Bold, suffocating and repressive

The 18+ horror film directed by Luong Dinh Dung will be released to audiences from October 13, 2023. With the name Sleepy City , Luong Dinh Dung depicts the story of the life of the male lead named Tao in the middle of a bustling but inhumane city.

Tao lives alone on the top floor of a building, he works as a chicken butcher for a living. Tao is quiet, patient and is always treated harshly by the people around him. However, he still perseveres to stay in the city.

The film brings a stuffy, dark atmosphere.

The conflict began when a group of thugs brought a prostitute to take Tao's place. The interaction made Tao gradually develop feelings for the girl and unfortunately made her pregnant. Knowing that his "fishing rod" was pregnant, the leader of the thugs was very angry.

He brutally attacked the girl and made fun of Tao. Not content with that, Tao sought revenge and retaliated against the thugs with even more cruel and twisted acts than theirs.

The film lasted more than 70 minutes with bold "hot" scenes, explicit language and dark, suffocating scenes. Many audiences at the premiere expressed their discomfort with the haunting, violent and distorted scenes of the characters to the point that some people had to leave the theater before the film ended.

The entire film is set in a desolate, deserted neighborhood that contrasts with the hustle and bustle of the city. The director uses every possible angle and setting to “lock” the viewer in a narrow, dark space, and that is exactly what the characters in the film are going through.

The film has many violent, gruesome and psychologically distorted scenes that irritate the audience.

Not only the male lead but also the audience seemed to "go crazy" and wanted to relieve their discomfort and inhibitions.

The film is made in the style of “show don’t tell”, telling the story through images (both normal images and images with hidden meanings) instead of using dialogue. The characters in the film hardly speak much, and even less communicate with each other, which further highlights the violent and distorted actions that the characters commit.

However, because of the lack of dialogue, the film's story is quite disjointed and lacks coherence. The film's script also leaves many "holes" in the eyes of the audience. Tao is the male lead of the film but has no character background, people have absolutely no idea who he is, why he is in this city and why he has to try to survive by butchering chickens.

Director Luong Dinh Dung shares about the film.

It is unrealistic that Tao locked 3 thugs in an abandoned house and tortured them for many days without anyone discovering it, even though people still came by every day to hire the male lead to slaughter chickens.

It can be said that the film has not really convinced the audience in terms of script, the plot is also unclear. In addition to the violent scenes, psychological distortions that haunt and upset the audience, it is difficult to affirm that the film will create a "fever" in the bustling market in October.

In fact, director Luong Dinh Dung once revealed that the film Sleeping City was rejected by many countries because it was too violent. He also commented that this is a psychological thriller that perhaps those who are not mentally stable or not used to "heavy" films should not try watching.

Perhaps, the biggest mark of Sleepy City on Vietnamese cinema is that it is a "unique", "strange" film, haunting and frustrating for the audience.

An Nguyen

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