Vietnamese TV dramas in 2019: more relatable, straightforward

Characters in TV drama “Ve nha di con” (Come home, my dear) pose for a family photo. (Photo courtesy of the filmmakers)

Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnamese television dramas have gone through significant changes to step out of the comfort zone and become more relatable to young audiences.  

Straightforward topics and favour for family drama are the most outstanding characters of the Vietnamese TV in the year. 

TV dramas have experienced significant changes to step out of the comfort zone and touch upon current debatable social issues such as corruption and workplace bribery.

The “fever” has yet to subside

2018 saw many high-rated shows on the small screen namely “Gao nep, gao te” and “Quynh bup be” (Quynh the Doll). Following last year’s success, TV drama producers launched a number of series that drew huge attention from audiences this year, notably “Ve nha di con”, “Tieng set trong mua” (Thunder in the Rain), “Hoa hong tren nguc trai” (Rose on Left Side of Chest) and “Sinh tu” (Death or Life).

After a dominance of TV series focusing on criminal organisations and anti-criminal police, family-themed dramas have gained huge popularity. Some of them became a popular topic in fervent discussions and attracted interest from audiences, including “Ve nha di con” and “Hoa hong tren nguc trai”.

“Hoa hong tren nguc trai” nears its completion. (Photo: VFC)

 
Recent family dramas showed multiple approaches, stories and situations. For example, to create a difference from those of the same theme, in “Ve nha di con”, directors Danh Dung and Duc Hieu told a story of a father of few words who raises his three daughters single-handedly.

Playwright Hoang Anh believed the characters with distinctive traits, along with alternate points of view and relatable and realistic stories and dialogues, will help the film catch fancy from viewers, especially the youths.

Accordingly, characters in popular series over the time were built-up in a realistic manner with both bright and dark sides. 

Khue in “Hoa hong tren nguc trai” is a hard-working, capable woman. However, she is too reserved to be easily looked down on. Meanwhile, Son, the father in “Ve nha di con” harbours strong paternal love for his daughters but still makes mistakes.

In addition to depicting relationships which attract viewers’ interests like those between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law and husband and wife, filmmakers introduced “modern” situations such as marriage contract and games. 

Dialogue is also a highlight of “Ve nha di con” which helps viewers experience many emotions, ranging from satisfaction, delight to being moved.

Those TV series not only met audiences’ demand for entertainment but also delivered meaningful messages in a gentle and effective way.

“National father” and his three daughters in “Ve nha di con” (Photo: VFC)

 
A “strange” wind

Besides, some series are set in the old periods, or depict arduous themes such as corruption and bribery. Together they breathe a sense uniqueness into Vietnamese TV dramas in 2019.

“Sinh tu” depicts an arduous theme. (Photo courtesy of the filmmakers)

“Sinh tu” tells story about an “evil alliance” of people in power, law enforcers and entrepreneurs in a locality.

The film’s charms come from its content, with conspiracy and confrontation between interest groups, as well as spectacular acting of the cast, notably People’s Artist Hoang Dung in the role of the chairman of a provincial People’s Committee. 

Director Trong Trinh said there are few series focusing on such a tough theme like “Sinh tu”, which illustrates the current imbalance of Vietnamese TV programmes. 

Meanwhile, “Tieng set trong mua” was based on a Chinese stage drama. The director and staff were successful with the adaptation, telling a story of Vietnamese people.

The film is set in the southern region in the early years of the 20th century, featuring a love story and life tragedy of Thi Binh (starring Nhat Kim Anh) and Khai Duy (starring Cao Minh Dat), along with the life of farmers suffering from oppression, exploitation and class conflict in the region before 1945.

A scene in “Tieng set trong mua” (Photo courtesy of the filmmakers)./.