AnhHI Thanh Cuong's MV "Tính chuyện trăm năm" has just been released in Hanoi, attracting attention when choosing a new approach to folk materials. Inspired by the painting Mouse Wedding, the MV does not follow the original restoration direction but recreates it in a modern visual language, through AI technology.
This is a song composed by musician Nguyen Quang Long, with Northern folk music influences but handled in a structure close to contemporary music. The gentle responses evoke a feeling of a romantic conversation, revolving around the vibrations in love and the desire for a long-term home.
Sharing about this choice, AnhHI Thanh Cuong said: "This is a very special song that I love, so I chose to make it into an independent MV. And more than that is the desire for a simple but lasting love, towards a happy future for the couple.
The male singer also hopes that the song will bring faith in love to young people, whether they are in love or not.
A highlight in the music part is the combination of folk and modern elements, including the recitation of Kieu performed by NSND Thanh Hoai, creating emotional depth.
According to musician Nguyen Quang Long, when placing the song in the image space of folk paintings, the song seems to be "cultivated with many layers of meaning about happiness", especially the spirit of family reunion and connection - a xuyên suốt value in Vietnamese life.
The image part of the MV is completely made by AI in animated form, directed by image director Xuan Manh AI. The Northern countryside space appears with familiar details such as three-compartment roof, brick yard, betel trellis, areca tree... creating a close setting for the traditional wedding story.
According to the crew, instead of maintaining the satirical spirit in the original painting, the story is "rewritten" in a bright and emotional direction. Journalist and screenwriter Ho Diep Thanh Thanh and the creative group chose a warm and humane way of telling, in order to bring the image of "Mouse Wedding" closer to young audiences.
In the MV, the two spaces of the groom's house and the bride's house are built in parallel, recreating the wedding preparation atmosphere with offerings, relatives and children playing. The details not only evoke traditional customs but also express the nervous and expectant mood of the couple before the big day.
Some details in Dong Ho paintings are changed in a positive direction, such as the image of "feeding cats" being replaced by scenes of children playing and receiving lucky money on their wedding day.
At the climax, the bridal procession passed through "Happy Village", the mice characters gradually transformed into humans, in which the groom bore the appearance of AnhHI Thanh Cuong, creating a symbolic highlight for the connection between folk and modern life.
Speaking about the implementation process, director Xuan Manh AI said that using technology to tell a purely Vietnamese story is a challenging choice. "It's no longer a story about technology, but how a cultural heritage finds its own other identity in the digital age," he shared.
According to further revelations from director Xuan Manh AI, to complete this special product, the crew spent a lot of time researching Northern culture and Dong Ho folk paintings.
Story of a Hundred Years" is therefore not only a music video, but also an experiment in recounting heritage. Through AI, familiar values are placed in a new form, contributing to making folk culture continue to exist in contemporary life in a closer way.
