The beauty of three beauties playing Trinh Cong Son's 'musical lovers'

Lan Thy in the scene where Bich Diem - aka "Old Diem" - first met Trinh Cong Son in the movie "Me and Trinh" (directed by Phan Gia Nhat Linh), is about to be released in June. The segment is introduced as one of the film's most emotional scenes, when the musician and his muse meet on a drizzly road, at the foot of an ancient tower.

Ngo Vu Bich Diem was one of Trinh Cong Son's deepest loves. In the 1960s, while still in Hue, he fell in love with a girl with a graceful beauty, tall figure, and gentle voice. Every day, he often stood on the upper floor watching her come home from school.

In the book "A Poet, a Place to Come Back to", Trinh Cong Son once wrote: "At that time, there was a very fragile girl, walking through rows of camphor trees with tiny green leaves to go to the University of Literature in Hue. Camphor, sycamore, red phoenix, salt, candleberry and a Huong River flowing around the city breathed into the girl's soul a layer of romantic, pure mist". Their love was forbidden by her father because at that time he was only an unknown musician. They broke up when Bich Diem went to Saigon to study. The inspiration of his former lover helped him compose the classic song "Old Diem".

The beauty of "Em va Trinh" took photos in a nostalgic style on the occasion of the Year of the Tiger. Pham Nguyen Lan Thy was born in 1998, from Vung Tau, a student at Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine, Ho Chi Minh City. "Em va Trinh" is the first film she participated in. She surpassed hundreds of candidates to be chosen for the role of Bich Diem.

Director Phan Gia Nhat Linh said he was impressed by her elegant beauty with long black hair that has a strong Asian character. When casting, he wanted to find a young woman with a mysterious, gentle face but rebellious inside. Lan Thy met those criteria. The actress attended an advanced acting class, read a lot of documents about the character, and practiced speaking with a Hanoi accent because Bich Diem is originally from Hue and Hanoi.

Dao Anh - Bich Diem's ​​younger sister - is the second muse in the work. Compared to her sister, Dao Anh has a pure beauty. The love story ofDao Anhwith Trinh Cong Son is also deeper. Actress Hoang Ha was chosen to play this role after 5 rounds of casting.

Hoang Ha and AvinLu - the role of Trinh Cong Son in his youth - in a scene. The late musician and his lover knew each other since 1964, when Dao Anh was a 14-year-old schoolgirl in Hue, admiring Trinh Cong Son's guitar playing - then 25 years old. When writing a letter to the musician, Dao Anh expressed her feelings and comforted him about his unhappy experiences after he broke up with Bich Diem. Out of admiration, Trinh Cong Son composed many songs for Dao Anh such as "Mua Hong", "Con tuoi nao cho em", "Luo em tung ngon xuan nong", "Loi buon thanh"...

In the 37 years from the time he met Dao Anh until the end of his life, Trinh Cong Son wrote her more than 300 letters. Their love affair ended in 1967 when the musician broke up with her. Dao Anh went to the US to study and get married, but still maintained a close relationship with Trinh Cong Son and his family.

According to the director, Dao Anh was mischievous and naive when she was young, so the actress was required to portray this personality trait. In the script, Dao Anh's appearance is small and youthful, between the ages of 14 and 21.

In real life, the actress born in 1995 is known for her toothy smile and dynamic dressing style. She has been involved in the art of voice acting since 2015. Hoang Ha has starred in many music videos, including "Nang Tho" - a 2020 hit by singer Hoang Dung.

The last "muse" to be announced was the famous singer Thanh Thuy, played by 21-year-old actress Pham Nhat Linh. In mid-April, the first scene where Thanh Thuy and Trinh Cong Son reunited in the film was revealed. Nhat Linh portrayed the melancholy of the famous singer while singing "Autumn Rain" (Dang The Phong) in a tea room. Trinh Cong Son once wrote about Thanh Thuy: "Those tears were like a small rain on my fragile soul, forcing me to retreat further into a world even more distant than the one that once made me cry."

During the casting, the director was surprised because Nhat Linh's appearance and voice had many similarities with Thanh Thuy, who was also from Hue. After three rounds of selection, she was accepted for the role. She was encouraged by musician Duc Tri to perform the songs in the film herself, instead of combining the voices of others as originally planned.

The innocence of a second-year female student of the Faculty of Acting, University of Theatre and Cinema, Ho Chi Minh City.

The film "Em va Trinh" was shot in early November 2020, and was scheduled to be released last year, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Trinh's death - but had to be postponed due to the pandemic. The work has a budget of 40 billion VND, mainly invested in the setting, because the film spans from the 1960s to the 1990s. Director Nguyen Quang Dung is the production consultant for the film. He is the son of the late writer Nguyen Quang Sang - one of Trinh Cong Son's close friends. Trinh Cong Son's family said they gave the crew ideas about the script but respected the director's own creativity.