Honoring on the big screen
Con ke ba nghe is a new project of the crew that made an impression with rom, this time choosing the behind-the-scenes setting of a circus - an art world that is rarely exploited on Vietnamese screens. The film revolves around father and son love, placed between the circus space with lights, props, chaotic performances and the fates of the people behind the audience's laughter. Director Tran Thanh Huy holds the role of Creative Director, accompanying director Do Quoc Trung, showing his ambition not only to tell a touching story but also to recreate the lives of circus artists who have been committed to the profession in silence.
The main character played by Kieu Minh Tuan is a circus artist in a crocodile costume, working in a colorful circus but hiding many worries. According to the crew, this is one of the most challenging roles in the actor's career, both requiring physical performance skills, mastering circus movements, and being a complex emotional journey of an artist father.
The film was scheduled to be released on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Vietnam Circus Federation (16.1.1956 - 16.1.2026), with the meaning of a tribute to those who have worked hard and contributed joy to the public.
In "The Heart Rising" the art of lion, monk, and dragon dance was chosen as the center of the story. In the film, young characters appear as top performing artists, having to practice at high intensity, maintain physical strength, endurance and coordinate well on high pillars. This sport is not only a fun performance but also a form of folk art with a strong cultural identity, included in the list of national intangible cultural heritages since 2024.
In another extreme, The Light of the morning chose Cai Luong as the theme, telling the story of the singer Nguyen Phuong traveling to the Mekong Delta in the 1990s. The film recreates the lives of those who have "taken the life of a billion", considering the stage as a common roof, a place to care for the fates of the four dead, orphans, and those searching for lost families. The cast of many generations such as Meritorious Artist Huu Chau, artist Chi Tam, Bach Cong Khanh, Truc May, People's Artist Hong Van, Meritorious Artist Kim Tu Long... brought close, everyday characters, showing that Cai Luong is not only a memory but also the life today of many artists still in the profession.
Beauty is valuable, difficult is the theater
Although praised for its content and artistic quality, " Sang Den" only earned more than 2 billion VND at the box office. In the context of the beginning of the year, when having to compete with a series of blockbusters, works about Cai Luong were almost "inferior" to the habit of choosing films of the majority of audiences. This case once again shows a significant gap between the artistic value and the market appeal of traditional art films.
The biggest challenge of films about lion dance, circus, and Cai Luong lies in harmonizing the goal of honoring the profession with the requirements of entertainment. The audience, especially young people, is often attracted to the fast pace of films, many dramatic, special effects or genres that are easy to watch such as comedy, horror, action. Professional stories with slow storytelling, leaning towards emotional depth, are easily labeled as "difficult to watch", "unpleasant to watch", even though the content is rich in humanity.
I told you what I heard and The Power of Heart are facing a similar problem. Both are expected to help the audience look back at circus and lion dance as art forms that deserve to be respected, instead of just appearing in the flash during festivals or Tet. However, to stay strong in theaters, these projects not only need new settings and good acting but also require attractive enough scripts, attractive film beats and communication strategies to suit current tastes. The fact that a film about a profession with high revenue is not only a commercial success, but also a signal that the audience is willing to spend time and money on stories associated with cultural heritage. On the contrary, low revenue can easily make producers more reserved about similar topics, leading to the risk of this film genre continuing to be in a "small" position, despite being highly appreciated for its quality. The simultaneous appearance of films about circuses, lion dances, and Cai Luong shows that filmmakers are boldly expanding the topic, no longer limited to the safety model.
