Bên trong vỏ kén vàng

Around 60 shots, some fixed, some moving, always revealing something new, at once kaleidoscopic and precise. Showing Ho Chi Minh City in the first act followed by the towns and mountainous areas of western Vietnam, a gentle opposition is formed between the urban and the rural, with these shots constituting a cinematographic grammar that narrates the process of mourning and spiritual restitution protagonist Thien must go through. The story begins on June 16, 2018 during the World Cup. An ofscreen accident involving Thien’s sister-in-law, who dies, and his little nephew, who survives, sends Thien on a sensorial journey in search of his brother, a figure neither he nor his nephew have seen in years. The connection between Thien’s consciousness and the mise-en-scène is not only evident in the contemplative and unpredictable nature of the story, whereby difuse flashbacks or dreams wander into the narrative without warning, but as Thien’s own experience of time is brought into sync with the film’s temporality. The forcefulness and the beauty of Pham’s debut film is undeniable: everything looks distinct, whether a sparrow, a face, or the rain. (Roger Koza)

Pham Thien An: THE MUTE (2018, K), STAY AWAKE; BE READY (2019, K)