The Evolution of a Romantic Getaway
Before A Tourist’s Guide to Love appeared on Netflix, the film exuded easy-going comfort, uplifted colorful ambition, and fulfilled the travel fantasies many of us nurture and stow away under the veil of productivity. Though the film’s marketing was nowhere near the dazzle and luster of a blockbuster, it radiated a warm buzz of wholesome anticipation. While viewers expected romance along with the discovery of various destinations, travel influencers marketing the film anticipated and expected the collection of aesthetic destinations, and viewers of earlier rom coms featuring Rachael Leigh Cook felt the warm buzz of nostalgia and comfort romance. Cook was a beloved presence in early-2000s rom-coms, and her return to the genre brought the warmth of nostalgia in comfort romance.
Vietnamese viewers, Hollywood’s audience, and film industry professionals in and outside of Vietnam felt warm buzzed nostalgia along with curiosity and anticipation as well. Hollywood’s film during romance cinematic films did not feature Vietnam, leaving the country with limited opportunities to showcase her under-explored areas. Teasers offered the film’s viewers a collection of lanterns, markets, and the serenity of rice crops. It was not a tease. It felt like a promise.
Unlike Most Holiday Films, THIS Holiday-Set Movie is NOT a Rom-Com.
Over the holiday season, you won’t be able to hide from the endless stream of holiday films. So, let’s talk about the least gory one in the collection. In “Vietnam!”, the creators have integrated a holiday theme into a love story. It was, of course, starring the loveable Scott Ly.
Unlike a good gory, classic horror film, the audience is first introduced to Amanda Riley, a gory, infamous travel executive who doesn’t love life in the slightest. Amanda, well to say the least, makes a robot look inspiring, as she takes the scheduling of her every second to a nauseating level. Then boom, like stopping the endless drone of a janitor’s vacuum at school, her annoying life comes to an stop. Her boyfriend dumps her. With a puff of heartbreak, Amanda finally sighs into the freedom of autonomy.
Despite her (ex-)boyfriend’s good timing dump, Amanda has to leave the U. S. as the company she works for, Zenith and has assigned her to Vietnam. Arrival is much like the early travel film from the U. S. of America. Amanda and her “co-workers;” who are fellow Zenith employees pretending to be tourists, have to take a trip around the country for that. Then she meets Sinh. Then everything is good and holy. Then they go around the country and she has an inner glow-up. Then they have a romance. It’s classic.
The film is made from simple postcard snapshots. Every “stop” is completely glowing. The distant screams of the bustling market, to the tranquil of ancient temples, to the cozy-feel of the temples to a family. Despite the romance and the eagerness for every word, Amanda reveals everything and and to counter her glow-up around the country, every story is smiling. Then, ukudfa gundjf skldgj sebcm nck bnsmk nck nck, she receives and has to gain the life she’s always dreamt of. The film is sooo good because it’s the opposite of a stupid, boring, and main-stream romcom. It’s really bright and genre-defying. But seriously, don’t waste your time on a boring gory romcom this upcoming holiday season.
The Characters Who Evolve Silently
Amanda’s character journey is soft, yet there is much room for impact. Once someone who measures success only through control and accomplishment, she is unwound by the unpredictable beauty of Vietnam. She is instead able to embrace moments and experience people rather than data, and activities rather than checklists.
Contrasting Amanda, Sinh represents both freedom and responsibility. He is not only grounded and egoless, but is also deeply respectful to the heritage of Vietnam and self-assured. Their bond feels natural, especially when one witnesses Amanda’s sometimes-literal scooter rides and emotional guidance to vulnerability.
Without drowning the narrative, the supporting characters provide constancy to the main characters. Each of the tourists in Amanda’s group provides a sprinkle of humor and emotional warmth, with the core of the film lying with the family of Sinh. There is a warmth to the quiet, lingering scenes with his gentle grandmother and aunt.
How the Actors’ Real Experiences Reflect the Film
Rachael Leigh Cook was not only the face of the film; she was also one of the producers. This was not emphasized much in the marketing of the film, but it is important. Cook has often remarked on the importance of telling multicultural stories embedded in relatable characters. This film was the first of many in which Cook will no longer play the supporting role of Hollywood’s traditional ingenue, but instead, be the creative driver of her own stories.
The persona she embodied, Amanda, was characterized as levelheaded, introspective, and quietly strong. It is the evolution of the character, Amanda, and the evolution of Cook that the audience experience in the film. Unlike the mind-numbing excitement which comes with the teenage rom-coms, it is the experience of a woman in the calm and steady process of rebuilding her life.
On the other hand, Scott Ly is new to the world of international mainstream cinema. As a Vietnamese-American actor and martial artist, with years in the industry, Scott has had to confront it’s poor representation of Southeast Asian characters and leads. Although it was a huge leap in visibility, it was not the type of role one would want as an introduction to Hollywood. It was, however, one of great cultural depth, and it is a role in which Scott had the opportunity to portray emotional complexity, sensitivity, and cultural ownership. In the role, Ly’s real life heritage and connection to Vietnam played a crucial role in the heritage and family scenes. This created a strong sense of authenticity to Sinh, the character.
The two people on screen have a chemistry that isn’t dramatic or flashy, but rather comforting, and it is easy to see that they are relaxed together and are quickly growing to appreciate each other more and more.
What Worked and What Didn’t Work of the Film
The movie’s strongest feature is the setting, and its greatly respectful and affectionate vision of the Vietnam in the movie. instead of capturing the most touristy landscapes in Vietnam, the filmmakers chose the abd abandoned the most touristy landscape and chosen to capture the more lived in settings of the town, involving alleys, people’s houses, food stalls, and other landscapes that depict daily life. The lantern festival was especially gorgious and was like a poem moved.
Some people love a slower pacing. Some prefer it to a more energetic pacing. The pacing of the movie, while slow, was intentionally so to capture the pacing of a more relaxed holiday. Some people felt the movie offered more to relax to, while others felt it was just more of an opportunity to for the movie to build more tension.
The romance in the movie is predictable. while this is largely a predictor of how the movie will impact people, most people prefer comfort and predictability while watching a romantic comedy. This movie does not introduce any significant variants or anything that disrupts the typical romantic comedy, but the romance is elevated by a sincerity in Vietnamese culture more than many other movies, as well as in the performances.
How Audience Expectations Compared to Reality
Prior to the debut screening of the film, audience members envisioned a romance that crossed cultures as well as borders, and was authentic in its representation of different cultures, rather than treating them cursorily and superficially. Audience members were also wary of the film because it featured tropes that are too common in the so-called ‘tourist movie.’ In this case, the audience was delightfully surprised that the cinematography remained respectful toward the beauty and charm of the country, and the film was earnest in its depiction of the charm of the country without trying gloss over the realities of the country.
While the film was not highly promoted, it did experience a ‘steady hype’ and audience members left screenings actually feeling ‘warm’, having ‘revisited’ a romance, and having their scenery desires met.
The production received the ‘whispers’ of gratitude for thanksgiving from some audience members in response to the culturally respectful and accurate collaboration with the Vietnamese tourism office, Vietnamese families, and Vietnamese local actors that were captured in the village scenes.
The crew and the production were fully aware of the fact that the traffic in Vietnam has a reputation for being busy. They knew they had to work in close collaboration with local authorities to film any scooter scenes, and may have realized they would have to do re-takes, as the traffic was so busy, it may have seemed effortless.There were also quiet discussions during the production regarding representation. Some crew members were optimistic that the film would provide more opportunities for Southeast Asian actors to portray the romantic leads in global blockbusters. Although this hope was not widely articulated, it was meaningful for the team.
There were no significant controversies related to the film, but professionals in the field commented on how atypical and how nice it was to see Hollywood working alongside Vietnamese creatives. It set a small, but optimistic precedent.
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