Why have movies about Vietnamese history not “attracted” the audience?

Films on the subject of the history of losses

Not long ago, Legend of King Dinh became the subject of discussion when it failed miserably at the box office. The work, which recreates the portrait of King Dinh Tien Hoang from childhood to the time when 12 warlords were crowned emperor, only collected 42 million dong after 10 days in theaters. This is also one of the lowest-grossing films in history and encounters many controversies.

With a capacity of 78 minutes, the work exposes the immaturity of the script, the context and the action sequences, making viewers bored because a work of history is superficial and of poor quality.

According to director Anthony Vo, the original purpose of doing Legend of King Dinhis to introduce to students, bring history closer to the younger generation. He admits his work has many limitations and that having to receive mixed opinions is also a sign that people are still interested in the film as well as the history of the country. “When I have put the film in theaters, I have to accept that the audience has the right to see from their perspective,” the filmmaker said.

Legend of King DinhNot the first historical film in Vietnam to taste failure at the box office. Remember more than 10 years ago, Hero’s Destiny– The work relies on a real event about the Le Chi Vien tragedy that caused Nguyen Trai to be truant to the three tribes, which has received positive feedback from the audience about the content, martial arts… The film project has The participation of Van Trang, Midu, and Khuong Ngoc received many prestigious awards, but sadly received a revenue of several billion dong, while the investment amount was up to 25 billion.

Series like Living with history, Grave of the wind and Passion also had the same fate when they had to stop showing because they couldn’t sell tickets. It also means that the revenue is not as expected. In there, Live with historyby the director – People’s Artist Thanh Van invested up to 22 billion VND, but the seats were still empty.

No revenue pressure because of broadcasting on online platforms, projects Phoenix directed by Huynh Tuan Anh received many controversies. Considered the first Vietnamese archery film about the life of Empress Dowager Tu Du, the work was expected by the public to be a brilliant project on the subject of historical films because of its beautiful costumes and talented actors. … However, after the first season, Phoenix stage received many mixed opinions about both content and techniques. Even the noise on the sidelines of the film also disappoints the audience.

Currently, two projects are expected: The most beautiful flowerplayed by supermodel Thanh Hang as Queen Duong Van Nga and Trung Vuong – The legendary work about Hai Ba Trung’s life is still “unmoving” even though it was published in 2019. That is why many viewers question the ability of historical films to develop in the future. future.

What is the cause?

With 4,000 years of building and defending the country, Vietnamese history is considered a fertile land for cinema. In which, Ngo Quyen, Queen Dowager Duong Van Nga, King Le, Ly Thuong Kiet, Nguyen Trai, Queen Nam Phuong … are considered historical figures that can be exploited into popular TV and movie works. size. However, the reality shows that the Vietnamese film market releases dozens of works every year, but why is the number of films on historical topics so far only counted on the fingers?

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Luu Van Quyet, Dean of History Faculty (University of Social Sciences and Humanities – Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City) explains why films about Vietnamese history have not yet “attracted” visitors: “Noi Noi” content and materials to make films about Vietnamese history, there are still many interesting things. Unfortunately, due to technology and investment, there are many problems for us to exploit, especially dynasties, Historical figures and even the later anti-French and anti-American resistance wars.The materials are many, but the methods of exploitation are still academic and propaganda, so they have not attracted young people. we have a lot of historical-themed movies but not many success. Movies and TV shows about the history of some other countries are very good.In terms of material, we are clearly not inferior. But due to technology, our exploitation has not yet arrived, and it is still limited.”

According to Master Van Thi Cam Hien, professor of history at Asian International School, Vietnamese history has many good materials to make a film, but it has not been properly exploited. “Maybe because they haven’t studied carefully, some films are still superficial, making viewers not feel attractive. In fact, Vietnam’s history is too good, but when it comes to the screen, it has not conveyed all of it and has many details yet. right. Sometimes about costumes, choosing actors is not suitable, making young people not interested. If true to its value, historical films will certainly be received a lot, “said lecturer Cam Hien.

The difficulties when making a film on historical topics are old stories but there is still no solution. Looking at the numbers that can be seen to make a film on this topic, the producer has to spend a small amount of money, while the ability to recover capital is fragile. The more you want the work to be done, the more expensive it will be for the setting, costumes, machines, actors, etc., so it’s no exaggeration to say that this is not a playground for amateur producers such as Comment of Meritorious Artist – Director Cong Ninh: “I think it may not be that the Vietnamese producer doesn’t know how to do it, but because the budget is too low, it has to “give up”. Historical films are terrible. And with the current audience’s tastes, the producer does not dare to spend money to invest.”

For example, the story of Phoenix. Director Huynh Tuan Anh told us that to make this work with a budget of about 10 billion VND is too little. Because according to the male director, he and the crew almost had to race against time to ensure there was no loss, which made the production stage still many updates and shortcomings. “Because we have no experience in producing historical films, there are unintended consequences. While we are new faces, this topic is also very difficult. If this topic were easy, everyone would have started working on it from the beginning. It’s been a while,” he said bluntly.

Legend of King Dinh considered as a prime example. The work about King Dinh Bo Linh was considered more suitable for online screening than for theatrical release, because it revealed many weaknesses such as sketchy background, lack of investment in costumes, inauthentic makeup… Anh Tai – acting The actor who played the main role in the film admitted: “A film made with a historical theme, but I know the budget of the crew is limited. At the time of the film’s production, the whole crew faced many difficulties. If I then asked the question of sand. If it goes up again, the difficulties will pile up and everyone has to wait longer.”

On the other hand, the script is also the weak point of Vietnamese films in general and films on historical topics in particular. According to director Huynh Tuan Anh, if he was remade, he would focus on the script more so that the work could be more thorough. “The film has to be good from the scripting stage. The final responsibility is still the director, but I admit it’s not good. I was too new at that time, while I didn’t have a lot of money, I couldn’t check the stages.” he admitted.

There was once an opinion that making historical films “has more risk than luck” because love for history alone is not enough. It requires creators to research thoroughly before embarking on implementation. Not to mention having to face many controversies when the drama aired. In fact, historical films are not a playground for amateur producers or private studios like director Dinh Thai Thuy shared: “It is a fact that investors, directors, Screenwriters are still very “sneaky” when exploiting this topic, especially private studios because of the high risk.”

When asked about his view on historical films, the audience MD (26 years old, Binh Dinh) frankly: “I am very hungry for Vietnam to have quality films that fully portray the country’s history. Like me or many people who used to be passionate about watching Chinese and Korean historical dramas… If one day the quality of Vietnamese films surpasses that, then it’s obvious to support. historical films, I’m just waiting and hoping in a future Vietnamese people can also love history through cinema.”

In fact, the audience has not turned away from historical films, but they are still waiting for a worthy work. Just like how some movies like Long Tri festival night, Thang Long first sword…was loved and supported by the audience when it was released. The important thing is how to solve the budget problem, how to improve the quality and overcome the fear of loss to produce good projects, satisfy the “thirst” for historical films from viewers.