'Cyclo' causes a stir in Vietnam<\/p>\n
HANOI (AFP): Cyclo, a French-backed film based on the life of
\na pedicab driver in Ho Chi Minh City, won plaudits and the top
\naward at the Venice Film Festival but police in the Vietnamese
\ncity have given it the thumbs down.<\/p>\n
"The movie covertly blackens Vietnamese society and its
\ncontent is very bad ideologically," said an article in the city's
\npolice newspaper, Cong An Thang Pho Ho Chi Minh, a tabloid-style
\npublication that thrives on gruesome crime stories.<\/p>\n
"Some scenes in the film as well as its ideological content
\nmake a cold sweat run down your back," said the author of the
\narticle, who admitted that he had not yet seen the movie.<\/p>\n
The movie was directed by Tran Anh Hung, a Frenchman of
\nVietnamese origin whose previous work The Scent of Green Papaya
\nwon an Oscar nomination for best foreign film.<\/p>\n
Cyclo tells the story of the descent into crime of a driver of
\na pedicab whose vehicle is stolen and portrays the seamy
\nunderside of the former Saigon, a world that would come as no
\nsurprise to readers of the police newspaper.<\/p>\n
Hung was quoted in the Thanh Nien newspaper as saying he had
\nwanted "to make a film that would confuse the audience and make
\nthem feel exhausted watching it, to let them walk out of the
\ncinema as if they have been tortured. "<\/p>\n
The police newspaper compared the movie to novels by
\ncontroversial authors Bao Ninh, Nguyen Huy Thiep and Duong Thu
\nHuong that have come under attack in the current hardline
\npolitical climate in Vietnam.<\/p>\n
"These writers have not been around on the literary stage for
\nlong and their books are not representative of Vietnamese
\nliterature," the newspaper said. "They were published abroad
\nbecause of their political content, not because of their literary
\nmerits."<\/p>\n
"Cyclo" had been made for similar political reasons, the
\nnewspaper said, adding that the film had been criticized even in
\nFrance for its violent content.<\/p>\n
The film is expected to make its debut in Vietnam this month
\nbut several foreign-made films, including the successful
\ndocumentary From Hollywood to Hanoi were well-received at
\nofficial screenings but have never been put on general release.<\/p>\n
Cyclo has generally been praised by the Vietnamese press, who
\ncompared the director to China's celebrated Zhang Yimou and
\nwelcomed the Golden Lion award it won at the Venice festival.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/cyclo-causes-a-stir-in-vietnam-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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