The suffering of author films
Quan Ky Nam after 3 days of release in theaters only earned 1.3 billion VND, many theaters arranged 1 screening per day. The film distributor "complained and cried" because of the low screenings and low revenue.
Quan Ky Nam revolves around the love story between Khang (Lien Binh Phat) and Ky Nam (Do Thi Hai Yen), set in an old apartment complex in the 1980s of the last century. The film is told in the cinematic language with Leon Le's personal mark, from color - sound to restraint in storytelling.
However, like many works in the author's film genre, art film, "Quan Ky Nam" fell into a situation of lack of tickets and lack of audiences.
Song Lang - another film by Leon Le - is also a film by the author with its own cinematic language released in 2018, achieving a revenue of 5 billion VND. The film is said to have suffered heavy losses with a production budget of about 20 billion VND.
In 2022, the film "Radiant Fate" by director Bui Thac Chuyen was released in theaters and received praise from experts. Many directors, including Tran Thanh, admired the film's film material and storytelling language, but the film left the theater with only 4.1 billion VND in revenue.
In a conversation with Lao Dong reporter, director Leon Le said: "I can also make commercial films that sell tickets. But, Quan Ky Nam's story haunted me. I want to tell you about the things I am really passionate about. The current film market has many horror films and family films. For every horror film that sells tickets, many directors will rush to make them. If it continues like that, we will have a film market that "catches the trend". I want to take my own path, it may be difficult, but I still need pioneers and pioneers.
World cinema has also witnessed the "overview" of unstable tickets for works in the author's film genre (artistic films).
The American press once wrote humorous articles about films that won prestigious Oscars but had to leave the theater early. The Oscar Awards and the general public were suddenly divided, standing on opposite sides, when there were conflicting views.
Moonlight - the Oscar-winning film in 2017 caused strong emotions in the professional world but was ignored by the general public.
harmonizing artistic elements and audience tastes is always a difficult problem for directors pursuing a personal, separate cinematic language.
To reach out for ambition
To develop the film industry at a miraculous pace, rising to the top of the world, Korea has broken many barriers, promoting diverse and rich Korean films in theme and genre.
Parasite (English title: parasite) - is a film of the art film genre by director Bong Joon Ho. The film takes the theme of class conflict, the gap between rich and poor, and class division in modern Korean society. Parasite with many metaphorical uses is considered a film that is not easy to watch for the general public.
However, right after winning the Golden Ball at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, Parasite created a miraculous effect at the box office, earning a revenue of 72.6 million USD (production cost of 11.4 million USD).
In 2020, Parasite continued to win the Oscar, and once again returned to the box office to the excitement of Korean audiences.
In the context that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is implementing a strategy on cultural industrialization, considering cinema one of the 6 key industries, Vietnamese films need to be released in theaters more than ever with richness and diversity in topics and genres. There will be a need for blockbusters to "screen" the box office and even films rich in cinematic content for the audience to experience the special emotions that a film can bring.
Quan Ky Nam" needs more encouragement and support from the audience.
