(Dan Tri) – Director Nguyen Vinh Son – who made the TV series `Southern Land` in 1997 – shares his views on the movie `Southern Forest Land` by director Nguyen Quang Dung.
As a pioneer, how did you feel when watching the movie `Southern Forest Land` when both were inspired by the work of writer Doan Gioi?
– People often think that Vietnamese movies are very long, but after watching half of the movie, I clearly saw that the content had been carefully screened.
The Southern forest land depicts the scenery of the river region and the liberal, kind-hearted personality of the Western people… The film has completed its task in that context and space, with a clear cinematic language.
The crew really brought a different image, a different perspective when remaking.
Director Vinh Son at the introduction of the film `Southern Forest Land` (Photo: Organizing Committee).
When `Southern Forest Land` hits theaters, it’s inevitable that audiences will make comparisons with the TV version 26 years ago.
– The film version of Southern Forest Land puts more emphasis on national pride, giving viewers a feeling of suspense and emotion according to the story’s development.
Some scenes staged in the movie (Photo: Organizing Committee).
Initially, when he learned that someone wanted to make a movie `Southern Forest Land`, what was director Nguyen Vinh Son’s first thought?
– When I first heard that someone wanted to make a movie version, I, like many people, had questions, including a bit of doubt such as: `What’s the point of making a remake?`
I think the Southern Forest Land crew also encountered similar challenges in finding a new look compared to the TV version.
In your opinion, what are the easy and difficult points for the `follower` – director Nguyen Quang Dung – when working on the Southern region after nearly 30 years?
– Those are limitations of context and space.
In return, the Southern Forest Land crew has the advantage of improvements in modern equipment.
Television dramas at that time had limited budgets, not allowing me to do those things, but now Nguyen Quang Dung’s crew can do it.
Baby An (Hao Khang) and Ut Luc Lam (Tuan Tran) in the movie version (Photo: Organizing Committee).
Some viewers commented that the color of the movie `Southern Forest Land` had technical intervention, making the river scene less realistic.
– Is fine!
In addition, some loyal viewers of `Southern Land` were also quite disappointed when watching `Southern Forest Land`, Ut Trong’s female lead position was changed to Tu Mam, or Ut Luc Lam’s character became
– The difficulty when converting a TV series into a movie is knowing what to target and which characters.
The Southern Forest Land building a story between An and Ut Luc Lam also has its good points.
And when you have successfully built a pair of characters An – Ut Luc Lam according to the line you want, of course there must be `sacrifice`, it is impossible to embrace and cover all the remaining characters.
In addition, moviegoers can see that the director’s intention is to save it for future parts.