'Storm' director reveals behind-the-scenes and unexpected ending

Director Dinh Thai Thuy. Photo: Character provided

"Storm" has almost come to the end of its journey, looking back at your brainchild, how do you feel? Is there anything you regret?

- First of all, I would like to give special thanks to the national television audience. Up to now, the film "Bao dam" has received a lot of views and support from the audience. This is a joy for me and the entire crew as well as the artists.

Every film project has more or less unavoidable problems that lead to regret after filming, and the film "Storm" is no exception.

Even though I had a lot of control over the misspelled words, I still let that mistake happen in a scene.

Second, having to dub Northern accents for some Southern actors, especially the female lead Cao Thai Ha, was also beyond my control.

The film was originally set in the Central Highlands, a province bordering Cambodia, not the Northwest. At that time, Cao Thai Ha's character was originally to have a Southern accent, keeping the original accent. But after 10% of filming, the producers changed the entire setting.

We had to accept dubbing because the character's household registration had been moved to the North, which also led to the disadvantage of the two regions' different pronunciations. Although the voice actors tried their best, there were some words that were too different to match. During filming, Cao Thai Ha also tried to use words from the North, but when getting into character, the actor could not always concentrate on controlling the language, which could easily affect the acting emotions. Although Ha's voice is very good, I could not keep it. This is quite a pity for the film, for me and for Cao Thai Ha.

Another thing that I especially regret is the proofreading process, there is a huge difference between the screenplay and the film shown to the audience today.

I think this is a lesson for me to gain experience and be more careful for future films, especially films that exploit sensitive issues like "Storm" is reflecting.

Director Dinh Thai Thuy (far right) and actors Cao Thai Ha and Hai Le (far left) behind the scenes of the film.

So the ending of the movie will probably change and be different from the original script?

- That's right! The ending of the film is definitely not what the crew and I wanted in the original script and will also bring different reactions to the audience.

The movie "Bao dam" has had to be edited up to this point, especially the last 3 episodes, from 75 episodes to 72 episodes, equivalent to 600 minutes of content compared to the original version submitted for approval, this is a fairly large amount of time cut in a TV series. So the movie only has 1 week left to end.

When adapted from a novel to a screenplay, the ending in the screenplay itself is very different from the novel. So editing while the film is being filmed and broadcast will completely change the ending of the film. I will not reveal how it is different to ensure the element of surprise.

It is known that "Underground Storm" was filmed over 3 years, a journey full of "underground storms". Can you share some memorable behind-the-scenes stories and the "storms" that you and your crew had to go through?

- The "storms" that the crew and I experienced were truly memorable. The film had to be filmed in the North, and the crew was mainly from the South. It was the first time we went to the North, from the dry season, summer to winter. We all had to adapt to the climate and living environment to work.

Therefore, during the 6 months of filming in the North, I encountered difficulties in terms of personnel. For various reasons, many of the brothers left and were replaced by new ones. Therefore, apart from the main team, the rest of the crew had to patch together to try to complete the filming of the scenes in the North.

Our biggest "storm" was the Covid-19 pandemic, which greatly disrupted the filming, production, and schedule for completing the film for broadcast. This resulted in additional filming and costs. That is something no one wants, especially the producer.

With the movie "Storm", the production budget doubled compared to the original estimate.

However, in the midst of the storm we faced, we still received encouragement and support from the producers and investors. The film producers were willing to share the difficulties and expenses incurred by the film crew so that we could complete the film to the final stage.

The male lead (Ha Viet Dung) and the female lead (Cao Thai Ha) in a scene.

Since the first episodes of the show aired until now, "Storm" has received many criticisms about its content, besides compliments. The show has also received opinions that it is getting weaker as the episodes go on. What do you say?

- Up to this point, I admit that the comments of the audience and film critics are all well-founded. Because as I said above, the film, from the script to the finished product and the approved version for broadcasting on VTV1, has changed a lot.

This is the first film I have made that has had to be edited and changed so much. The editing did not just happen once, but happened in parallel with the broadcast process. Whenever there was a slightly negative opinion from the audience or the public, we had to review it and force all the parts related to it to be cut.

Perhaps the movie "Storm" is about the police, so from the beginning the audience might assume that the movie is only about crime and police work.

In fact, "The Storm" is a crime and social psychological film. "The Storm" in the film is not only present in the journey of solving the case, the dangerous and nerve-wracking moments between the police force and criminals.

There are also "storms" in the thoughts and bravery of the people's police officers before their mission, love, temptation and crime. There are "hidden storms" within the police ranks. There are also "hidden storms" in the family life - the rear of the police officers.

If the audience looks at the film from that perspective, I think they will have a more impartial view. From the beginning, we determined that the film had to reach the majority of the audience, so we incorporated many stories into the film.

Until the censorship version, the film was heavily edited to focus on the police solving cases, reducing many love stories, reducing many negative aspects within the organization, and the life of the criminal world while those stories are intertwined, forming the chain and progression of the film's plot.

While it was edited and celebrated the positive aspects, the film inevitably had issues that were beyond my control. However, this is a sensitive film, so we listened and made changes while maintaining a tone of praise and honor throughout the film.

Director Dinh Thai Thuy (middle) and Ha Viet Dung (far right) behind the scenes of the film.

After the movie "The Judge", there was an opinion that the situation of gangs appeared a lot. "Storm" is also a movie with the same theme. As a director, what do you think about such comments?

- This is an opinion that has caused mixed comments. From the perspective of a director and filmmaker, I think that the overall aim of each of our films is to convey a positive message, glorifying the good and criticizing the evil.

Regardless of the subject, the film needs to have interesting conflicts and oppositions to keep the audience in front of the screen. Then, at the end of the film, the right and the good will convincingly defeat the wrong and the evil. From there, the audience will self-reflect and draw their own conclusions about life through the film. If it is too one-sided or dogmatic, the audience will get bored and change the entertainment channel immediately.

The movie "Underground Storm" exploits the drug crime sector, but that is the background for the main lines of the people's police force. The story of the movie is the journey of solving the case of a drug detective, who must infiltrate the criminal's lair to investigate, unravel each link until revealing the true identity of the final boss. The criminal world only opens up according to the detective's case solving process and completely serves to honor the temperament, bravery, loyalty and even the disadvantages and silent sacrifices of the people's police on duty.

You have made movies. If you were to make a movie in the future, what genre would you choose?

- Making movies is also my wish. I am currently preparing for the pre-production stage of a movie that is scheduled to be filmed next summer. I cannot reveal the genre yet.