Films featuring Vietnamese fairy tales released

TALL TALE: A scene in ‘Con Cám’ (The Sisters), a thriller featuring Vietnamese folk stories, directed by Trần Hữu Tấn. Photo courtesy of Hoàng Quân Production.

By Thu Anh

Vietnamese folk tales are themes of new films and TV series produced by studios and television stations in HCM City.

Blockbuster director Trần Hữu Tấn is working on his latest project based on the famous fairy tale entitled Con Cám (The Sisters Tấm and Cám), which is considered to be the Vietnamese version of Cinderella.

The film Con Cám (The Sisters) is inspired by traditional culture and lifestyle, and the folklore of the North.

It portrays Tấm, a beautiful and kind girl who takes revenge against her evil stepsister Cám and her stepmother for the suffering they caused her before and after she married a king.

The themes of love, betrayal and justice are also included.

The film’s first poster was released on director Tấn’s Facebook page on July 29, attracting many likes and comments from film critics and fans.

Tấn featured young actresses Rima Thanh Vi as Cám and Lâm Thanh Mỹ as Tấm.

He also invited movie stars Ngọc Hiệp and Hạnh Thuý to play lead roles.

“We have worked to make a quality production and bring Vietnamese culture and lifestyle to young viewers,” Tấn said.

According to Tấn, Vietnamese folk tales with mysterious elements are an endless source for filmmakers who love thriller movies. “I believe that this genre of movie will have many blockbusters,” he said.

ANCIENT THRILLER: The first poster for ‘Con Cám’ (The Sisters), a thriller by blockbuster Trần Hữu Tấn of HCM City. The film is inspired by traditional culture and lifestyle, and folklore of Việt Nam. Photo courtesy of Hoàng Quân Production.

Tấn made a name for himself with thriller movies including Bắc Kim Thang (Home Sweet Home), Rừng Thế Mạng (Survive) and Chuyện Ma Gần Nhà (Vietnamese Horror Story). All these works are based on folk tales.

His highest-grossing horror film was called Kẻ Ăn Hồn (Soul Reaper), and earned more than VNĐ60 billion (US$2.4 million) after the first 11 days of its release last year.

The film Con Cám will be in cinemas from September 27.

Old tales

A TV series about Vietnamese fairy tales, produced by private Xuân Phước Studio, has attracted around 20 million views on YouTube.

The work, Cổ Tích Nước Nam (Vietnamese Tales), features the South’s history, culture and lifestyle.

It includes beautiful scenes captured in the Mekong River Delta and southern provinces, interspersed with the folk songs and traditional customs of southern people.

Trạng Tí (Child Master), a comedy-action movie based on Vietnamese folk stories. Photo courtesy of Vĩnh Long Radio & Television.

Cổ Tích Nước Nam is part of a long-term film project produced by Xuân Phước Studio in cooperation with Vĩnh Long Radio & Television.

The project offers web dramas and TV shows on Vietnamese folk tales which are based on Kho Tàng Truyện Cổ Tích Việt Nam (The Treasure of Vietnamese Folk Tales), a five-book collection of folk tales compiled by late professor Nguyễn Đổng Chi.

The collection was republished in 2021 and features 150 stories collected among Việt Nam’s various ethnic groups.

“We decided to invest in shows based on Vietnamese folk tales and release them on YouTube to attract children and teenagers,” said film director Xuân Phước, owner of Xuân Phước Studio. “We have produced and released 32 TV shows with 150 episodes.”

Another highlighted series is Sơn Tinh Thuỷ Tinh (Mountain God and Water God), produced by private entertainment agency Vietfilm.

The myth explains the origin of storms and floods, and highlights the will and intelligence of Vietnamese who battled natural disasters thousands of years ago.

It focuses on the battle between the two gods, Thủy Tinh and Sơn Tinh.

Thủy Tinh creates rain, thunder, wind and floods to defeat Sơn Tinh. Lands, crops, houses and people are destroyed.

Sơn Tinh uses his magic to transform mountains into great walls and to guide people to build dykes. The battle ends after a couple of days, with Sơn Tinh the winner.

These productions air every Monday and Wednesday on Vĩnh Long Radio & Television’s THVL1 channel and on YouTube.

“Vietnamese folklore includes many stories, myths, and legends that features traditional culture and lifestyle of different ethnic groups. Each ancient and mythical story can be a very interesting movie for filmmakers,” said Ngô Thanh Vân, movie star and film director/producer.

Vân’s blockbusters include Tấm Cám-Chuyện Chưa Kể (Tấm Cám – The Untold Story) and Trạng Tí (Child Master), both based on Vietnamese folk stories.

The fantasy Tấm Cám-Chuyện Chưa Kể earned more than VNĐ70 billion ($3 million) in ticket sales in 2016.

Trạng Tí, a comedy-action movie, earned VNĐ8 billion ($319,000) in its first three days of release in 2021. VNS