Well, I must say, this is my first Vietnamese film viewing that has nothing to do with the action there during the 1960s and early ‘70s. This is more the sweeping epic kind of period story one would expect from either Japan, or especially China; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) comes to mind.
Asia has a history of taking Western stories and Easternizing them, such as Macbeth (Throne of Blood, 1957) and King Lear (Ran, 1985). Then again, the West has taken the Eastern stories as well, and either transplanted them (The Magnificent Seven, 1960; A Fistful of Dollars, 1964;, more recently The Ring, 2002), or merely placed themselves in the story in Asia (Shogun, 1980 and The Great Wall, 2016, for example).
For this release, it is in part a reimagining of the Cinderella story, set in the magical past of Mainland Southeast Asia. We see sweeping vistas and mountain castles as the camera swoops and flies in both the real and digital realm, and it’s all beautiful and lush (and easy to distinguish between the two, but that’s alright).
Even before the credits, the handsome prince with Spock-like eyebrows, Thái Tử (translated as “Prince”; Isaac), is all bedecked in gold armor while racing to see his dying father. He and his posse almost runs over Tâm (“Center”; Ha Vi), and it is love at first sight. But, as the story goes, he takes off without finding out who she is, which he will later regret.
While pretty accurate to the Grimm’s Fairy Tale, there is also a lot of minor tweaking along the way. For example, along with the evil step-mother Dì ghẻ (“Step Mother”; director Veronica Ngo), there is only one nasty step-sibling, Cảm (“Cold”; Ninh Duong Lan Ngoc), who is a horribly spoiled brat. Also, rather than a fairy godmother, there is a fairy godfather, But (“Shoes”; scene stealer Loc Thanh), who is obviously based on the Robin Williams’ Genie character from the animated Aladdin (1992). He has a nasty sense of humor and also mentions things that have no place in the story or time, such as the Energizer Bunny. Dressed like the White Wizard phase of Gandalf (sans hoodie), with eyebrows that go down to his chin, he is quite hysterical.
The Cinderella part is actually quite abbreviated, even if it gets the most credit, with the entire story taking only the first 30 minutes. For example, the whole “fit the foot to the shoe” bit takes place at the initial ball when Tâm first walks in dressed in her fine outfit.
People may not remember this, but fairy tales were often quite dark, such as in the original Cinderella story, one of the step-sisters cuts off part of her foot to try and make the shoe fit. Here, while nothing this gruesome visually occurs, there ae some sad and surprising moments with death, the threat of murder, and war never far away. You may certainly begin to wonder about the “Happily Ever After” part.
There are many layers of fantasy here, including ghost stories, reincarnation, and a bit of another Fairy Tale, “Beauty and the Beast.” I’m not necessarily up on my Tales since I haven’t read them (or had them read to me) since I was a small kinder, but there is much in the way of intrigue, betrayal and resurrection. And like many Tales, this is a bit over the top; honestly, though, this is the kind of production that is built for it. When I was in Xi’an, China, a few years ago, I saw an opera/ballet called A Song of Everlasting Sorrow, about the first Emperor of China and his Concubine; there are some similarities here, as well. This also is a story of love that goes beyond death, treachery and friendship.
As for the betrayals, some come as a surprise (as they should be in the true definition of the word), but the obvious one is the main villain, a Fu Manchu-ish, Saruman-like Magistrate, Thừa Tướng (“Prime Minister”; Huu Chau). He is more cartoonish in a Ming the Merciless way, though the main difference is that he is actually is played by an Asian actor (unlike anyone in the West who has played Mr. Merciless).
Along with the character But, my favorite is Nguyên Lực (“Resources”; Ngoc Trai): who is a friend to the prince, and also an outstanding comic relief. Trai is never ridiculous to the point of losing credibility, sort of in the way that Donald O’Connor would play to the likes of Gene Kelly.
Of course, there must be sweeping battle scenes, and there are a few, which are very well composed and shot. Yeah, they fly through the air with the greatest of ease, though not always getting the outcome you might expect. Once again, there is a strong mix between real, harnesses, and digital. The end and inevitable battle between good and evil is nearly all Digi, and it looks a bit silly and great at the same time.
The only extras on this disk are the trailer and the chapters.
The lovely director Ngo, who can also be seen in the new Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017), does a splendid job with her second directed film in bringing this all together, and I’m looking forward to seeing more of her output.
Tấm Cám: Chuyện chưa kể được quay ở đâu?
Đa số những cảnh quay của Tấm Cám: Chuyện chưa kể đều được quay chủ yếu ở Ninh Bình tại các điểm tham quan nổi tiếng như Di tích cố đô Hoa Lư, chùa Bái Đính, hang Múa hay Quần thể Di sản thế giới Tràng An.
Tấm Cám được đánh giá như thế nào?
Tấm Cám là truyện thuộc thể loại cổ tích thần kỳ với những đặc trưng là chứa đựng các yếu tố hoang đường, kì ảo giúp cho nhân vật chính, phản ánh sự mâu thuẫn giữa thiện và ác. Diễn biến truyện được xây dựng phát triển dần, dẫn đến hậu quả tất yếu, phù hợp với diễn biến tâm lý của nhân vật.
Tấm Cám lá truyền như thế nào?
Tấm Cám là câu chuyện dân gian kể về hai chị em Tấm Cám. Tấm mồ côi mẹ từ nhỏ sống với mẹ con dì ghẻ và Cám. Mẹ con Cám thường xuyên hành hạ đối xử bất công với Tấm. Khi thì cướp hết cá mà Tấm bắt được, khi thì lại giết hại cả bống bạn của Tấm, lúc lại không cho Tấm đi trẩy hội, bắt Tấm ở nhà nhặt thóc và gạo.
Ai đóng vai Tâm trong Tấm Cám: Chuyện chưa kể?
Hạ Vi - vai Tấm Tuy nhiên, khi chuyện tình cảm của cô cùng Cường Đô La được công khai, Hạ Vi trở thành từ khóa được dư luận vô cùng chú ý. Ngay khi tin tức Hạ Vi đảm nhận vai Tấm trong "Tấm Cám: Chuyện chưa kể" của Ngô Thanh Vân nhiều người khá bất ngờ.