When Vietnamese stars step out of the "safe zone"
In Mother Goes Out, the combination of Vietnamese actors such as Tuan Tran and Hong Dao with faces from Korea has caused the film to receive attention right from the time of its release. Comparing with international co-stars forces Vietnamese actors to adapt quickly to a more disciplined and professional working style.
When it was released, the project "Bringing Me Go" won big at the box office. The film currently earns 171 billion VND and is one of the most successful Vietnamese - Korean projects at present.
After winning the storm, Korean cinema continued to have a handshake with Vietnam through the movie "Tay anh giu mot sao". In this project, Lee Kwang Soo collaborated with Vietnamese actor Hoang Ha. The project will not be released until October, however, information surrounding the Korean and Vietnamese stars has attracted the attention and anticipation of the audience.
In the horror genre "Ghost Bride", Vietnamese artists collaborate with Thai actors - a country that has strengths in horror films. This not only helps the film easily penetrate the market of the neighboring country but also allows Vietnamese actors to learn the typical way of expressing emotions of this film genre. In this project, Rima Thanh Vy had a good acting performance with actor JJ Krissanapoom. This is the first time collaborating with a Thai star, the Vietnamese actress said that she has learned a lot of experience and filmmaking methods from an international crew.
Great opportunities to learn, promote and reach out
When working with international stars, Vietnamese artists have the opportunity to compete and improve their skills. They learn to control their acting, work on time, and prepare carefully for each scene. These are standards of the film industry that the domestic environment sometimes does not pay attention to.
The presence of international actors also helps Vietnamese films reach a global audience more easily. Korean audiences are interested in S up to a Star because they have a star from their country participating, while Ghost Bride is conveniently released in Southeast Asian countries. This is an advantage for Vietnamese films in general and domestic actors in particular to not only dwell in the domestic film market but also reach out to the region.
In addition, the image of Vietnamese actors standing next to international stars is also an effective way to promote the culture, style and personality of Vietnamese artists. They became "soft ambassadors" bringing the image of Vietnam to the world.
Challenges for many reasons
Although there are many advantages, there are also many difficulties. Acting with stars who already have international brands creates invisible pressure. The audience often compares the acting between the two sides. If Vietnamese artists do not have enough courage, they are easily "located" on screen, even considered "side actors right at home".
In addition, differences in acting methods sometimes create a feeling of inactivity in some scenes. This is a challenge for the director to harmonize and for the actors to learn how to adapt.
Despite many problems, the trend of international cooperation in actors and productions is an opportunity for Vietnamese cinema to break through. If "Ghost Bride" helps Vietnamese artists learn from co-stars in Southeast Asia, "Mother Go Forward", "Give Me a Star" shows that Vietnam can become a film cooperation destination with countries with more developed film industries like Korea.
From the three international cooperation films of Vietnam that have been and are about to be released, it can be seen that Vietnamese actors standing in the same frame with international stars is both an opportunity to elevate and a challenge in terms of courage. If they overcome language barriers, comparisons and cultural differences, they will become a new generation of artists to bring Vietnamese cinema closer to the world cinema map.
