The film re-creates the youth and love of the musician Trinh Cong Son in his hometown of Hue. Photo: Provided by the film crew
Re-creating the life of the musician
More than 20 years after Trinh Cong Son’s passing away, the special love of his fans remains strong. The melodies and lyrics of his music permeate deep into the heart of the public. Therefore, after 5 years of waiting, the audience is very excited for the premiere of the film about the life and love of the Vietnamese music legend - Trinh Cong Son.
In addition to the film "Em va Trinh", the public is even more surprised when the producer suddenly announced that they would release two films about the musician at the same time right before the premiere. This is unprecedented in the history of the big screen when two films from the same script and the same director are released at the same time.
The second film, "Trinh Cong Son", is 95 minutes long, revolving around the youth of Trinh, from a romanticist student to becoming a great musician, writing about love and human suffering. The silhouettes of the women that come and go in the film "Trinh Cong Son" were a strong inspiration for Trinh to find in it a great, eternal love for music and beauty.
The production representative, Mr. Luong Cong Hieu, CEO of Galaxy EE, said: "Having two films at the same time about Trinh Cong Son was a surprise to us. Five years ago, when we started producing, we just wanted to make a well-rounded film about the musical legend Trinh Cong Son. But when looking at the results of nearly 1,000 hours of filming, we were amazed to discover that there are two stories, two different perspectives on the artist, each of which is particularly interesting. We are extremely excited and want to share that with the audience.”
The film "Em va Trinh" is 136 minutes long, showing a closer Trinh Cong Son, with the passion and awkwardness of everyday life. In addition to the storyline of his youth, the story "Em va Trinh" also tells the story of Michiko and Trinh Cong Son in middle age. Trinh, at the age of sixty, was afraid that "the music was leaving him" and his love with a large age gap with a young girl from a different culture. The women in "Em va Trinh" seem to be different as well, being the true love story of a multi-talented, sentimental, and confused artist like anyone on the path to happiness.
If "Em va Trinh" depicts a real-life Trinh Cong Son, the film "Trinh Cong Son" is produced in the style of an idol film. The production representative said: “Any legend will cause controversy because greatness is never simple. The release of two different cinematic versions of Trinh Cong Son will show a more complete view of the legendary musician, both great and close to everyday life."
As one of the first viewers of "Em va Trinh", Trinh Vinh Trinh, the late musician's sister shared: “Our family is satisfied when the film could portray Son's spirit, bringing the aesthetic of beautiful love stories, beautiful songs, and re-creating a vibrant, romantic, and passionate youth with beautiful colors and contemplations of my brother. Watching the film, so many memories came flooding back that I couldn’t hold back my tears."
Many surprises awaiting the audience
“Em va Trinh” was shot in November 2020 in Hue, right after the historic flood in October and the middle of the 13th storm. It was extremely challenging to reconstruct the scene of Hue in the 1960s in the severe weather. The film was filmed at Gac Trinh, Nguyen Truong To Street, Phu Cam Bridge, Phu Cam Church, Huong River, Citadel, Truong Tien Bridge... Besides Hue, the film was also filmed in Da Lat, Bao Loc, Blao, and Ho Chi Minh City.
The film has a record budget of nearly 50 billion VND with the enthusiasm of director Phan Gia Nhat Linh and the crew of more than 100 artists in the film crew and thousands of extras. In order to fully and honestly reproduce the image and life of the late musician, the "Em va Trinh" team spent 2 years studying, researching, reading books, and meeting the musician's family and friends to have the material for creating the script.
However, the film is not a documentary, but there will be dramatized and fictional details to attract viewers... Beautiful, vivid, and emotional footage about the life of Trinh Cong Son, spanning 3 decades from 1960 to 1990 will be the surprises awaiting the audience.
In addition to the muses, the film also re-creates the close friends of Trinh Cong Son in Hue in the late 50s and early 60s, inspired by the musician's own group of artists in real life, such as: the poets Ngo Kha, Buu Y... In the dreamy Hue of that day, they had a beautiful time in a place called Tuyet Tinh Coc, living very artistic and multi-talented lives full of ambitions and ideals.
The director Phan Gia Nhat Linh believes that the film about Trinh Cong Son is for everyone, just like how Trinh's music can touch every heart. His vibrant and passionate youth in the film will touch the youthful spirit of today's young people.
Le Hong Hanh, a viewer from Hue City shared: "As a fan of Trinh music, I have been waiting for a film about the musician for nearly 1.5 years. I will watch both films "Em va Trinh" and "Trinh Cong Son" to have the most complete picture and feel of the late talented musician's life on the big screen”.
Story and photo: Minh Hien