Vietnamese films and the mark of reconciliation

There is no longer a story of regional TV dramas and movies only having actors from that region participating. However, harmonizing the acting to create harmony also poses many concerns for the crew .

Choose the actor, not the voice

At the premiere of the film Tet in Hell Village, director Tran Huu Tan shared: “The reason for choosing actors from the North and South is because the film itself needs to find the right characters. If anyone has read the novel, they will see that there are characters described accurately from voice, appearance to eyes and hair. Because this is a film adaptation, I think the selection of actors cannot be different from the audience's imagination.”

Tet in Hell Village brings together famous actors from both regions: Meritorious Artist Hanh Thuy, Quang Tuan, Nguyen Thao, Vo Tan Phat, Huynh Nhu Dan (South) along with Meritorious Artists Phu Don, Van Bau, Chieu Xuan and artists Lan Phuong, Viet Lien (North).

Scheduled to be released in theaters from November 3, the film The Last Wife (directed by Victor Vu) also brings together actors from both regions with the following faces: Kaity Nguyen, Thuan Nguyen, Meritorious Artist Quang Thang, Meritorious Artist Kim Oanh, Dinh Ngoc Diep, Nguyen Anh Dung...

“I proactively chose some actors because they have very unique acting styles,” director Victor Vu shared. The director, born in 1975, also said that he chose the actors, not the voices. According to him, with a fictional work, it is completely normal for the film to have actors speaking with different regional accents. And right from the beginning when writing the script, he knew that his project had to have actors from both regions.

"The Last Wife" brings together many familiar actors from both regions. Photo: Producer

There are more and more films featuring actors from both the North and the South. Many audiences still remember the impressive appearance of two Southern actors Quoc Truong and Ngan Quynh alongside Northern actors in the national film Ve Nha Di Con.

And most recently, we can mention My House is Strange! with the participation of: People's Artist Trung Anh, People's Artist Kim Xuan, Nhan Phuc Vinh, Le Bong, MC Tuan Tu, Luu Huyen Trang... Winter Sun with Dai Nghia, Huy Khanh, Than Thuy Ha, Meritorious Artist My Uyen, Hoang Trinh, Kieu Trinh...

Acting Harmony

Participating in a Southern film project for the first time, Meritorious Artist Kim Oanh could not hide her anxiety. She confided: “I am quite worried because the actors here act lightly, while I am a bit over the top, maybe because I was trained as a stage actor.”

Actress Nguyen Thao was also confused, even afraid that it would be difficult to interact with her co-stars. Those worries are even bigger for directors, especially how to harmonize acting, script, dialogue...

According to director Tran Huu Tan, at first he was quite hesitant because actors from each region have their own way of acting. When making this choice, the biggest challenge for him was how to balance the acting so that there was no difference or overlap.

One of the concerns of the audience with films that bring together actors from both regions is the dialogue, especially films that are recorded directly. Regarding this aspect, director Victor Vu said: “I decided to popularize the dialogue, limit archaic languages, idioms, and dialects to make the dialogue in the film close, easy to say, easy to listen. I also prioritize acting, do not want to dub and keep the original voice of the character. In my opinion, dubbing would be risky because it is not certain that the actors will be able to express the same emotions as the character on set.”

Similarly, director Tran Huu Tan was not worried about the actors' dialogue, because in the novel, the village in the film is a place where people from different regions migrated to, with their activities and customs still preserved. The film also recorded almost all the sound directly. There are only a few child roles when they grow up, who are from the South, but to suit the travel conditions, Northern actors had to be chosen, so dubbing was needed.

Above all, in particular, many films that bring together actors from both regions have been successful and well received, proving that "regional boundaries" are not too big of a barrier.

During Tet in Hell Village, director Tran Huu Tan noticed that the actors understood each other, supported, helped each other and found a common voice in acting. That was also felt by actress Nguyen Thao through the intimate, familiar atmosphere when working. Meritorious Artist Kim Oanh said that she was also encouraged by director Victor Vu, "If there is a shortage, I will reduce it."

“Oanh believes that an actor is like a gas stove. When acting for the director, it can be as hot as 2,000 degrees. When it comes to real acting, the director is the cook who will control the fire,” she confided.

Director Tran Huu Tan said: “The selection of actors from both regions depends on the story and the vision of the director and producer. For me, working with actors from both regions is a happy and proud thing because there are people who are my childhood. It also shows that recent works have become more diverse in terms of faces and acting, thereby helping the audience have a closer connection.”

According to sggp.org.vn

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