There are a lot of things go wrong in this movie, but I will go easy on it just as other critics went easy on film criticism under foreign eyes toward Vietnam as (still) a third world country.
First, casting. Actresses and actors in the movie speak Vietnamese, but imagine filming Brave taking its Medieval Scotland context while the voices contributed are in all other irrelevent accent such as: American English, Southern Australian, me trying to speak English 10 years ago... which is wrong in its first phase of cultural research, not to mention sloppy casting. I mean, you can always ask voice talents to cover for this part, which you did not, and this is offensive to Vietnamese from a linguistic aspect.
Segundas, feminism message through a bunch of symbolism and metaphor. I would not spoil anything, instead I would recommend other better performed movie speaking of this feminism topic: The Moon at the Bottom of the Well (Vietnam), Quay of the Spinsters (Vietnam), Red Sorghum (China), Raise the Red Lantern (China).
Thirdly, please do not preprint "Based on a true story" just to regard film makers perspective and dismiss the importance of cultural setting. The silk making technique in the movie neither represents Red River delta region nor Ethnic villages in Vietnam, we do not make it like that, not even Thai people from nation's Northwest region. We do not hang lanterns like that. Our great great great grandparents' funerals were not done like that! The film makers should have hired knowledgeable cultural consultants to cover those parts (and other parts as well).
It all comes down to fusion food philosophy, fusion restaurants do not brand themselves as authentic "I was born in the country, cooked for an eternity then open this place" marketing strategy; then do not use the name of Vietnam, Vietnamese language, hierachy and chauvinism as an excuse for the line "based on a true story" to bait for views and make other foreigners thinking of Vietnam as a country with such cultural aspects.
Nam mo a di da phat if I want to be mad at art I would have gone to war documentaries! Thanks to the pandemic this waste of time happen!
First, casting. Actresses and actors in the movie speak Vietnamese, but imagine filming Brave taking its Medieval Scotland context while the voices contributed are in all other irrelevent accent such as: American English, Southern Australian, me trying to speak English 10 years ago... which is wrong in its first phase of cultural research, not to mention sloppy casting. I mean, you can always ask voice talents to cover for this part, which you did not, and this is offensive to Vietnamese from a linguistic aspect.
Segundas, feminism message through a bunch of symbolism and metaphor. I would not spoil anything, instead I would recommend other better performed movie speaking of this feminism topic: The Moon at the Bottom of the Well (Vietnam), Quay of the Spinsters (Vietnam), Red Sorghum (China), Raise the Red Lantern (China).
Thirdly, please do not preprint "Based on a true story" just to regard film makers perspective and dismiss the importance of cultural setting. The silk making technique in the movie neither represents Red River delta region nor Ethnic villages in Vietnam, we do not make it like that, not even Thai people from nation's Northwest region. We do not hang lanterns like that. Our great great great grandparents' funerals were not done like that! The film makers should have hired knowledgeable cultural consultants to cover those parts (and other parts as well).
It all comes down to fusion food philosophy, fusion restaurants do not brand themselves as authentic "I was born in the country, cooked for an eternity then open this place" marketing strategy; then do not use the name of Vietnam, Vietnamese language, hierachy and chauvinism as an excuse for the line "based on a true story" to bait for views and make other foreigners thinking of Vietnam as a country with such cultural aspects.
Nam mo a di da phat if I want to be mad at art I would have gone to war documentaries! Thanks to the pandemic this waste of time happen!