One film grabbing attention right now is Kiều @ – a movie directed by Đỗ Thành An, starring Cao Thái Hà and Phan Thị Mơ. Centered on a young woman forced into prostitution, Kiều @ features many scenes and camera angles that come off as tasteless, with intense physical contact. After its trailer dropped, many viewers called for a boycott and demanded the film be banned.
Despite the backlash, the film hit theaters on February 26 and earned nearly 500 million VND during its opening weekend. Early reviews mostly label it a “disaster” for Vietnamese cinema.
Notably, the film’s official fanpage recently posted photos of viewers crying while watching Kiều @. This wouldn’t be so strange if the caption didn’t say, “Watching Kiều @, sometimes audiences see themselves, their loved ones, and their families somewhere in the story.” But how can anyone relate to a film about prostitution and sex work?
It’s clear Kiều @ isn’t stirring debate over its themes since everyone agrees the film’s quality is poor. Shot in a “one-shot” style (filmed continuously without stopping), it still shows obvious editing cuts. Many sex scenes feel like cheap attempts to attract attention, coming off as vulgar without any artistic purpose.
Image sources: Compilation
