Violence and sex in Hong Anh's new film

Violence makes the living space gloomy, while sex brings out the human's desire for freedom in "Island of the Immigrants".

The Island of the Immigrants was adapted by writer Nguyen Quang Lap from the short story of the same name by Do Phuoc Tien. The film is set in a small restaurant in a coastal town with many conflicting fates, thereby depicting the concerns in the journey to find happiness and the meaning of life of the characters. The work was cherished by Hong Anh for 10 years.

The film does not stop at each individual character but also sketches a picture of a multicultural society. The family of the Chinese owner (Hoang Phuc), the young Vietnamese man named Phuoc (Pham Hong Phuoc), the Khmer man named Mien (Nhan Phuc Vinh), the chef of Indian origin (Hoang Nhan)... all live in a closed space in the 1990s. The Moon Night Goat Restaurantlike an "oasis" - where the Chinese boss's family has its own unspoken rules andisolated from the volatile outside society.

* Trailer for the movie "Island of the Inhabitants"

In Island of the Inhabitants, violence and sex intertwine, both poetic and brutal.

Violence is the film's dark backdrop. It extends from the scene where Mien slaughters a goat, the flesh being sliced ​​by a sharp blade, blood splattered on his bare chest. Every evening,Mien drove the goat on the road with an empty can tied to its tail until it was exhausted.He seemed to find pleasure in his murderous work.

Mien is not the only one in the house who likes violence. The Chinese boss is ready to be harsh with his servants and his wife and children when they displease him. The violent scenes taking place in the old, closed house make the atmosphere of the film even more depressing.

Mien and Phuoc quarrel with each other in a scene.

Chu (Ngoc Thanh Tam) - the boss's paralyzed daughter - lives alone in an attic room. She dreams of being like a fish-scale cloud floating across the attic porch, she wants to go on a picnic, she wants to go to the sea, but above all, she wants to be a woman. Every day, Chu hums love songs in a mournful voice as a way to affirm her existence. That strange sound stimulates Phuoc's curiosity. The young man finds his way to the attic and becomes Chu's confidant.

One night, Phuoc discovered strange sounds coming from Chu's room. Through the window, he saw her clinging to him.Cambodia's solid body. In the following days, Phuoc carried jealousy into making love with Chu. Chu accepted both men as if to fill his incomplete life.Mien brings her a fierce, passionate touch while Phuoc explores Chu's body slowly and softly. The two contrasting scenes exude poetry thanks to the hazy color of the moon, and the camera angle alternates between medium and close-up.

Director Hong Anh once talked about how she portrayed the characters: "I am haunted by the loneliness and dreams of freedom of the destinies... The film will have long shots and fixed angles that are repeated to create strong contrasts in the characters. The sounds in the film are the real sounds of life, old songs interwoven with long silences."

Ngoc Thanh Tam plays Chu - a paralyzed girl with a complex inner life.

Chu fights against fate, protests against her father's imprisonment with sex. It is different from her mother's resigned attitude when secretly touching her husband's private parts. In the short story, nHa Van Do Phuoc Tien calls the physical needs of these characters"passions that are sincere, pure and vibrant."

Sex liberates the human soul but it is also the source of tragedy.The Chinese boss loved his son to the extreme. He created protective barriers to confine and isolate Chu from the outside world.

The ending of the film makes viewers confused and regretful when all the troubles and conflicts have not found answers.

From left: actors Nhan Phuc Vinh, Hoang Phuc, Ngoc Thanh Tam, Pham Hong Phuoc, director Hong Anh. The film won the categories of “Best Film”, “Best Actor” and “Best Director of Photography” at the ASEAN Film Festival in May.

Literary critic Pham Xuan Nguyenthink the movie has transmitted tunderstand the content and message of the original short story. That is "fate is not determined by heaven, fate is created by the people we meet in life".

Mr. Pham Xuan Nguyen highly appreciated the performances of actors Hoang Phuc (as the boss), Meritorious Artist Ngoc Hiep (as the boss), Pham Hong Phuoc (as Phuoc) and Nhan Phuc Vinh (as Mien). He said that Ngoc Thanh Tam had not fully portrayed the complex personality and inner self of Chu - a bright spot in the dark, gray picture.

Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Thi Minh Thai commented that Hong Anh's debut film exudes a strong Asian character. This element is shown through the slow tempo, dense descriptive details, narrow frames, almost swallowing the characters. She said that the film has the colors of Moon at the bottom of the well (directed by Nguyen Minh Son) - a work in which Hong Anh played the main role 10 years ago.Associate Professor, Doctor assessed that Island of the Immigrants is a beautiful film.However, she felt a bit regretful that the relationships in the film were not completely resolved, especially Chu's ambiguous feelings for the two men./.

According to VNE