“Ben Trong Vo Ken Vang” movie among top 20 Best Movies of 2024

According to details given by the website, the Vietnamese movie directed by Pham Thien An is a spellbinding tale of the soul’s unfathomable desire for the other-worldly which borders on transcendental in its filmmaking and gradual blurring of apparent truth and suggested fantasy.

The movie tells the story of a journey taken by a young man named Thien who is tasked with delivering his sister-in-law's body to their countryside hometown following a tragic motorcycle accident.

Taking place amid the mystical landscapes of rural Vietnam, Thien begins a search for his older brother who vanished years ago.

The film was produced by local production company JK Film and Singapore’s Protocol, in co-production with France’s Deuxième Ligne Films and Spain’s Fasten Films.

It took a total of four years to complete the movie, with three shootings taking place in 2020, 2021, and 2022.

Ben Trong Vo Ken Vang beat 17 other competitors to be named winner in the Directors Fortnight's category of the Caméra d'Or (or Golden Camera) Award at the Cannes Film Festival in May, 2023. It received a five-minute standing ovation from audiences after its screening.