The Vertical Ray of the Sun

Rating:
Summary: hypnotic photography, beautifully crafted film
Review: I begin by admitting I'm a sucker for subtlety. But, there's no denying the artistry in the camera work in this film; and combined with the strength of characterization and gently moving story line of Vertical Ray, the viewer can't help but leave the theater in reverie.

Rating:
Summary: Slow as molasses....
Review: I could only watch this flick in 20 minute intervals, it was so slow. It had the same hue, flavor and nuance as "The Scent of Green Papaya", and lacked the action and stunning photography of "Cyclo". There was "nothing new under the sun" here, lets hope the directors next movie breaks new ground...

Rating:
Summary: Painfully slow and annoyingly corny
Review: I really don't understand why some people think so highly of this movie. The dialogue is very corny. It's written with a Westerner's attitude and perception of Vietnamese life. This shows Tran Anh Hung's lack of understanding and familiarity with Vietnamese language and customs. The movie is so westernized that there's very little Vietnamese left in it.

This movie is painfully slow. I had a real hard time paying attention. It's really, really boring.

If anyone wants to get a glimpse of comtemporary Vietnamese society, this is not the Movie to watch.

Rating:
Summary: Ingmar Bergman Vietnamese-Style?
Review: If Ingmar Bergman were still directing and he moved to Hanoi, "The Vertical Ray of the Sun" is the movie he would make in 2001. The tone of this movie is very much like "Cries and Whispers" or "Portrait of Anna" in particular. There is no plot to speak of but what we have is a trio of sisters, their husbands and brother quietly observed. You also have the requisite very depressed chracter(shades of Erland Josephsen) who asks his friend.."what do u do when you are depressed?" The friend answers ..."I find a woman and snuggle up with her but if I should wake during the night...I never get rid of the blues." The major positive attribute of this film is the remarkably beautiful way in which it is shot. Most of the scenes are shot in middle light so that the colors are as vibrant as possible: aquas, tangerines, banana yellow. Very gorgeous. There is also much made of water images: oceans, coves, drinking water, rain, washing of hands and jiggled water in an iron pot. The problem is that, even though the film is extraordinarily beautiful to behold, where is the director going with it all? In essence then,this is pseudo Bergman with not much intellect or cohesive world view behind it to make it whole.

Rating:
Summary: Ingmar Bergman Vietnamese-Style?
Review: If Ingmar Bergman were still directing and he moved to Hanoi, "The Vertical Ray of the Sun" is the movie he would make in 2001. The tone of this movie is very much like "Cries and Whispers" or "Portrait of Anna" in particular. There is no plot to speak of but what we have is a trio of sisters, their husbands and brother quietly observed. You also have the requisite very depressed chracter(shades of Erland Josephsen) who asks his friend.."what do u do when you are depressed?" The friend answers ..."I find a woman and snuggle up with her but if I should wake during the night...I never get rid of the blues." The major positive attribute of this film is the remarkably beautiful way in which it is shot. Most of the scenes are shot in middle light so that the colors are as vibrant as possible: aquas, tangerines, banana yellow. Very gorgeous. There is also much made of water images: oceans, coves, drinking water, rain, washing of hands and jiggled water in an iron pot. The problem is that, even though the film is extraordinarily beautiful to behold, where is the director going with it all? In essence then,this is pseudo Bergman with not much intellect or cohesive world view behind it to make it whole.

Rating:
Summary: A light in the dark.
Review: Merely another masterpiece from the best director in the world under the age of 40. This time, Tran Anh Hung takes us to Hanoi, where he introduces us to 3 sisters who are having some difficulty with the menfolk. The narrative framework, if you must call it that (if you must have one at all), consists of a loosely-connected series of incidents that take place in the one-month period between the anniversaries of the mother's, then the father's, deaths. A conversation between the 3 sisters at the anniversary party of the mother's passing reveals that the women have put their parents on a worshipful pedestal: an attempt to casually investigate the mother's old boyfriend before she was married is firmly discouraged. (Though not prevented, as we shall see.) It's soon revealed why their parents' conduct is NOW viewed by them as ideal, as perfect: their own conduct, at this time in their lives, is not so ideal, and as imperfect as life itself. The oldest sister is in an unhappy marriage in which both spouses are cheating; the middle sister, pregnant, has a husband who's frightened by impending responsibility and is considering escape; the much-younger sister, played by the luminous Tran Nu Yen-Khe from *The Scent of Green Papaya*, has been so sheltered all her life that she remains unsure of the mechanics of conception, and finds nothing particularly taboo about flirting with her own brother. Speaking of that last, it occurs during the most recurrent scenes in the film: we intrude on the brother and sister during several mornings, watching them wake up, do some excercises, smoke cigarettes, flirt, eat . . . all to the soothing sounds of Lou Reed in his mellow, middle-age period. As the movie progresses, the scenes become laden with as many nuances and as much meaning as any mundane routine from your own life. But if you weren't paying attention, if you weren't focusing, you'll have missed them. Tran Anh Hung's movies, like any works of art, demand a level of involvement from YOU, the viewer, that standard Hollywood productions do not. So, know what you're getting into here. If you're ready for something serious, check out *The Vertical Ray of the Sun*.

Rating:
Summary: the filmmaker of the modern age...
Review: mr. tran seems unable to make a bad film. in fact, his first 3 films are exquisitely made. they hone in on the intimacies of human nature. they capture the harmonies of nature. they magnify and deify our surroundings.

this film is even better than the last two. great music. great pacing. great subtleties brought quietly in front of us. better than a fine feast...

truly, there is no other functioning filmmaker who speaks to me as deeply and affectingly as anh hung tran. and as certainly as i make sure to see every ingmar bergman film i can possibly see, i will make doubly sure to see all of mr. tran's fine features. this is what the art of filmmaking is all about...

Rating:
Summary: "More than meets the eye"
Review: Of course this film is beautiful--and its almost worth buying for just the cinematography--but there are levels of subtlety to this movie. The beautiful camera work compliments these levels of complexity to really make it one of those films that you couldn't understand with the screenplay alone.
The film begins on the Mother's death day and ends on the Father's, who is barely acknoledged like the Mother. This is a reflection, even though Vietnamese, of the Chinese ideas that the Female is supreme to the Male, especially in the family.

Rating:
Summary: Light, natural and seductive
Review: One of the best movies I have seen in along time. The movie is a virtual collection of images of simple beauty. There is one failing though - despite trying to depict the "ordinary" the movie is far removed from the everyday. The movie is about three sisters and their brother, pressed by the anniversary of their mom's death to congregate at the eldest sister's cafe. They are a tightly knit family, who shares their innermost secrets in a safe and reassuring environment - at least that is what it looks like on the surface. The movie explores "relationships" at different stages of development - which is why it is difficult to really "remember" any one part. At times, they all keep secrets of sexual nature, most significantly - the baby of the siblings - Lien. Lien is seeking a husband not unlike her brother Hai. The movie explores - with a very real sense of beauty the complex and ambiguous relationship of Lien and Hai. When Lien discovers an aspect of their mother's past it seems like the whole clan is thrown into chaos. What she uncovers seems to threaten the romaniticized vision of their parents - something I am certain we all share. Light and lightness pervade this movie and the action is natural and not stilted. I recommend it to one and all who could use a light moment.

Miguel Llora

Rating:
Summary: Never has trauma seemed so exquisite.
Review: The plot of 'The Vertical Ray of the Sun' is similar to Edward Yang's last masterpiece 'Yi-Yi (A one and a two)' - the set-piece of a family reunion, with all its connotations of union, connection and continuity, followed by an inexorable unravelling, as marriages are shown to be fragile, women sexually unsatisfied, men spiritually empty, roads not taken rearing into view, self-identity shattered.

The treatment, however, couldn't be more different. Yang's austere long-shot long-takes are replaced by a meticulous sensuality - you can feel the summer, the langorous sun, the heavy rains; the ritualistic preparation of, to this viewer, exotic food, of dressing up, or simply washing; the lush vegetation and muddy Vietnamese streets; the play of light, especially reflecting water on solid surfaces, suggesting their instability, the fluidity of certainties; but also the spiritual hidden in the everyday.

The emphasis on see-through materials, like raincoats or mosquito nets, give a foetal resonance to a family drama encompassing death and birth, adultery and virginity, the secrets of the past and the uncertainties of the future, all the time celebrating a transcendent present tense.

Although a brilliantly acted, humanistic drama, concerned with real people, and genuine joys, comforts and crises, the film's mise-en-scene is so formally exquisite, the actors often seem to be simply a beautiful part of the decor (especially Tran Nu Yen Khe as Lien and Chu Hung as Quoc), evocative shapes and movements made abstract by the dreamy rhythms of the camera.