When the film "Generation of miracles" was released and received many negative reviews from the audience with record-low revenue, director Hoang Nam admitted that he failed in this second film project.
Looking back at the success of "The Heart of the Light", Hoang Nam entered the film industry with a special position: a content creator with a large audience and the ability to create a strong media effect. However, it is that advantage that becomes a double-edged sword when not accompanied by the commensurate maturity in cinematic thinking.
In the movie "The Heart of the Heart", the audience came to the cinema mostly out of curiosity: how would a spiritual YouTuber tell a ghost story on the big screen? The film's revenue success is largely based on new effects and highly personalized media campaigns, where the image of "Hoang Nam making a film" became the center of attention. The quality of the work, despite being controversial, is still overshadowed by that wave of curiosity. Therefore, the film "The Heart of the Light" earning more than 100 billion VND after being shown in theaters is considered a blow because the film's quality was criticized by the audience for not being commensurate.
However, cinema does not operate according to the logic of social networks. Curiosity is only valid once. When entering the "Miracle Generation", Hoang Nam no longer has the advantage of "first time". Instead, he has to face expectations of a career advance - something the film cannot meet.
The first problem lies in the script and the way of storytelling. "Miracle Generation" chose the theme of young people starting a business, a direction that is not wrong, but the implementation method is more oriented towards illustrating the message than building film conflicts. The characters lack psychological depth, the situations are arranged in a lesson list, making the film more like a long speech than a story with a climax. When cinema only " Says" but does not "see", the audience has difficulty sympathizing and easily leaving.
The second reason is that audience positioning is not clear. Hoang Nam originally owned a group of viewers familiar with spiritual content, exploration, and experience. However, "Miracle Generation" is aimed at urban young audiences, Gen Z, technology startups - public groups that the film does not really understand. This phase difference makes the work unable to retain old audiences or reach new audiences.
Another important factor is the confusion between personal brand and cinematic works. In the communication campaign for "Miracle Generation", the story of funding, personal trade-offs, and the director's "empty-handedness" is emphasized more than the film's content. Typically, Hoang Nam continuously complains about money such as: "Investing in a film with 26 billion VND is now only 23 million VND" or "now my hands are gone when the film failed and I have returned to being a YouTuber".
When the work is not good enough, constantly calling for sympathy will unintentionally create a negative reaction. The audience comes to the cinema to watch the film, not to share their responsibility with the filmmaker.
In addition, the rapid production rhythm is also a big risk. Just about 8 months after the first film was released, Hoang Nam continued to release a second project - a period of time too short to accumulate experience, correct mistakes and develop director thinking. Cinema requires maturity, while Hoang Nam's way of doing things has many " You tube speed" imprints.
Hoang Nam's admitted failure and temporarily stopping filming shows that he is aware of his limitations at the present time. The failure of "Miracle Generation" is not the end, but it is a clear reminder that: in cinema, the factor of retaining audiences is the quality of the film, not the tricks, the fortune.
If he wants to return, Hoang Nam needs to take his vocational training time seriously, and let the film speak for itself instead of himself.
