From "cosmic signals" to the explosion of Ghost Lights

Having to sell his house, sell his car and borrow from many different sources to have the funds to make the movie Ghost Lights, director Hoang Nam said that when he started making this movie, his goal was to conquer the audience, not box office revenue.

Director Hoang Nam of the film Ghost Lights said that when making this film, I did not focus on sales but I really wanted everyone to come see it and be proud.

Through his works, he wants to honor the values of Vietnam from the landscape, culture, people, everything that belongs to Vietnam.

Inspired by the legend of the Nam Xuong girl in Nguyen Du's Legend of the Dead, The Ghost Lamp is not only a horror film, but also a journey to discover Vietnamese cultural identity. Director Hoang Nam has skillfully combined spiritual elements with traditional values to create a story that is both haunting and deeply humane... He shared with The Gioi and Viet Nam Newspaper about this film.

No need to be so... dramatic

What inspired you to adapt "The Tale of Kieu" into a spiritual horror story in Ghost Lamp? Can you share the inspiration and main idea behind this film?

The Tale of Kieu is one of the stories my grandfather told me when I was a child. Later, when I had the opportunity to make a film, I always thought of using Vietnamese folklore and folk literature as a material and wanted to bring the old stories back to life in people's hearts.

Once, when I heard the song Bong Phu Hoa by Phuong My Chi, I suddenly remembered the Story of the Nam Xuong Girl . I just joked: "The signal from the universe has been sent down", and I clung to it to develop. At that time, I thought this would be a movie with a strong cinematic quality, I would have a lot of "games", a lot of "acting space" with this story. I was extremely interested, passionate, all the enthusiasm and creativity in me arose and I was determined to do it.

The film is in the horror genre, a genre that is quite difficult to produce and reach Vietnamese audiences. Did you encounter any challenges when making this film and how did you maintain creativity while still meeting the needs of the market?

Actually, the horror film genre, especially the one that uses Vietnamese folk materials to exploit in Vietnam is quite popular. As someone who has spent many years studying culture, when I watched the film, I felt… unsatisfied. This was also the motivation for me to make Ghost Lamp.

To make it dramatic, I think it is not necessary to give too many scary details, because the Vietnamese spiritual world is very beautiful, very close, the important thing is that we know how to exploit and put it into the film appropriately, so that many ages can access it.

As a culture enthusiast and having spent 10 years studying Vietnamese culture, I have “immersed” myself in this film. During those 10 years, I not only studied but also had certain measurements of the audience’s taste. I realized that it is not necessary to be dramatic, but to really make films that touch the audience’s emotions.

I myself have a guiding principle, a working formula that is completely different from other films on the market. Until now, I can say that the film has given people a new perspective, that cinema must be creative, and success does not have to follow a certain formula.

Market scene in the movie Ghost Lamp.

What folk cultural elements did Ghost Lamp use to create its characteristic spooky and creepy atmosphere?

I don’t use loud noises to scare people, but all those cultural elements are purely Vietnamese, existing in folklore, in daily life, even from ancient times until now, sometimes we still have those experiences. For example, being sleep paralysis, or the story of ghosts hiding in bamboo bushes, mischievous children wanting to see if there are ghosts, dogs barking at ghosts… I use them gently, in a subtle way, making the viewer feel not too scary but close.

I think, through those details also create the ghostly, creepy characteristic of Hoang Nam's style, unlike any other horror film.

Can you share the message the film wants to send to the audience, especially about family values and trust?

In fact, the film Ghost Lamp presents a very easy-to-understand story, that is, evil prevails in life, good people will fight against that evil. I also include messages that when people watch it, they will suddenly realize it gently, not forcedly. That is, we will always strive for goodness, always live well. In addition, family factors such as living in harmony with each other, nurturing the family, living responsibly, and having faith are also included in the film in a natural, close way.

The film Ghost Lamp not only attracts attention because of its horror elements but also because of its investment in art and technique. In your opinion, what made the success of "Ghost Lamp" in attracting a large audience to the cinema?

I think, first of all, it is the script element, which is the combination of folk literature and familiar elements, not abusing culture in a forced way. When practicing in Cao Bang, the camera angle is very unique and for the first time, it uses impressive colors, almost scoring absolute points in terms of image. Next is the music , the sound also brings a new feeling.

I feel very lucky because everyone in the crew is full of positive energy and wants to work with the director to make the film exactly as I want. When having a product like today, it is impossible to separate any element, including many new elements, new factors. They are the ones who created the success of Ghost Lamp.

The sales of Ghost Lights can give me confidence...

What are your plans for your next film projects, especially in the spiritual horror genre?

I have no pressure for the next project, the important thing is that I have to have a really good script, and invest more carefully after drawing a lot of experience from Ghost Lights . I also do not limit my creativity to the spiritual or horror genres but want to conquer more in other film genres.

But there is one thing I want to honor the values of Vietnam from the landscape, culture, people, everything that belongs to Vietnam in my works. Up to this point, the revenue of The Ghost Lamp can help me confidently make the next film without having to sell anything else.

How do you evaluate the development potential of the spiritual horror film genre in particular and Vietnamese cinema in general in the current context?

Regarding the horror and psychological films, they are currently developing very strongly, perhaps many people consider it a secret to success. As far as I know, there will be more than 10 films of this genre released this year. I think the audience wants to have quality works to watch, but if there are too many spiritual and horror films released in a short time, it can make the audience feel bored, overwhelmed and they will want to find new dishes.

Audiences have a filter that forces filmmakers to be more meticulous and invest more in any genre. So I think, when it comes to cinema, there should be creativity and innovation, not following any general formula. If I had to learn by machine, my product would have been similar to another product on the market.

So, everyone who comes to cinema should just do their best with their strengths because the audience doesn't only accept spiritual and horror movies...

The film has received great attention from Vietnamese audiences. What do you think about the development trend of the horror film genre in Vietnam and is this a long-term direction for Vietnamese cinema in the future?

Cinema will need to be diverse, but I want every genre to be invested in carefully, together bringing Vietnamese cinema up and reaching new heights so that it can be exported abroad.

A scene from the movie.

Cinema needs to be diverse, so that audiences have more choices.

One of the highlights of The Dark Souls is the use of Vietnamese folklore in its horror elements. What opportunities do you think this could open up for the development of films based on national cultural values?

Honestly, I really like this question. As a lover of Vietnamese literature, I read and travel a lot, seeing everything close to me. I find Vietnamese culture so beautiful, so diverse. Nowadays, life is becoming more and more modern, so traditional values are gradually fading away. Therefore, when quality cinematographic works are released, it will make young people and the public think more about the good values of Vietnamese culture.

The things that the film The Ghost Lamp has done are worshiping ancestors, thinking about values not only for the present but also living for the values of each family. Besides those factors, Vietnamese culture has many beautiful and sincere things. I hope everyone can exploit and turn them into valuable works and promote the strengths of cinema, helping the culture live forever, especially for foreign friends to love Vietnamese culture.

When making this film, I did not focus on sales but I really wanted people to come and see it and be proud. That somewhere in this S-shaped land there are also customs like that, which can also be exploited to bring to cinema.

The film has received many positive responses from the audience. However, there are also some opinions that the Vietnamese film market needs higher quality products. How do you evaluate the development of the Vietnamese film industry and the factors that need to be focused on to improve the quality of Vietnamese films?

In recent times, especially when I first started working in the film industry, I saw that most people had a formula, which was to only focus on selling tickets in Vietnam and forget about the artistic values in the film. People would only do things that were quite normal, only of current value. For example, next year when we watch this year's film, it will be outdated, so improving the content is extremely important.

When the film The Ghost Lamp was born, it did not follow that formula, but was based entirely on Vietnamese culture, giving people the experience of returning to an ancient Vietnamese society with very traditional values. I - with my very small voice, really hope that I can open a new direction.

In general, cinema needs to be diverse, needs to give audiences more choices, just like a dish cannot have only one recipe. Then, quality films will be born and accepted by audiences, not following the same old path. Because that will hinder the true development of cinema.

Director Hoang Nam said that Nam and his crew tried to bring cinematic storytelling - that is, using beautiful images to tell stories rather than abusing dialogue in the style of stage drama - to Ghost Lights.

Looking at the success of The Dark Souls, can you share your views on the development of Vietnam’s cultural industry in the future? Specifically, the film industry, what strategies need to be implemented to promote this industry?

Before coming to cinema, I was also a person who was very interested in and listened to the policies of the Party and the State. I saw that our State had realized that cinema needed to be developed to be like the US, Korea, China, that is the soft power of culture.

The development of cinema will contribute to the development of the country's culture. Not only that, when exported abroad, this soft power will make foreign markets love Vietnamese culture, Vietnamese people and products from Vietnam.

If the film is successful and goes abroad, I think it will help the country a lot. People will know Vietnam, love Vietnam, travel to Vietnam, and invest more.

Just like Korea has done in Vietnam, when the cultural wave goes first, the economy follows. I hope that one day soon Vietnam can do the same, if we are determined enough. With my voice, I hope that there will be more policies, more direct support for filmmakers like us.

I am sure that Vietnamese filmmakers all have the same thought, how to concretize, support all aspects for filmmakers from procedures, film studios and have funds, help promote films abroad. I believe that in the future, Vietnamese cinema will certainly be professional and developed.

Thank you director Hoang Nam!

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/tu-tin-hieu-vu-tru-gui-xuong-den-su-bung-no-cua-den-am-hon-304839.html