, but also not too bland to be overshadowed on screen."

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/phim-viet-dau-tu-lon-cho-co-phuc-185250410210036034.htm