Movie industry struggles to make historical films

The Vietnamese movie industry faced a lack of resources and money to make historical movies, cinema researchers and filmmakers told a conference on Tuesday in Ha Noi.

as one of Viet Nam's most successful historical movies.  

A scene from the film Tay Son Hao Kiet (Heroes of the Tay Son Dynasty).

The conference was organised by the Viet Nam Cinema Association to seek opinions from experts on the difficulties in making historical movies.

 "I hope we can make good historical movies in the future," said association deputy president Hong Ngat.

 "Vietnamese cinemas and televisions have been invaded by South Korean and Chinese movies," she said.

 Most historical movies that Vietnamese audiences had watched were produced by directors and studios from the US, China and South Korea. Many people now claimed that Vietnamese audiences understood China's history better than Viet Nam's history because they had seen so many Chinese films. Vietnamese youngsters may be more familiar with South Korea's Dae Jang Geum than with Viet Nam's Queen Le Ngoc Han.

 Many people believe that historical movies made by Chinese and South Korean filmmakers were very realistic and the actors performed well. And they wondered why Viet Nam, a country that had spent the better part of thousands of years defending itself from powerful foreign armies, could not create several historical films of merit?

 According to Tran Luan Kim, president of the association, while the country had not been able to make diverse historical movies, only a few of the films that were made attracted audiences. The year 1971 marked the first time a domestic historical film was made, featuring the image of young hero Tran Quoc Toan. Almost two decades after, some other films were created, including Dem Hoi Long Tri (Long Tri Festive Night), Lua Chay Thanh Dai La (Fire Burns Dai La Citadel), and Pham Cong-Cuc Hoa.

Recently, some new films were made featuring the contemporary history of Viet Nam, including Nguyen Ai Quoc o Hong Kong (Nguyen Ai Quoc in Hong Kong), Ha Noi Mua Dong nam 1946 (Ha Noi winter in 1946), Khat Vong Thang Long (Thang Long Aspiration), and Thien Menh Anh Hung (A Blood Letter). This latter will take part in the second International Film Festival to be held in Ha Noi at the end of this month.

 Besides successful films, some of the movies were reproached for having too many Chinese elements in the film. The costumes and scenes did not accurately reflect Vietnamese culture from the historical era.

 Some other films were reproached for not being faithful to the history and for inventing stories to attract audiences.

There were many reasons for the lack of Vietnamese historical movies.

 A simple explanation would be that the film industry lacked the funds to make such a film, but according to some experts, money was just a small part of the many problems that plagued the film industry.

 Ngo Phuong Lan, head of a cinema department, said Vietnamese filmmakers found it difficult to film when the country had few old objects that could help narrate the history.

 According to director Dao Ba Son, editors, directors and designers were crucial to the process.

 "Not every well-known screenwriter can create a script for an historical film. The writers needed to have researched the era thoroughly," said Son. "We still do not have talent in this field. Human resources are vital and the Vietnamese film industry is lacking in this area."

 According to Son, the lack of qualified studios, professional props, costumes and weapons had had a negative impact on historical films.

 While so many difficulties were still ahead, it may still take a long time for cinema experts and filmmakers in the country to find ways to make better historical movies.

VietNamNet/VNS