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| Nakatani Akari - plays Michiko Yoshii with Tran Luc - plays Trinh Cong Son in a scene of the movie "Em va Trinh". She is one of the last faces revealed in the 50 billion VND film project about the musician Trinh. She has been studying and working in Vietnam for the past 6 years, and has a YouTube channel recording her daily life with 164 thousand followers. |
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| Nakatani Akari and prototype Michiko Yoshii (left). |
In the late 1980s, while a university student in Paris (France), Michiko developed a great love for Vietnamese culture, language and people - including Trinh's music. Despite having a master's degree in Japanese culture, she continued to pursue her master's thesis on Trinh Cong Son's anti-war music.
Michiko came to Vietnam to meet the author she admired. Her master's thesis and Trinh's music were the bridge for their love. Their feelings deepened, and they decided to get married. Michiko said that at that time, her parents were very old and could not come to Vietnam, so she wanted to ask the Japanese ambassador to Vietnam to represent the bride's family when the two sides met. According to Japanese wedding customs, Trinh Cong Son and Michiko knelt down to thank their parents. Trinh Cong Son did not agree, saying that his birth mother had never knelt down in her life, so she would not kneel down before the Japanese ambassador. The wedding was then canceled.
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Director Phan Gia Nhat Linh said the role was a challenge for the film crew because the actors needed to speak French and Vietnamese fluently and act well. He had looked for Vietnamese actors who looked like the real-life character Michiko but was not satisfied. When a friend introduced Nakatani to him, the director was pleased because she spoke Vietnamese quite well, acted naturally, and had a similar appearance to the original. The actress cut her hair short and lost 4 kg to play the role.
When she accepted the role, Nakatani's first challenge was learning French. Before that, she knew nothing about Trinh's music. After the film crew let her listen to "Diem Xua", she immediately recognized the familiar song. In the 1980s, after being translated into Japanese, "Diem Xua" became a big hit, and was chosen by NHK - Japan's largest television station at that time - as the main song for a series.
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| In the film, the actress has scenes showing off her singing and guitar skills. She has attracted attention when covering many Vietnamese hits such as "A drunk night" (Thinh Suy), "Em dao nay" (Ngot)... |
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| Nakatani has attracted the attention of many directors thanks to her bright smile, pure and innocent features. She said she often introduces herself by saying: "Hello everyone, I'm Akari from Osaka, Japan...". She was satisfied with her first role because she liked Michiko's independent and dynamic personality. |
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During his lifetime, Trinh Cong Son wrote the song "Lullaby of Michiko" for his muse: "Oh Michiko, oh my dear, oh my dear/ Years ago, in my dream, you sat next to me/ Oh Michiko, now you're far away/ Who are you going back with that the street is locked...". |
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| Nakatani Akari reunited with other actors who played Trinh Cong Son's muses in a concert commemorating the 21st anniversary of his death in early April, at Nguyen Van Binh Book Street (District 1). She was the second actress chosen in the troupe after Bui Lan Huong - the role of famous singer Khanh Ly. |
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| Nakatani hopes her debut role will open up many opportunities for her in her acting career. |
