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Gai nhay (2003)
Ground-breaking film for Vietnamese cinema
Gai Nhay ("Bar Girls") is the story of how the other half lives, with a twist. Southeast Asia being known for the multitude of bar girls ready to be "borrowed" for a (usually quite cheap) price, the life these girls live--and the motivations and tribulations that lead them to it--are usually hidden to their oblivious clientéle.
Although this film has less-than-professional cinematography, and a bit of melodrama (which is not too bad until the final monologue "dressing down" an assembled crowd of government and health-organization VIPs), it nonetheless represents a sea-change for domestic Vietnamese film simply in that the authorities in Saigon allowed this film to be shown there at all. It deals with some fairly edgy issues for a conservative, Communist-dominated society (e.g., prostitution, sexuality, HIV/AIDS, class and wealth), but despite its blemishes manages to tell a decent story and develop some believable, sympathetic characters.
Beyond that, anyone familiar with life in modern Saigon will recognize the gritty streets juxtaposed against the fenced, luxurious villas (complete with manicured lawns) of the Vietnamese nouveau-ríche.