The 10 billion VND background of the movie 'Cong Tu Bac Lieu'

The producer of "Cong Tu Bac Lieu " said he spent 10 billion VND on the setting and set construction to recreate life in old Saigon.

Director Ly Minh Thang said one of the most invested exterior scenes in the film was the Saigon - Gia Dinh street in the 1930s. To recreate the old atmosphere, the design team designed many simulated scenes, such as a 100m long street on a one-hectare plot of land, costing three billion VND. The art department redrawn many restaurant, coffee shop, and import-export office signs.

Nam Kin Theater - where young master Ba Hon (Song Luan) meets beautiful Bay Loan (Doan Thien An) - has classic architecture and interior, with 200 square meters of natural wood flooring, more than 50 custom-made tables and chairs. "To complete the scene, more than 40 workers worked for 20 days with a budget of two billion VND," said the director.

The An Nam Thanh Vuong Bank project - the largest business of Ba Hon's family - was invested about one billion VND, with 200 square meters of tiled flooring. In the film, this is where the main character achieved his first success when starting his business. The boxing ring was also recreated to depict the scene where Ba Hon organized a boxing match to save the bank's business situation.

The house of "Silver Prince" was filmed at the over 100-year-old villa of the prototype - Mr. Tran Trinh Huy. The ancient mansion of the French Consulate General (HCMC) was first shown on the big screen, becoming the mansion of the Councilor Linh (artist Thanh Loc). The ancient house of Mr. Ca Ba ( Can Tho ) was chosen as the living space of the character Ba Ho Kim (artist Huu Chau) - the rival of the Ba Hon family.

Scene of character Ba Hon visiting the streets of Saigon. Photo: Huy Tran

Ly Minh Thang said that the visuals and setting accounted for about 50% of the project's investment. After more than 10 days in theaters, the film earned 33 billion VND (according to Box Office Vietnam), the effects were lower than the crew's expectations. The director said that he and the producer encouraged each other that the entire crew had done their best, and the fate of the work depended on the audience's interest. They planned to release the film early next year in Australia, New Zealand, then the US and the Southeast Asian market, Taiwan.

The film is inspired by some anecdotes about Mr. Tran Trinh Huy (1900-1974), who was famous in the early 20th century for his lavish lifestyle. The film opens with the scene of Ba Hon - the son of the Councilor - returning home after studying in France. He acquired a lot of knowledge and was awarded a series of certificates such as flying skills and boxing.

However, his "Western-educated" ideology conflicts with his father's traditional views. His father expected Ba Hon to take over his father's bank, but Ba Hon only saw it as a tool to earn money to buy the plane he wanted. The conflict climaxed when Ba Hon encountered an accident, pushing the family business to the brink of closure.

The work has strong visuals, but the script lacks climax. The love story between Ba Hon and the beauty Bay Loan is superficial, only shown through a few dialogue scenes. The director's way of resolving the characters' conflicts is also cursory, mainly to convey the message about father-daughter love.

Source: https://baoquangninh.vn/boi-canh-10-ty-dong-cua-phim-cong-tu-bac-lieu-3335222.html