Viet Nam News
HCM CITY — Film director Huynh Tuan Anh of HCM City is working on his latest production about cai luong (reformed opera), a traditional theatre of the South.
The film, Gao Cho Nuoc Song (Rice Market and River), features travelling cai luong troupes in the Cuu Long (Mekong) River Delta region in the 1970s.
It portrays cai luong performers living in Bac Lieu and Ca Mau provinces, home of the art, who were once farmers.
Their love and devotion for cai luong is depicted in the film.
“My film also tells the beginning of cai luong in Sai Gon (now HCM City) in the 1920s. It highlights cai luong stars of different generations who developed and preserved the traditional art,“ said Anh, a graduate of HCM City University of Theatre & Cinematography.
Anh and his staff are working on the first scenes in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province.
They worked hard to rebuild Tay Sai Gon Theatre (now HCM City Opera House), which offered the first show of cai luong on November, 16, 1918.
The show, titled Gia Long Tau Quoc (King Gia Long Travels to the West), features events before the reign of Nguyen Dynasty in the 1780s.
The play was written by Ho Bieu Chanh and Truong Duy Toan, who are recognised as the south’s first contemporary writers.
Director Anh asked his artists, including young actors Phi Ngoc Anh and Lanh Thanh, to learn how to sing cai luong.
“My producers spent VND14 billion (US$615,000) on the production, so I don’t want any mistake during filming,” said Anh.
Anh’s film is based on Cuoi Mua Nhan Sac (The End of Beauty), a short story by female writer Nguyen Ngoc Tu, winner of the ASEAN Literature Awards presented by the Thai Royal Family in 2008.
It features the culture and lifestyle of southern people, particularly women.
The work comes from Tu’s short story collection, Canh Dong Bat Tan (Endless Field), the year’s Best Book by Viet Nam Writers’ Association Award in 2006.
"After watching, I hope audiences will be entertained and gain knowledge about southern culture and cai luong in particular,” said Anh.
Gao Cho Nuoc Song is expected to be in cinemas during the Christmas season to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of cai luong. —VNS