Dreamy Eyes

In Vietnam, there is only one person that I can call a visionary director and that is Victor Vu but in the past two years from Loi Bao (2017) a superhero movie to The Immortal (2018) a supernatural action movie despite a great scope for cinematography and genre the script always bring both of them down which frustrated me al lot so with Dreamy Eyes his latest novel adaptation movie from author Nguyen Nhat Anh I keep my expectation at the lowest possible and surprise, surprise the movie blew me away from how good and emotion it is at the Melodrama genre that I'm not very fond of. It a very predictable movie filled with soap drama cliche from start to finish but I can help but fall in love with the characters, the scenery, the OST that by the time I realize it all over I already ugly sobbing in my seat. I hope everyone catches this movie before it leaves the theater and I wish 2020 will be the best year for the director with his Son Tinh and Thuy Tinh mythos movie

Deep in the heart of human nature is the craving to be appreciated - William James.

And this love story rings true to that: the initial setting was in Do Do village where main character Ngan fell heads-over-heels for his class mate Ha Lan (played by Truc Anh) since grade school. The two enjoyed years together as close friends while Ngan kept hinting his love via caring and singing love song over his guitar... things started to drastic turn when Ha Lan went to the city for high school and Ngan followed suit. Ha Lan was overwhelmed with the city lights, the busy streets, the bars, etc... however Ngan's love for her endured and he continued to give... a childhood crush that spanned over three decades.... he did not change even when he had his chances of happiness without her.Love made him blind and he could not see the world changing? Or was he one stubborn SOB who refused to accept defeat? Who are we to judge? For me his insistence resonates with the idea that we are driven not only by our basic instincts but also by our desire to win love via our own virtue and to remain hopeful that one day we will be appreciated for the agonizing pain from selfless sacrifices we have made. Because love is not a zero-sum game and certainly not a commodity that can be bought... strong enough to overcome most irresistible temptation.

This begs the question of if Ngan character ever exists in reality. That's for each audience to decide!

Incredible cinematography and music scores can bring feeling to many highs and climaxes regardless of how familiar you are with Central Vietnam in the 1970's.

The story build up was pretty decent till it got to the point where everybody gets depressed as hell. They backed it up with astonishing cinematics and music but surely for nothing. The reason why they couldn't be together was horrendous and made it so hard to watch honestly.

Impressive scenery and cinematography brings viewers back to Saigon in the old time, acting adequate but not amazing. Slow pace especially in the middle, and story not explored deeply enough. The unrequited love mechanic gets weary after a while with few twists or complexities. Pretty much zero effort in makeup to make the characters look as if they've convincingly aged while the daughter ages markedly.

Overall, this is a good movie with many impressive moments. The ending scene is perfect. However, the middle part of the film is slow-paced.