In memory of the old Nha Trang cinema...

Nha Trang - Khanh Hoa is bustling with a series of events linking the development of Vietnam's tourism brand through cinema. Suddenly remembering the once famous cinemas of the coastal city. As time passes, the Tan Tan, Tan Tien, Tan Thanh, Tan Quang, Minh Chau, Nha Trang, Hung Dao cinemas... gradually disappear. And then every time someone mentions the name, I feel moved to remember, because the cinema is a whole sky of memories for many people.

One time glory

According to artist Tran Hoa An (born in 1937, specializing in painting billboards for cinemas), the first two cinemas in Nha Trang were built in the late 30s of the 20th century. That was Abraham Cinema, built by the French on Graffeuil Street (later renamed Doc Lap Street, now Thong Nhat). Not far from there was Tan Tien Cinema, located on Nha Tho Street (now Le Thanh Phuong Street) owned by an Indian owner. In 1953, Mr. Ton That De bought Abraham Cinema and renamed it Tan Tan Cinema. To attract customers, the owner invited a painter in Saigon to do advertising for the cinema. However, in 1956, for unknown reasons, the main painter returned to Saigon. From the position of assistant painter, he was promoted to the position of main painter because the owner could not find anyone to do it. Thanks to the profession of painting cinema advertisements, he fell in love with a beautiful female audience member, so the couple lived right next to Tan Tan Cinema until 2017 when they left. For that reason, many people consider Mr. An a historical witness to the ups and downs of cinema in the coastal city.

Tan Tan Cinema in 1967.

In the memories of the older generation in Nha Trang, the image of cinemas is deeply engraved. After Tan Tan, Tan Tien, Nha Trang had Tan Thanh cinema (formerly Thanh Xuong theater), Tan Quang, Minh Chau, and in the early 70s, Nha Trang and Hung Dao cinemas were added. Tan Tan cinema specialized in showing European - American and Hong Kong films, Tan Tien cinema specialized in showing Indian films, Minh Chau cinema often showed romantic films, and occasionally performed Cai Luong. After 1975, Minh Chau cinema was renamed Kim Dong cinema, specializing in showing children's films. At a time when entertainment culture was still quite thin, cinemas became a place of entertainment for urban residents, so the audience almost filled the theater. “At first, Tan Tan Cinema was a place where many young couples went on dates to watch movies because it had a beautiful exterior, was spacious inside, and had more seats than other cinemas. In the 70s, when Nha Trang Cinema was added, many young couples came here. Back then, having a ticket to watch a movie at Nha Trang Ciné was very “cool” because this was the first cinema in Nha Trang with air conditioning, and the ticket price was also more expensive than other cinemas,” said Ms. Diem Chau, a long-time resident of Nha Trang. Until now, she still remembers famous films from the South before 1975 such as: Love and hatred in the sun, and the scar on the wild horse’s back…

Audiences go to the movies at Nha Trang Cinema during the subsidy period

When he was younger, when talking about old movies, calligrapher Tran Quoc An also had a lot of memories. His house was right next to Tan Tan cinema, and his father was a painter at the cinema, so Mr. An always had a chance to watch a movie. However, back then, each cinema showed a different type of movie, so he often went to the cinema with his friends. “Every time we went to Minh Chau cinema, we kids were most interested in movies starring martial arts star Bruce Lee. We young people were almost crazy about movies like Fist of Fury, The Big Brother of Tangshan, The Way of the Dragon…”, Mr. An remembers. The golden age of cinemas in Nha Trang lasted until the 80s. Mr. An still remembers, when the movie Van bai lat ngua was shown, audiences flocked to the cinema. Many people couldn’t buy tickets and had to buy tickets on the black market at “exorbitant” prices. The movie was shown at Tan Tan cinema, but cars were parked all over the sidewalks and streets of To Vinh Dien and Le Thanh Phuong. A young girl passing by the cinema was fascinated by the movie poster depicting the character Nguyen Thanh Luan - actor Chanh Tin...

Forever in memory

Before 1975, each cinema had an artist to draw movie billboards. In addition to Mr. Tran Hoa An who painted for Tan Tan cinema, there was also Pham Mau who painted for Tan Tien cinema, Le Tinh who painted for Hung Dao cinema, and Mr. Chin who painted for Minh Chau cinema... “I remember, once on the occasion of the Year of the Horse, Mr. Chin “Minh Chau” painted a huge horse rearing in front of Minh Chau cinema to welcome the new year. When it came to cowboy movies, that talented artist also drew an impressive cowboy holding a gun and sitting on a horse. When showing a movie about Hercules, he drew a muscular Hercules holding an iron chain right at the cinema gate,” artist Le Vu recalled... After the country was liberated, the team of artists continued to be used by Khanh Hoa Cinema Center. But then, before the whirlwind of film tapes and discs, film screening activities became increasingly difficult. When the cinemas were converted, the artists changed jobs.

Nowadays, Nha Trang has many modern cinemas such as: Cinema Nha Trang, CGV Big C Nha Trang, Galaxy Cineplex... but the older generation still misses the old cinemas because for them, cinemas are not simply places to show movies but also memories of Nha Trang in the old days. Nha Trang people who live far away, every time they see the photo of Tan Tan cinema, Nha Trang on Facebook, old memories come flooding back. “Back then, I “noticed” a classmate, but didn’t dare to invite him alone, so I had to invite the whole group of friends, both boys and girls, to go to the movies together. When we got to the theater, we were afraid that our friends would discover that we were paying attention to each other, so we each sat at one end… We sat there watching the movie, feeling nervous, not daring to look over because we were afraid that everyone would know our intentions… That’s it, and it was considered “two people going to the movies together…”, a person recounted on the Nha Trang fanpage of the past and present about memories of watching movies in the “distant past”. That’s why, when a movie theater was demolished, the old audience felt like they had lost a part of their intimate memories. During the recent Quy Mao New Year, when they heard that Tan Tan theater was about to be demolished, many people stopped by to take souvenir photos. Even Mr. Tran Hoa An, who moved his house from Thong Nhat Street to Vinh Ngoc Commune, every now and then asked his children and grandchildren to take him back to Tan Tan theater “to look at it to ease the longing”… And countless other Nha Trang people, still tearfully remembering the golden age of movie theaters day and night.

Tan Tan Cinema was once converted into the Provincial Cultural Center; Tan Tien Cinema (now Tan Tien Book Supermarket); Tan Thanh Cinema (now the Provincial Traditional Arts Theater); Tan Quang Cinema (used to be Maximark Supermarket, now demolished to build Florida Hotel); Nha Trang Cinema (now the headquarters of Hai Dang Music and Dance Troupe); Hung Dao Cinema (Youth Cultural Center, now demolished to build the headquarters of the Provincial Social Insurance); Mini Cinema (No. 10 Hoang Hoa Tham, Nha Trang) is now Beta Cineplex Nha Trang.

XUAN THANH

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