The cinema of Vietnam originates in the 1920s and has largely been shaped by wars that have been fought in the country from the 1940s to the 1970s. The better known

Vietnamese language Vietnamese ( vi, tiếng Việt, links=no) is an Austroasiatic languages, Austroasiatic language originating from Vietnam where it is the national language, national and official language. Vietnamese is spoken natively by over 70 million people, ...

-films include '' Cyclo'', '' The Scent of Green Papaya'' and '' Vertical Ray of the Sun'', all by French-trained Việt Kiều director

Tran Anh Hung Trần Anh Hùng (born December 23, 1962) is a Vietnamese-born French film director and screenwriter. Early life Hùng was born in Mỹ Tho, South Vietnam. Following the fall of Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, he immigrated to Fr ...

. In recent years, as Vietnam's film industry has modernized and moved beyond government-backed propaganda films, contemporary Vietnamese filmmakers have gained a wider audience with films such as '' Buffalo Boy'', ''Bar Girls'' and '' The White Silk Dress''.

Early films

In the 1920s, a group of

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overse ...

intellectuals formed the Huong Ky Film Company in

Hanoi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...

. It produced documentaries on the funeral of Emperor

Khải Định Khải Định (; chữ Hán: 啓定; born Nguyễn Phúc Bửu Đảo; 8 October 1885 – 6 November 1925) was the 12th emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty in Vietnam, reigning from 1916 to 1925. His name at birth was Prince Nguyễn Phúc Bửu Đ� ...

and the enthronement of

Bảo Đại Bảo Đại (, vi-hantu, , lit. "keeper of greatness", 22 October 191331 July 1997), born Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thụy (), was the 13th and final emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty, the last ruling dynasty of Vietnam. From 1926 to 1945, he was em ...

. There was also the silent feature, ''Một đồng kẽm tậu được ngựa'' (''A Penny for a Horse''). The first sound films were produced from 1937 to 1940, with ''Trọn với tình'' (''True to Love''), ''Khúc khải hoàn'' (''The Song of Triumph'') and ''Toét sợ ma'' (''Toét's Scared of Ghosts'') by the Asia Film Group studio in Hanoi with the participation of artist Tám Danh. The Vietnam Film Group, led by Trần Tấn Giàu produced ''Một buổi chiều trên sông Cửu Long'' (''An Evening on the Mekong River'') and ''Thầy Pháp râu đỏ'' (''The Red-Bearded Sorcerer''). Two other films, ''Cánh đồng ma'' (''The Ghost Field'') and ''Trận phong ba'' (''The Storm''), were made in 1937 and 1938 in Hong Kong with Vietnamese actors and dialogue, but both were financial failures. The government's Ministry of Information and Propaganda formed a film department around 1945 and documented battles in the

First Indochina War The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam) began in French Indochina from 19 December 1946 to 20 July 1954 between France and Việt Minh (Democratic Republic of Vi ...

in the documentaries ''Trận Mộc Hóa'' (''Mộc Hóa Battle'') in 1948, ''Trận Đông Khê'' (''Đông Khê Battle'') in 1950 ''Chiến thắng Tây Bắc'' (''North West Victory'') in 1952, ''Việt Nam trên đường thắng lợi'' (''Việt Nam on the Road to Victory'') in 1953 and ''Dien Bien Phu'' (1954).

War years

With the end of the First Indochina War and the creation of

North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; vi, Việt Nam Dân chủ Cộng hòa), was a socialist state supported by the Soviet Union (USSR) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Southeast Asia that existed f ...

and South Vietnam, there were two Vietnamese film industries, with the Hanoi industry focusing on documentary and drama films and Saigon on war or comedy films. Hanoi's Vietnam Film Studio was established in 1956 and the Hanoi Film School opened in 1959. The first feature film produced in the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was a nationalistic work directed by Nguyễn Hồng Nghị, ''Chung một dòng sông'' (''Together on the Same River''). There was even an animated feature, ''Đáng đời Thằng Cáo'' (''A Just Punishment for the Fox'') in 1960. Documentaries and feature films from Hanoi attracted attention at film festivals in

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whic ...

at the time. The documentary ''Nước về Bắc Hưng Hải'' (''Water Returns to Bắc Hưng Hải'') won the Golden Award at the 1959 Moscow Film Festival, and the 1963 feature by Phạm Kỳ Nam, ''Chị Tư Hậu'' (''Sister Tư Hậu'') won the Silver Award at Moscow. It starred lead actress Trà Giang. The Hanoi-based industry mainly documented the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

. Between 1965 and 1973, 463 newsreels, 307 documentaries and 141 scientific films were produced, in contrast to just 36 feature films and 27 cartoons. Films during this period include the documentaries ''Du kích Củ Chi'' (''Củ Chi Guerillas'') in 1967 and ''Lũy thép Vĩnh Linh'' (''Vĩnh Linh Steel Rampart'') in 1970, which included footage from battles. Other films, such as ''Đường ra phía trước'' (''The Road to the Front'') in 1969 and ''Những người săn thú trên núi Dak-sao'' (''Hunters on Dak-sao Mountain'') in 1971 were docudramas. Feature films from this time include ''Nguyễn Văn Trỗi'' (1966), ''Đường về quê mẹ'' (''Road Back to Mother'') (1971), ''Truyện vợ chồng Anh Lực'' (''The Story of Anh Lực and his Wife'') in 1971, and '' Em bé Hà Nội'' (''Girl from Hanoi'') in 1975. Saigon produced numerous documentary and

public information film Public information films (PIFs) are a series of government-commissioned short films, shown during television advertising breaks in the United Kingdom. The name is sometimes also applied, ''faute de mieux'', to similar films from other countries, ...

s, as well as feature films. The most well known feature film of the late 1950s was ''Chúng Tôi Muốn Sống'' (We Want To Live), a realistic depiction of the bloody land reform campaign in North Vietnam under Communist-dominated Vietminh. Some mid-1960s black-and-white features dealt with war themes, with actors such as Đoàn Châu Mậu and La Thoại Tân. Some later popular color features revolved around the theme of family or personal tragedy in a war-torn society, such as ''Người Tình Không Chân Dung'' (The Faceless Lover) starring Kiều Chinh, ''Xa Lộ Không Đèn'' (Dark Highway) starring Thanh Nga, ''Chiếc Bóng Bên Đường'' (A Silhouette by the Road) starring Kim Cương and Thành Được. Comedy movies were usually released around

Tết Tết (), short for Tết Nguyên Đán ( Chữ Hán: 節元旦), Spring Festival, Lunar New Year, or Vietnamese Lunar New Year is one of the most important celebrations in Vietnamese culture. The colloquial term "Tết" is a shortened form of ...

, the Vietnamese New Year; most notable was ''Triệu Phú Bất Đắc Dĩ'' (The Reluctant Millionaire) starring the well-loved comedian Thanh Việt.

Joseph Mankiewicz Joseph Leo Mankiewicz (; February 11, 1909 – February 5, 1993) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. Mankiewicz had a long Hollywood career, and won both the Academy Award for Best Director and the Academy Award for Best A ...

's adaptation of

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...

's '' The Quiet American'' was filmed in and around Saigon in 1957. American actor

Marshall Thompson James Marshall Thompson (November 27, 1925 – May 18, 1992) was an American film and television actor. Early years Thompson was born in Peoria, Illinois. He and his parents, Dr. and Mrs. Laurence B. Thompson, moved to California when he was a ...

directed and starred in '' A Yank in Vietnam'', or ''

Year of the Tiger The Tiger ( 虎) is the third of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The Year of the Tiger is associated with the Earthly Branch symbol 寅. Years and the Five Elements People born ...

'' in 1964.

Reunification

After

Reunification A political union is a type of political entity which is composed of, or created from, smaller polities, or the process which achieves this. These smaller polities are usually called federated states and federal territories in a federal governm ...

and South Vietnam, studios in the former South Vietnam turned to making

Socialist Realism Socialist realism is a style of idealized realistic art that was developed in the Soviet Union and was the official style in that country between 1932 and 1988, as well as in other socialist countries after World War II. Socialist realism is c ...

films. Vietnamese feature film output increased and by 1978 the number of feature films made each year was boosted from around three annually during the war years to 20. Films from the years following the war focused on heroic efforts in the revolution, human suffering created by the war and social problems of post-war reconstruction. Films from this time include ''Mùa gió chướng'' (''Season of the Whirlwind'') in 1978 and ''Cánh đồng hoang'' (''The Abandoned Field: Free Fire Zone'') in 1979.

Modernity

The shift to a market economy in 1986 dealt a blow to Vietnamese filmmaking, which struggled to compete with video and television. The number of films produced in Vietnam has dropped off sharply since 1987. Still, a number of filmmakers continued to produce films seen on the arthouse circuit. These include Trần Văn Thủy's ''Hà Nội trong mắt ai?'' (''Hanoi Through Whose Eyes?'', 1983) and ''Chuyện tử tế'' (''Story of Good Behavior'', 1987) and Trần Anh Trà's ''Người công giáo huyện Thống Nhất'' (''A Catholic in Thống Nhất District'', 1985), Trần Vũ's ''Anh và em'' (''Siblings'', 1986), Đặng Nhật Minh's ''Bao gio cho den thang muoi'' ('' When the Tenth Month Comes'', 1984), Đặng Nhật Minh's ''Cô gái trên sông'' (''Girl on the River'', 1987), Nguyển Khắc Lợi's ''Tướng về hưu'' (''The Retired General'') and Đặng Nhật Minh's ''Mùa ổi'' (''Guava Season'', 2001). Tony Bui's ''Ba mùa'' ('' Three Seasons'', 1998) won prizes at the Sundance Film Festival in 1998. Trần Văn Thủy's '' Tiếng vĩ cầm ở Mỹ Lai'' (''The Sound of the Violin at My Lai'') won Best Short Film prize at the 43rd

Asia Pacific Film Festival The Asia-Pacific Film Festival (abbreviated APFF) is an annual film festival hosted by the Federation of Motion Picture Producers in Asia-Pacific. The festival was first held in Tokyo, Japan, in 1954. History The festival was first held in Tok ...

in 1999. ''Đời cát'' (''Sandy Life'') by Nguyễn Thanh won best picture at the same festival the following year. Bùi Thạc Chuyên's ''Cuốc xe đêm'' (''Night Cyclo Trip'') won third prize in the short film category at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

in 2000. European productions in Vietnam are better known. These include '' The Lover'', '' Indochine'' and films by Việt Kiều directors

and Tony Bui. Tran's first feature, ''The Scent of the Green Papaya'' won the Golden Camera at the

in 1993 and was the first Vietnamese film nominated for an Oscar in 1994. His other films include ''Xích lô'' ('' Cyclo'', 1995) and ''Mùa hè chiều thẳng đứng'' (''Vertical Ray of the Sun'') in 2000. Another European co-production, ''Mùa len trâu'' (''

The Buffalo Boy ''The Buffalo Boy'' ( vi, Mùa len trâu, links=no, french: Le Gardien des Buffles, links=no) is a 2004 film directed by Nguyễn Võ Nghiêm Minh. The movie was the official entry from Vietnam for Best Foreign Language Film category at the 78t ...

'') by Nguyễn Võ Nghiêm Minh, has won numerous awards at film festivals, including the

Chicago International Film Festival The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964 by Michael Kutza, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America. Its logo is a stark, black and white close up of the comp ...

in 2004. In recent years, Vietnamese filmmakers have moved in a more commercial directions to try to regain audiences lost to television and DVDs. One of the most successful films of recent years at the Vietnamese box office has been Phi Tiến Sơn's ''Lưới trời'' (''Heaven's Net''), a film about corruption that closely mirrors the trial of Ho Chi Minh City gangster Nam Cam. An even bigger film was Lê Hoàng's 2002 ''Gai nhay'' (''Bar Girls''), which depicted Ho Chi Minh City's titillating and seedy nightlife while also warning of the dangers of

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

and AIDS. Featuring the first government-approved topless scene, it spawned a sequel, ''Lọ lem hè phố'' (''Street Cinderella''), in 2004. Another film along these lines is '' Nữ tướng cướp'' (''Gangsta Girls''). There are also romantic comedies, such as '' Hon Truong Ba Da Hang Thit'' (''Truong Ba's Soul in Butcher's Body'') in 2006 and ''Khi dan ong co bau'' (''When Men Get Pregnant'') from 2004. Việt Linh has made several critically acclaimed films. In 2007, '' Muoi'' (''Muoi: the Legend of a Portrait''), the first horror film in Vietnam after the Fall of Saigon (collaborated by

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

n producers), also became the first rated film with an under-16 ban.Laodong.com.vn , Dưới 16 tuổi không được xem phim Mười - Duoi 16 tuoi khong duoc xem phim Muoi
/ref>

References

Vietnam Cultural Profile
by the

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...

*Johnson, Kay (May 5, 2003)
"Social evil sells"
''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...

''.

External links

Vietnamese-language films
at the

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...