• Latest
  • Trending
Viet and Nam Review

Viet and Nam Review: A Masterful Debut from an Exciting New Director

RoboCop Rogue City - Unfinished Business Review

RoboCop: Rogue City – Unfinished Business Review: High-Rise, High Caliber, High Jank

Billy Joel And So It Goes Review

Billy Joel: And So It Goes Review: The Definitive, If Not Complete, Story

Suspicious Minds Review

Suspicious Minds Review: A Heist Built for Two

JUJUTSU KAISEN Hidden InventoryPremature Death - The Movie Review

JUJUTSU KAISEN: Hidden Inventory/Premature Death – The Movie Review: A Beautiful, Unavoidable Tragedy

Untamed Review

Untamed Review: A Man, a Mountain, and a Murder

Invincible Season 5

Prime Video Gives Invincible Season 5 Go‑Ahead Before Cameras Roll on Season 4

16 hours ago
Fixed

Netflix Unleashes Red‑Band Trailer for Genndy Tartakovsky’s Fixed

16 hours ago
Ballad of a Small Player

Netflix Stakes October Release on Colin Farrell’s Ballad of a Small Player

16 hours ago
Assassin’s Creed

Netflix Locks New Showrunners for Assassin’s Creed Series

16 hours ago
Madly Review

Madly Review: Too Much Concept, Not Enough Connection

Life After Review

Life After Review: A Noir Documentary with No Easy Answers

ISLANDERS: New Shores Review

ISLANDERS: New Shores Review: Building Paradise, One Point at a Time

  • Home
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Gazettely Review Guidelines
Friday, July 18, 2025
GAZETTELY
  • Home
  • Movie and TV News
    Invincible Season 5

    Prime Video Gives Invincible Season 5 Go‑Ahead Before Cameras Roll on Season 4

    Fixed

    Netflix Unleashes Red‑Band Trailer for Genndy Tartakovsky’s Fixed

    Ballad of a Small Player

    Netflix Stakes October Release on Colin Farrell’s Ballad of a Small Player

    Assassin’s Creed

    Netflix Locks New Showrunners for Assassin’s Creed Series

    Colin Farrell

    Colin Farrell Douses Penguin Season‑2 Hopes, Teases Third Batman Film

    Benjamin Evan Ainsworth and Bo Bragason

    Nintendo Casts Rising Stars as Link and Zelda in 2027 Live‑Action Film

    James Gunn

    After Superman Surge, DC Chief Teases “Unexpected” Saga Lead

    After The Hunt

    Julia Roberts Faces Campus Reckoning in Guadagnino’s “After the Hunt” Trailer

    Harrison Ford

    Harrison Ford’s First‑Ever Emmy Bid Lands at 83

  • Movie and TV Reviews
    Billy Joel And So It Goes Review

    Billy Joel: And So It Goes Review: The Definitive, If Not Complete, Story

    Suspicious Minds Review

    Suspicious Minds Review: A Heist Built for Two

    JUJUTSU KAISEN Hidden InventoryPremature Death - The Movie Review

    JUJUTSU KAISEN: Hidden Inventory/Premature Death – The Movie Review: A Beautiful, Unavoidable Tragedy

    Untamed Review

    Untamed Review: A Man, a Mountain, and a Murder

    Madly Review

    Madly Review: Too Much Concept, Not Enough Connection

    Life After Review

    Life After Review: A Noir Documentary with No Easy Answers

    Bookish Review

    Bookish Review: Secrets, Spies, and Split Infinitives

    Amy Bradley Is Missing Review

    Amy Bradley Is Missing Review: A Tragedy Turned Into Streaming Content

    I Know What You Did Last Summer Review

    I Know What You Did Last Summer Review: This Secret Should Have Stayed Buried

  • Game Reviews
    RoboCop Rogue City - Unfinished Business Review

    RoboCop: Rogue City – Unfinished Business Review: High-Rise, High Caliber, High Jank

    ISLANDERS: New Shores Review

    ISLANDERS: New Shores Review: Building Paradise, One Point at a Time

    Donkey Kong Bananza Review

    Donkey Kong Bananza Review: Groundbreaking Fun

    Missile Command Delta Review

    Missile Command Delta Review: Two Games at War

    Crown Gambit Review

    Crown Gambit Review: Forging a Kingdom, One Card at a Time

    Music Drive: Chase the Beat Review

    Music Drive: Chase the Beat Review: All Vibe, No Substance

    Persona 5: The Phantom X Review

    Persona 5: The Phantom X Review: Stealing Hearts and Your Stamina

    Mecha BREAK Review

    Mecha BREAK Review: Giant Robot Combat Done Right

    Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream Review

    Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream Review: Polished Puzzles in a Flawed World

  • The Bests
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Movie and TV News
    Invincible Season 5

    Prime Video Gives Invincible Season 5 Go‑Ahead Before Cameras Roll on Season 4

    Fixed

    Netflix Unleashes Red‑Band Trailer for Genndy Tartakovsky’s Fixed

    Ballad of a Small Player

    Netflix Stakes October Release on Colin Farrell’s Ballad of a Small Player

    Assassin’s Creed

    Netflix Locks New Showrunners for Assassin’s Creed Series

    Colin Farrell

    Colin Farrell Douses Penguin Season‑2 Hopes, Teases Third Batman Film

    Benjamin Evan Ainsworth and Bo Bragason

    Nintendo Casts Rising Stars as Link and Zelda in 2027 Live‑Action Film

    James Gunn

    After Superman Surge, DC Chief Teases “Unexpected” Saga Lead

    After The Hunt

    Julia Roberts Faces Campus Reckoning in Guadagnino’s “After the Hunt” Trailer

    Harrison Ford

    Harrison Ford’s First‑Ever Emmy Bid Lands at 83

  • Movie and TV Reviews
    Billy Joel And So It Goes Review

    Billy Joel: And So It Goes Review: The Definitive, If Not Complete, Story

    Suspicious Minds Review

    Suspicious Minds Review: A Heist Built for Two

    JUJUTSU KAISEN Hidden InventoryPremature Death - The Movie Review

    JUJUTSU KAISEN: Hidden Inventory/Premature Death – The Movie Review: A Beautiful, Unavoidable Tragedy

    Untamed Review

    Untamed Review: A Man, a Mountain, and a Murder

    Madly Review

    Madly Review: Too Much Concept, Not Enough Connection

    Life After Review

    Life After Review: A Noir Documentary with No Easy Answers

    Bookish Review

    Bookish Review: Secrets, Spies, and Split Infinitives

    Amy Bradley Is Missing Review

    Amy Bradley Is Missing Review: A Tragedy Turned Into Streaming Content

    I Know What You Did Last Summer Review

    I Know What You Did Last Summer Review: This Secret Should Have Stayed Buried

  • Game Reviews
    RoboCop Rogue City - Unfinished Business Review

    RoboCop: Rogue City – Unfinished Business Review: High-Rise, High Caliber, High Jank

    ISLANDERS: New Shores Review

    ISLANDERS: New Shores Review: Building Paradise, One Point at a Time

    Donkey Kong Bananza Review

    Donkey Kong Bananza Review: Groundbreaking Fun

    Missile Command Delta Review

    Missile Command Delta Review: Two Games at War

    Crown Gambit Review

    Crown Gambit Review: Forging a Kingdom, One Card at a Time

    Music Drive: Chase the Beat Review

    Music Drive: Chase the Beat Review: All Vibe, No Substance

    Persona 5: The Phantom X Review

    Persona 5: The Phantom X Review: Stealing Hearts and Your Stamina

    Mecha BREAK Review

    Mecha BREAK Review: Giant Robot Combat Done Right

    Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream Review

    Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream Review: Polished Puzzles in a Flawed World

  • The Bests
No Result
View All Result
GAZETTELY
No Result
View All Result
Viet and Nam Review

An Ordinary Case Review: A Competent Courtroom Drama That Plays It Too Safe

The Brink of Dreams Review: A Stirring Exploration of Lives in Transition

Home Entertainment Movies

Viet and Nam Review: A Masterful Debut from an Exciting New Director

A Poetic Exploration of Post-War Grief and Longing

Arash Nahandian by Arash Nahandian
1 year ago
in Entertainment, Movies, Reviews
Reading Time: 7 mins read
A A
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on PinterestShare on WhatsAppShare on Telegram

Set in rural Vietnam in 2001, Viet and Nam tells the poignant story of two coal miners—Viet and Nam—who discover love in their sooty underground workplace. Though same-sex relationships remain taboo, a tender bond blossoms between the men amid their hazardous labor.

Yet Nam dreams of escaping his bleak existence, planning to migrate illegally. Before leaving, he joins his mother Hoa on a heartfelt journey, seeking closure around his father’s death in the Vietnam War.

Directed by Truong Minh Quy, the film debuted at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. However, Vietnam banned it from screening at home, citing its supposedly “negative” depiction of the nation. In truth, the movie offers a sensitive portrayal of a country still healing deep wounds.

Through haunting landscapes and the intertwining of past and present, it meditates on how war’s tragedy continues to shape lives and the land itself. Above all, it’s a transcendent tribute to the power of love against immense adversity.

Dream-like Journey Through Vietnam’s Past

We’re introduced to Viet and Nam, two young coal miners in rural Vietnam who find refuge in their underground work. There, amid the darkness and dust, the men discover a tender love forbidden by society.

Nam yearns for change, planning to migrate illegally in search of new opportunities. He’s begun risky training for the harrowing journey ahead. His lover, Viet, begs him to stay but understands his desire for freedom.

You might also like

Creature Commandos Review

Creature Commandos Review: A Bold Beginning for the New DCU

Mad Unicorn Review

Mad Unicorn Review: Ambition and Its Echoes in the Global Stream

You Burn Me Review

You Burn Me Review: Piñeiro’s Poetic Cinematic Odyssey

Sons of Ecstasy Review

Sons of Ecstasy Review: Unpacking a Complex Criminal Saga

Before leaving, Nam wants to help his mother, Hoa, find closure after years of loss. During the war, Hoa’s husband perished on the battlefield, but his remains were never recovered. Driven by prophetic dreams of her love buried near a vast tree, Hoa is determined to lay him to rest.

Nam and Viet accompany Hoa and her husband’s old comrade Ba into the surrounding highlands, once a scene of fierce conflict. Following mystical signs from a gifted local psychic, they embark on a poignant trek across the lush land still touched by past tragedies. As secrets emerge about Hoa’s husband’s fate, long-buried emotions surface in their intimate glimpses of a nation healing from division.

The quest takes on dreamlike undertones as wartime trauma mixes with present hopes and fears. Nam wrestles with leaving the only home he’s known, while Viet dreads their inevitable separation. As the journey brings them ever closer to the roots of Vietnam’s sorrows, the men find their bond undergoing its own profound changes.

Their intertwining stories offer a thoughtful look at those whose lives were forever marked by the turmoil of the last century. With tenderness and haunting imagery, the film explores how new growth can emerge from even the deepest of scars.

Elevated Imagery in a Slow-Burn World

Truong Minh Quy crafts his tale of forbidden love in rural Vietnam with a finely tuned sense of imagery. Taking clear inspiration from masters like Apichatpong Weerasethakul, the film floats by with hypnotic language. Scenes linger to soak in sensory details and meditate on shifting emotions.

Viet and Nam Review

This relaxed pace allows singular moments to resonate all the more. One that lingers long after is the lovers embracing intimately upon a gleaming black mountain of coal. As their naked forms curl together in the murky depths, specks of dust glitter mysteriously like stars. It’s surreal yet sublime; their passion lifted from the grimy mine to an inky sky.

We see in vivid yet abstract strokes how the men find escape and connection where they can. Their underground workplace proves a hard-scrabble way of life, yet through Quy’s lens, it becomes strange and poetic. When hazards intrude from the rockface cracks, they stay with us as part of this dreamlike world.

Speech plays second fiddle to expression through pictures. In one, a purported psychic woman guides families seeking fallen soldiers. Her flamboyant costume and theatrical anguish leave the truth unclear. But as a reflection on Vietnamese struggles to absolve past scars, it resonates profoundly.

The 16mm film lends the whole feature a lush, tactile quality. Moments develop at their own organic pace, like old memories. Textures feel lived-in rather than overly polished. It immerses us in lives worn smooth by adversity yet sustaining persevering humanity.

Under Quy’s guidance, simple acts glow with layers of meaning. His elevated yet heartfelt imagery stays with us long after, much like the characters’ journey through sorrow into hard-won solace.

Memories and Desires Intertwine

Truong Minh Quy weaves together threads of intimacy and history in Viet and Nam. At its core lies the tender bond between the titular miners facing oppression in their work and society.

Viet and Nam Review

Yet this is no simple tale of star-crossed love. Quy deftly links Viet and Nam’s romance to Vietnam’s own troubled past. Both men shoulder scars from the war: Nam never knew his fallen father, while Viet fled hardship years ago.

Their partnership blossoms in the darkness of the coalmine, finding solace where few dare tread. But political forces also shadow this refuge, just as the conflict’s trauma still lingers. Nam pines to migrate for freedom, like Viet once did, while obligations to departed loved ones persist.

Nam’s quest to locate his father’s remains sees him reconnect to roots in his homeland. Yet, like many postwar generations, he struggles with lingering piles of the past. Memories and modern desires threaten to pull him apart, reflecting Vietnam’s own grappling with change.

Even the most intimate moments between the lovers are tinged by absence. Nam envisions his long-lost father during passion, unable to fully detach from loss. Quy subtly suggests how grief and displacement still permeate private lives as the nation rebuilds.

Through these interwoven threads, the film breathes life into Vietnam’s complex journey since division and war. Just as the characters seek escape or closure, the country perseveres in finding its place beyond bloodshed. With care and understanding, Quy honors hardship and hope as inextricably tied to this land and its people.

His film reflects the intricate ties between identity and history, love and trauma—connections as buried and embedded as the remnants of the characters’ quest. In weaving such layers together, Quy constructs an empathetic portrait of a nation still unearthing meaning from the past.

Dark Depths, Luminous Moments

Viet Nam unveils its mysteries through an intriguing blend of naturalism and mystical imagery. Director Truong Minh Quy imbues his tale with magical realism that enhances its emotional power.

Viet and Nam Review

From the foggy prologue of a man carrying another through flooding waters, Quy suggests this will be no ordinary journey. Reality mingles with the surreal as the film descends into the coalmine. There, Nam and Viet find fleeting moments of passion that glow amid the soot like stars in the sky.

Their underground workplace faces daily dangers, yet Quy’s eye transforms its gloom. He frames the lovers drifting among sparkling rock formations, their naked forms breaking from the darkness, in transcendent scenes. Even lighting an impromptu bong takes on vivid beauty and unity among hardship.

Quy similarly blurs reality, seeking closure from the past. Accompanying Nam’s mother as she searches for solace, the group encounters a psychic seemingly possessed by lost souls. She collapses, sobbing over long-buried remains—is this charade or communion with the enduring dead?

As the borders between present and past blur, Quy finds metaphor in metaphor. The joint expedition echoes Vietnam’s ongoing need to reckon with wartime scars. Destructive ordnance remains embedded like lingering trauma, unveiled by those digging for peace.

Through such magical moments, Quy taps into potent undercurrents. He honors loss and longing on visceral and symbolic levels. Even as the narrative flows elusively as a dream, Viet and Nam burrow deeply into the complexity of a nation and individuals forever shaped by the past they strive to understand. Quy’s expressive style brings their journey to a luminously emotional life.

Exploring a Nation’s Soul

Viet and Nam offers insights into Vietnam in the not-so-distant past. The film is set in 2001, but it hints that culturally, the country has not yet moved far beyond the postwar period.

Viet and Nam Review

Homosexuality remained unacceptable due to conservative social norms. Viet and Nam work as underground lovers, finding fleeting intimacy where they can. Though their relationship faces no overt hostility, secrecy remains the only option.

This reflects challenges lingering from harsher times. The war had only ended in 1975 under Communist control. Over subsequent decades, the remaining Western influence gradually loosened its grip. But older divisions and losses left scars that took a while to heal.

The film poignantly shows one way the past still held the nation: through continuing searches for soldiers listed as missing. Hoa dreams of closure for her long-lost love. She joins rituals, keeping her hopeful memory alive. Even Nam feels a fatherly presence he never knew.

Their journey into remote lands connects with broader collective trauma too. The war had wrought environmental damage, with unexploded mines a threat. The psychic’s outburst unearths a soldier now “decayed to”dirt”—nature reclaiming its own.

Throughout, Truong hints at a society transitioning yet tied to its history. Even the coal miners’ lives echo the national experience: struggling in subterranean shadows yet finding moments of connection.

With compassion, Viet and Nam illuminate a people in transition. It portrays individual longing against Vietnam’s larger journey: emerging from a violent past towards an unforeseen future, seeking new light while honoring memories that shaped their national soul.

Leaving a Lasting Impression

Truong Minh Quy’s Viet and Nam has undoubtedly impressed critics with its deeply moving portrayal of loss, hope, and gay love in post-war Vietnam. Working in a style that is both poetic and penetratingly human, Quy crafts a film that is both timely and timeless.

Through Nam and Viet’s affection emerging in the mines’ sooty depths, we glimpse forbidden connections that echo wider national experiences. Their tentative plans to flee also ring tragically familiar, reminding us how migration’s promises mix with very real perils.

Quy brings us closer to these characters’ tender bond than many explicitly “gay films” dare. Yet he locates their romance within a specific setting—a Vietnam still emerging from conflict, collective wounds unhealed. Nam’s journey to bury his father poignantly represents bonds to both family and fatherland that cannot fade.

Shooting on grainy film stock, Quy draws us into haunting dreamscapes where Vietnam’s past becomes present. Though he banned the film, even his own country cannot deny this artist’s ability to probe the national soul.

With seemingly effortless compassion, Viet and Nam let politicized banners fall away, revealing shared hopes underneath. It asks what responsibilities we carry towards those who came before and those brave enough to forge new futures.

Through such multilayered insights, Quy establishes himself as an important voice—one whose arresting visions of love, loss, and legacy surely deserve a wider embrace. Viet and Nam leaves memories that, like its characters’ bittersweet romance, do not fade in darkness. Its artistic triumph ensures this film will long hold its audience in its delicate grasp.

The Review

Viet and Nam

9 Score

Truong Minh Quy's Viet and Nam is a lyrical, emotionally resonating work of art. It portrays its characters' deep longing and human connections with exquisite care, set against the backdrop of a nation transitioning yet attached to its past. Though slow-paced, the film draws us helplessly into its dreamlike unfolding of hidden romantic love, family bonds stretching beyond death, and collective national grief. Quy establishes himself as an auteur, crafting cinematic poetry that nurtures empathy and perception. Viet and Nam left me deeply moved and looking forward to where this director's vision takes us next.

PROS

  • Evocative and poetic storytelling style that feels both dreamlike and powerfully human
  • Sensitive and compelling portrayal of the characters and their personal struggles
  • A thought-provoking exploration of intersecting personal and national themes of loss, longing, and transition
  • Beautiful cinematography that enhances the film's atmospheric and reflective mood
  • Strong directorial vision from Truong Minh Quy establishes him as an exciting new auteur.

CONS

  • Very slow pace that won't appeal to all audiences looking for a more conventionally dramatic story.
  • Some viewers may find the nonlinear narrative structure ambiguous or frustrating at times.
  • The depth of cultural and historical context could be somewhat lost on audiences without knowledge of Vietnam's history.

Review Breakdown

  • Overall 0

Also Read

  • Shin chan: Shiro and the Coal Town Review
    Shin chan: Shiro and the Coal Town Review - A Summer…
  • What’s New on Netflix in December 2024
    What’s New on Netflix in December 2024: Your…
  • Strike: An Uncivil War Review
    Strike: An Uncivil War Review - Excavating Hidden Pasts
  • Turning Point: The Vietnam War Review
    Turning Point: The Vietnam War Review – What Gets…
  • 20 Best Movies of 2024
    Gazettely’s 20 Best Movies of 2024
  • Sabar Bonda Review
    Sabar Bonda Review: Challenging Traditions with…
Tags: 2024 Cannes Film FestivalBianca BalbuenaBradley LiewDaniel Le Viet TungDao Duy Bao DinhDeuxieme Ligne FilmsDramaE&W FilmsFeaturedMinh Quy TruongNguyen Thi NgaPham Thanh HaiSon DoanTruong Minh QuyViet and Nam
Previous Post

An Ordinary Case Review: A Competent Courtroom Drama That Plays It Too Safe

Next Post

The Brink of Dreams Review: A Stirring Exploration of Lives in Transition

Try AI Movie Recommender

Gazettely AI Movie Recommender

This Week's Top Reads

  • Under a Dark Sun Review

    Under a Dark Sun Review: Come for the Mystery, Stay for Isabelle Adjani

    3 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • We’re All Gonna Die Review: Promising Sci-Fi Premise Only Partially Fulfilled

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Mix Tape Review: A Story Told on Two Sides of a Cassette

    1 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • The Institute Review: Young Talent Can’t Save a Fractured Narrative

    1 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Dexter: Resurrection Review: The Devil Takes Manhattan

    1 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Rage Review: HBO’s Stylish Masterclass in Anger

    1 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Villa Amore Review: Hallmark’s Italian Romance Renovates the Genre

    1 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Must Read Articles

RoboCop Rogue City - Unfinished Business Review
Games

RoboCop: Rogue City – Unfinished Business Review: High-Rise, High Caliber, High Jank

4 hours ago
Untamed Review
Entertainment

Untamed Review: A Man, a Mountain, and a Murder

16 hours ago
Bookish Review
TV Shows

Bookish Review: Secrets, Spies, and Split Infinitives

18 hours ago
I Know What You Did Last Summer Review
Entertainment

I Know What You Did Last Summer Review: This Secret Should Have Stayed Buried

1 day ago
Smurfs Review
Entertainment

Smurfs Review: A Monument to Wasted Potential

1 day ago
Loading poll ...
Coming Soon
Who is the best director in the horror thriller genre?

Gazettely is your go-to destination for all things gaming, movies, and TV. With fresh reviews, trending articles, and editor picks, we help you stay informed and entertained.

© 2021-2024 All Rights Reserved for Gazettely

What’s Inside

  • Movie & TV Reviews
  • Game Reviews
  • Featured Articles
  • Latest News
  • Editorial Picks

Quick Links

  • Home
  • About US
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise with Us
  • Review Guidelines

Follow Us

Facebook X-twitter Youtube Instagram
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Movies
  • Entertainment News
  • Movie and TV Reviews
  • TV Shows
  • Game News
  • Game Reviews
  • Contact Us

© 2024 All Rights Reserved for Gazettely