Tran Thanh’s film Mai attracted a lot of discussion after its international premiere.
After breaking the domestic box office record, Tran Thanh’s Mai was recently shown in a number of North American and European countries. Accordingly, the film will be released by 3388 Films in more than 100 theaters across countries such as the US, Canada, UK, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia… After its release, the work also attracted many diverse opinions from foreign audience.
Tran Thanh at the introduction of the movie Mai in the US.
Recently, a Vietnamese film producer, who participated in the TV blockbuster Euphoria , posted an article commenting on Mai’s quality. Specifically, this person commented: “Mai set a Vietnamese box office record not without a reason. It must be recognized that Tran Thanh understands the tastes of Vietnamese audiences, so he knows how to write humorous dialogue, making viewers laugh.” , building a story that is not too complicated, easy to digest to reach all audiences. This is Tran Thanh’s talent, it cannot be denied because of gossip. The image quality is also much better. Vietnamese movies before, and the natural acting cast is a big plus point of the movie. The audience liking the characters is a good starting point.
However, in terms of both script and technique, Mai is completely unremarkable and has no substance of her own. The theme of money and love is not new at all to Vietnamese cinema, much less to the world. The feelings between the two characters are not profound, it seems more like a coincidence than a fateful connection. In general, Tran Thanh’s filmmaking spirit is welcomed, but Mai is not enough to ‘go to the world’. The audience going to see the movie will be mostly Vietnamese people living abroad and their foreign lovers. Vietnamese audiences will laugh and ‘sympathize’ a bit, but audiences from other cultures will find Mai boring and a waste of time.”
A film producer in the US assessed that Mai’s quality is not enough to “go to the world”.
Not just a simple comment, this manufacturer also analyzed Mai’s weaknesses when entering the world market. According to him, in terms of acting, stars like Phuong Anh Dao, Tuan Tran… only did well in the first half of the film. When tragedies began to strike, they began to follow the path of Vietnamese cinema which is to “dramatize” emotions excessively. At the same time, the “emotional arc” of the characters is not clearly expressed on screen by the actors. “They simply express emotions on the surface, unable to convey why their characters feel those joys, anger, and sorrows from the inside,” the producer commented.
Regarding the script, Mai’s story was criticized for not having anything new and unique. The biggest plus point in the movie is the humorous details that are occasionally seasoned into the story quite charmingly. Meanwhile, according to the producer, the biggest minus point of the project is the way the female lead Mai is built, when from beginning to end this character does not show any desire or purpose strong enough for the audience to care.
“Without looking at international films, Tran Thanh can also watch other Vietnamese films for reference on how to build the central character. In Ha Dong Silk Ao Dai directed by Luu Huynh, we see the character Dan ( Truong Ngoc Anh) earnestly wants to escape slavery and build a new life with her husband and newly born child. In Wings in the Air by Nguyen Hoang Diep, Huyen’s (Thuy Anh) goal is to solve the problem. unwanted pregnancy in the midst of an unsteady life. In Rebellious Hot Boy and The Story of Laughing Boy, Whore and Duck (Vu Ngoc Dang), the characters Lam (Luong Manh Hai) and Khoi (Ho Vinh Khoa) tried to trying to overcome all economic and social barriers to have a peaceful love. Each of these characters, facing difficult circumstances, is determined to follow a noble purpose, being the guiding North Star. leads the story line. As for Mai, even though it’s the movie’s name, it doesn’t have a strong and dramatic enough purpose for the audience to care about,” the producer added.
Besides, the twist at the end of the film when the audience learns about Mai’s past was also criticized by the producer as an uncivilized way of handling Tran Thanh. He commented: “The movie puts this detail in to explain the character’s anger, fear of love, and lingering sadness. That’s reasonable, but if it was just that, anyone could do it, not just Tran Thanh. The talent of a good director, with his own perspective and greater sensitivity than others, is to exploit the psychology of the character after that shocking event: What emotions did Mai experience? Mai’s perspective on How has my body changed? How does Mai face the scorn of patriarchal society? How has Mai’s three children’s relationship with Mr. Hoang gradually broken? If Mai is in pain, she will have to explain to her. What is Dawn about her father like? All of this is just carelessly told through a montage with sad music, and is not explored in depth, making me feel that the element of sexual abuse is being introduced. entered the film as if to shock and resolve conflicts in an easy and irresponsible way, not for the audience to understand Mai.”
Finally, in terms of filming and editing techniques, this producer believes that many of the shots used by Mai’s crew are only “trickery” and “mainly show technical knowledge, but have no intention in the process.” storytelling”. Tran Thanh also abused editing methods from many genres such as horror, action… leading to the film being diluted. At the same time, Mai was criticized for having many redundant scenes, which were cut out. also does not affect the content. The way the soundtrack is used is also said to be a weakness of the film as it is “too cheesy and ungainly”.
“In general, the filming and editing style of Mai’s movie is more like the style of a music video than a movie… Tran Thanh is too focused on showing that he knows how to film from many angles, know how to edit and transition scenes smoothly. interesting, but forget that each technical choice must be rooted in the needs of the story, not just to be cool. Mai’s story is not interesting enough to justify these choices,” this person comment.
This producer’s article is currently attracting a lot of attention from movie lovers in Vietnam and internationally. Many people agree that Tran Thanh’s Mai is really not good enough to conquer foreign audiences, only suitable for domestic viewers. Meanwhile, some other opinions say that the work has many bright spots when it hits the right tastes of a segment of viewers. One audience commented: “Going to the world for Vietnamese people far away from home to watch is also a contribution to your community. Further ambitions have not yet come. For me personally, I can watch it, I don’t feel like it’s a waste of time.” “.
Some comments below the manufacturer’s article.
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