Viet and Nam, a type of film you would expect to find yourself in a dark theater on a hot Sunday afternoon and expect yourself to be completely amused, sad and happy. The theater’s cool air was a stark contrast to the long line I stood in to get into the theater. It’s only at MAMI that you see over 200 people lined up to watch queer narratives.
They weren’t here for the plot or the queerness (or maybe they were) but I found some relief in the idea that people showed up for art before they think of any other incentive that leads people to watch a gay romantic drama movie.
A Dark Way To Tell A Story
I can understand right from the first few shots, which were completely dark with a small figure getting bigger and bigger that the director will be talking to us from the shadows of the film. No matter what the subject was, my eyes kept moving to the darkened details of coal, dreams, and dirty fingernails.
Very obviously, the film depicts a gloomy, satisfied and normal life that our leads Viet and Nam live around. For clarity purposes, we’ll separate Viet and Nam as separate people, but this would be one of the few films that has the plot bleed into the end-credits. The actors–Dao Duy Bao Dinh and Pham Thanh Hai– as our lead heroes have been credited as Viet/Nam. While we’re not really sure who Viet (Pham Thanh Hai) is without his partner in the dark, Nam (Dao Duy Bao Dinh), we can guess what troubles Nam.
Where Is Nam?
The larger focus of the film is driven by Nam’s life, his dreams, missing pieces and we only see Viet through his eyes. Nam’s mother– Hoa and his deceased father’s friend–Ba are occupied being each others’ platonic companions throughout the film. While one searches for the meaning of her dreams (thinking her husband is trying to communicate with her through dreams) and the other makes sense of a world without his friend.
Does the film have a lot of historical nuances for someone who barely knows anything about the country beyond Vietnamese Coffee? Yes
Will the audience understand the film even without the larger context? Yes, but only if you are enthusiastic about wanting to understand it.
There are many films that I have seen that leave me with the choice to understand it, one other example was Fallen Angels by Wong Kar Wai. I might now know what goes through Viet and Nam’s head when it comes to their country’s history, but I do understand what it’s like to be part of a country that demands your love to heal itself. I understand the pain that goes into deciding if you want to stay with your loved ones, or find new opportunities in a foreign land for your loved ones.
Do Films Or Our Lives Need A Purpose?
The village life, in retrospect is always nicer, without the burdens of the city’s fast and frivolous lives. I know these experiences, and I could recognise them in Nam’s face accepting it, and Viet’s face when he knew he had to let go of Nam. There’s a form of hunger and disturbance in Nam that Viet combats and balances with his sweet, flirty and overly accepting outlook on life. Which is very similar to the pairing of Nam’s parents.
His father had to pick between leaving his wife behind, to serve a “greater” purpose. Which is why I suppose Nam looks for his fathers’ remains. He encourages his mother to find some closure with his death during the Vietnam wars, but we soon realize, it was Nam looking for a man he’s supposed to resemble, trying to figure out how he dealt with life and compromises that come with it.
At the moment, it felt odd, confusing even thinking I had to know Vietnam’s history to understand the characters. But it’s been 3 days since I saw it, and it’s settled with me, that history aside, I knew what the anxieties were, I was able to witness their gentle love, amidst the dark lens and coal mines. And I hope you do too, hoping it’s made available on any medium very soon!
