Spotlight
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A Vietnamese Romance
ONG LANG MIGHT BE THE RARE SMOLDERING The script, by Le and actress Minh Ngoc Nguyuen, parallels romance that can boast more fight scenes than love scenes. the central pair’s journey as friends with the tragic romance Written and directed by Leon Le, the drama, set in the that Phung plays on the opera stage. Portraying a celebrated underbelly of 1980s Saigon, charts the unlikely friendship of hero lamenting the loss of his great beloved, Phung is urged by ass-kicking debt collector Dung (Lien Binh Phat) and serenely the opera director to infuse his performances with the powerhandsome Phung (Isaac), the reserved young star of a community opera troupe. Theirs is a chance, uplifting meeting of minds and hearts, rather than of the flesh, a story of two men leading humble lives on the margins — Phung as an artist in Communist Saigon, and Dung because he’s a gangster. Le, who immigrated from Vietnam to California as a teenager, fills his feature directing debut with atmospheric details conjuring a quiet, beautifully desolate version of the metropolis now known as Ho Chi Minh City. In transporting shots of old Saigon at night, cinematographer Bob Nguyen captures the city and the artfully weathered locations in warm, vivid hues of greens, golds, and reds, even as the story roams among unsavory locales and characters. Dung, an enforcer for loanshark Auntie Nga (Phuong Minh), is among the most feared debt collectors on the mean streets of Saigon. Known throughout the underworld as Dung ful conviction of lived experience. He needs to bring more of Thunderbolt, he has the lithe, athletic body of Bruce Lee, himself to the role, he’s told. Meanwhile, Dung longs to bring matched with the martial arts legend’s brutal effimore of his artistic soul to life, and maybe put down ciency when dispatching brutes with his fight moves. his fists and pick up the song lang, the principal Click Here In many other films, Dung might be the villain. But musical instrument for the cai luong (and also a for Tickets here, he turns a corner, thanks to his transformative Vietnamese phrase meaning “two men”). Stoic to the — and chaste — friendship with Phung. Living by extremely point of being nearly mute, Dung Thunderbolt doesn’t talk much different codes of conduct, the pair share a love for music, par- throughout this moody pas de deux, but he looks great with his ticularly cai luong, the traditional Vietnamese style of opera that shirt off, and he and Phung ultimately might make passionate Phung’s troupe performs. music together. —André Hereford Song Lang is not rated, and screens online starting Friday, April 24. Virtual tickets are $12, and good for 72 hours. Visit www.reelaffirmationsfilmfestival.vhx.tv.
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APRIL 16, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM
