The film Southern Forest Land is still a hot topic of public interest recently. The film revolves around the character An, who searches for his father in the context of the anti-French uprising of the Southern people in the early 20th century.

However, the film was embroiled in controversy over its content and plot, which was deemed to be historically inaccurate. The Cinema Department later re-evaluated the film, and the producers had to edit some details and dialogues in the film.

Recently, director Nguyen Quang Dung spoke up to explain controversial details about the content and character designs in the film.

Regarding the controversy over the character's appearance in Chinese costumes, he said that in the film there are not only Chinese characters but also other ethnic groups in the South such as Cham and Khmer.

" I also do not like or hate any country that bullies and oppresses Vietnam, but to me, the Chinese in Vietnam, who love Vietnam and contribute to building Vietnam, are Vietnamese. When you watch the film, you will see that besides the Chinese, there are also a few other ethnic groups in the South (Cham, Khmer, etc.), said director Nguyen Quang Dung.

Regarding the MV Dat rung phuong Nam , director Nguyen Quang Dung also explained that the MV was for the actors to record, wearing free clothes, some wearing shirts, suits, whatever the designer gave them, they would wear.

Regarding the details of the Thien Dia Hoi and Nghia Hoa Doan groups in the film, director Nguyen Quang Dung said that there are only 4 lines of dialogue in the film about the groups. That is a very small part of the film. This detail describes the groups of Chinese people in Vietnam.

He said that when the crew decided to use these two names, it was because in the TV series, there was also a detail about the character Mr. Tieu belonging to the Thien Dia Hoi group. The TV series had writer Son Nam as an advisor to director Vinh Son, and both agreed to change the time of the novel from the 1940s to before 1930, when there was no Viet Minh, so the TV series had an episode about Dong Noc Nan.

Therefore, Southern Forest Land also changes according to that time. Because according to director Nguyen Quang Dung, this will show that the boy An will wander through many environments, through many groups, through many cultures, and ideals of the people of the Southern region when fighting in a very spontaneous period.

Each group, each person in a different way, through which An also gradually grew up along with the struggles to find the true ideal later.

Director Nguyen Quang Dung affirmed that Southern Forest Land is a film for the whole family, a family film, connecting generations. To avoid misunderstandings about the film's message, the film crew has revised it to meet the requirements of the Cinema Department.

"This is a film that we want to connect generations with. The idea of ​​this film is to promote humanity and love for the land. All the adult characters, despite their different ideals, look in the same direction to protect the next generation. Uncle Ba Phi also said to the soldier, "Are you pointing your gun at our people?" The soldier also thought for a moment and fell into deep thought.

Regarding the film crew's change of the guild name in the new film, it was really quick, because it was very little, not an important issue of the film. But because it was misunderstood, raising the viewpoint that affected those who had not seen it, we changed it hoping that the audience watching the film would understand the main purposes of the film rather than being bothered by small details," director Nguyen Quang Dung emphasized.

He said he appreciates the praise and criticism from viewers who have seen the film. However, there are many people who use harsh words to try to prevent viewers from going to the cinema.

"I went to pages that were sympathetic to the film, many people used harsh words to find every way to prevent anyone from going to see the film, they promoted patriotism and insulted others. With such spiteful and reckless language, such a nature, with such a culture of behavior, the ideals you cling to are really questionable.

I really don't think too highly of myself, I also understand that it doesn't mean that a film invested in with a lot of effort and passion must be loved by people. I acknowledge all the praise and criticism from those who watch the film. I also have my own shortcomings. Some people like it, some don't, it's normal. In this profession, we grow and develop thanks to difficult customers. I think so. But being insulted, crushed and eliminated is too embarrassing," director Nguyen Quang Dung added.

Le Chi