Border mark
On social networking forums, the heat of the film has not shown signs of cooling down when the film closes in episode 50. Audiences continuously dissect the fate of the characters and the odds in the Viet Dong province arena.
The success of "Borders" does not come from superficial entertainment elements. It lies in the way of "softening" inherently dry contents such as inspection procedures, personnel work or administrative rut. Audiences do not see one-colored characters; they see the tug-of-war between the minds of officials and the invisible pressures from group interests.
Many experts believe that the political film genre is making a strong shift in both thinking and expression methods.
According to director, People's Artist Khai Hung: "Making political films is like walking on a rope. We must find a way for the audience to see the fierce truth of this struggle while still maintaining humanity and faith in justice. If there is no sufficiently deep script, sufficient actors, the film will easily fall into emptiness".
Looking broadly from the phenomenon "Borders", it can be seen that the political film genre on VTV channels has a very persistent vitality, although this is considered the most difficult topic of television films.
Previously, the public was conquered by "monuments" such as "Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee" (2010) with the story of innovating agricultural thinking, or "Provincial Chairman" (2011) with the image of a direct leader in the face of the attraction of power.
In the recent period, filmmaking thinking has undergone a strong transformation, close to the reality of the fight against corruption. Movies like "Sinh Tu" (2019) or "Duat Tri" (2022) no longer hesitate to be included in major economic cases, group interests or violations in medical equipment bidding. This transformation shows that filmmakers have bravely stepped through the "safe zone" to truthfully reflect the harsh slices of life.
People's Artist Do Thanh Hai, Deputy General Director of Vietnam Television, once said: "Political films are always a harsh challenge. It requires scripts to be realistically thick, directors must have bravery and actors must have deep life experience to not turn characters into propaganda "speakers".
Measure from the audience
The appeal of "Borders" and previous films shows a reality: Vietnamese audiences have never turned their backs on important issues of the country on screen. Conversely, they are having a burning "thirst" for high-quality political works.
The audience's expectation today is not only stopping at watching the "end of the bad guy", but also expecting social understanding and criticism through the lens of art. Audiences expect multi-dimensionality in the characters. They want to see leaders, prosecutors, and policemen who are flesh and blood, with moments of weakness but knowing how to defend themselves from the line of sin.
Political films should not just be a narrative of past cases, but need to predict new social conflicts, sophisticated distortions of crime in the digital age. In addition, political films use modern cinematic language, moving away from slow storytelling and dogmatic dialogues to replace them with dramatic, logical and combative film paces.
Director, Meritorious Artist Nguyen Mai Hien, who is behind the success of "Rank", shared: "Making political films is a story of bravery. The biggest challenge is not copying press documents or resolutions into films, but overcoming ourselves to make those contents attractive, profound and realistic. Today's audiences have a very high aesthetic sense, they do not accept dryness or "completely good" characters that are unrealistic".
When the final episodes of "Borders" close, what audiences are most looking forward to is not only a satisfactory ending in the film, but the continuation of more courageous and profound works, contributing to strengthening faith in justice and transparency in today's social life.
