Viet and Nam (2024)

This film is banned in Vietnam

I didn't watch this strange film from a poor mining area the first time. I didn't have enough self-discipline and attention for a style that reminded me of Taiwanese director Ming-liang Tsai-e (whose films I've seen). And yet I won't immediately condemn the film in my review because of that, let others do that. It was only on the second viewing, when I got into the dream-hypnotic pace, that I began to perceive it more attentively, and it is necessary for this story told in this style to first "mature" in me and for the past to connect with the present and future. In addition to the director, I would also appreciate both actors in the lead roles from my point of view. This film is banned in Vietnam

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Meandering but exquisite cinematography

Still not sure how I feel about this film. Although at first glance, Viêt and Nam appears to be a romance, the complex storytelling makes it far bigger than just the story of two miners finding solace in one another.

The film meanders, geographically and temporally, between the search for war martyrs and the vacillation of characters Viêt and Nam as they decide whether to leave the country. This film is exquisitely shot. And honestly, I was so wrapped up in the composition of some scenes that I wasn't really paying much attention to the blurring of reality and dream. You can totally see how this made it to Cannes.

Ultimately, I would say Viêt and Nam is more about the processing of post-war trauma than it is about romantic love. Or rather, the latter is a manifestation of the former.

I have mixed feelings about the ending which, though based on true events, feels trope-y compared to the rest of the film. I also feel like that level of pessimism is a bit of a cop out, regardless of whether its depicted as dream or reality, but happy to be convinced otherwise.

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