Films about Vietnamese myths to hit cinemas in December

The first project, Than Dong Dat Viet (Vietnamese Prodigies), based on Vietnamese folk stories, will begin filming next month and is expected to be released in December.

The film’s screenplay is based on a comic series of the same name by young artists from Phan Thi Company.  

The work includes historic events and famous characters of different periods of the country’s history, such as Le Quy Don, a poet, encyclopaedist and government official who lived in the 18th century, and Luong The Vinh, a mathematician and poet under the Le Dynasty. 

The first of the 200 parts was published in 2002.   

Producer Van, owner of VAA, a film and entertainment agency, has completed a copyright deal with the publisher Tre and Phan Thi Company.  

The casting for the film began next week, according to Van.

Another three projects will be based on popular myths called Thach Sanh (The Story of Thach Sanh), Thanh Giong (Saint Giong) and Son Tinh-Thuy Tinh (God of the Mountain-God of the Water).

Thach Sanh tells the story of an orphan who grows up to be a brave woodcutter and defeats monsters to save a princess.

Thanh Giong portrays a young hero named Giong who becomes a giant and rides on an iron horse leading his villagers to fight against northern invaders.

Son Tinh-Thuy Tinh explains the origin of storms and floods and highlights the will and intelligence of Vietnamese who battled natural disasters thousands of years ago.

Van’s film focuses on the battle between the two gods, Thuy Tinh and Son Tinh.

Thuy Tinh creates rain, thunder, wind and floods to defeat Son Tinh. Lands, crops, houses and people are destroyed.

Son Tinh uses his magic to transform mountains into great walls and to guide people to build dykes. The battle ends after a couple of days, with Son Tinh the winner.

The three film projects will begin later this year.

Last year, Van’s latest film, Co Ba Sai Gon (The Tailor), was screened and honoured at the 22nd Busan International Film Festival in the Republic of Korea.

The film’s leading character, young actress Ninh Duong Lan Ngoc of HCM City, was named Face of Asia at the Asia Star Awards 2017.

She shared the title together with three actors from the Republic of Korea, Japan and Thailand.

Co Ba Sai Gon, a romantic comedy, is about Vietnamese women living in Sai Gon (now HCM City) in the 1960s. Van used young directors Loc Tran and Kay Nguyen, who both studied film in the US.