"Friendship is the most suitable soil for love to sow its seeds..."
The film tells the story of the friendship and love between three characters: Mien (Ngoc Xuan), Vinh (Avin Lu) and Phuc (Nhat Hoang), from when they were children until they grew up and faced the crossroads of life.
In each character, director Trinh Dinh Le Minh fully depicts all aspects, from perspective, family circumstances, to how those circumstances affect their decisions in the future. Since childhood, Mien has always lived with a sad face because her father is a violent person. His harshness almost covers the atmosphere of Mien's family, even Mien's brother is equally violent. In the film, only Mien's family does not have a scene where the members gather together.
Of the three, Vinh seems to be the only one who grew up in peace. Although he was orphaned, he was protected by his grandmother and other family members. From then on, Vinh, although a bit naive, was the warmest and most self-sacrificing of the trio. And finally, Phuc, who grew up between two extremes - the harshness and extremism of his grandfather and the sometimes excessive indulgence of his father. In his childhood scenes, Phuc often repeated his father's teachings, which also partly foreshadowed his future choices.
A story of friendship and love, gentle yet fierce
The friendship between Phuc and Vinh is the focus of the first half of the film, the director has been very successful in making the audience believe in their close relationship. The two complement each other, while Phuc is the one who supports and pushes Vinh to face the things he fears, on the contrary, Vinh also brings joy to Phuc, helping his childhood pass by less difficultly.
“Once upon a time there was a love story” is a film adapted from the novel of the same name by writer Nguyen Nhat Anh, first published in 2016 and reprinted 20 times with 120,000 copies.
And then when Mien entered their relationship, meaning love had entered their friendship, the fact that the three people had no conflict became convincing. Friendship and love in the movie were both beautiful and precious. Phuc gave in to Vinh, and Vinh was happy for Phuc. Mien and Phuc were passionate, pure feelings of youth, but Mien and Vinh were husband and wife, something that must be cherished in the present.
“I am reconstructing the emotional picture of a generation in love”
In the end, the characters all have a complete journey. Mien, after many times prioritizing love, has made the first decision that is right for herself and her family. Vinh, after choosing sacrifice over and over again, finally knows how to stand up for love. And as for Phuc, he will have to start a journey like his father in the past.
The wedding is the crystallization of love between Mien and Vinh.
The happy ending that everyone has been waiting for
Perhaps that wedding was the clearest affirmation of a love that Vinh had cherished since his childhood. It was a "steadfast, selfless, bright" love that Vinh had for Mien from his youth to adulthood, full of patience and tolerance. That love was a pure and noble feeling from beginning to end. Vinh had devoted his entire youth to loving and protecting Mien, overcoming many storms of life. And now, standing beside her on her big day, he felt truly happy and fulfilled.
Each film is a Vietnam of the 80s appearing.
Reminiscing about a beautiful time...
The beautiful, nostalgic scenes in the film, combined with Phan Manh Quynh's music, pushed the audience's emotions to a high level, bringing a lot of sympathy and love from the audience when witnessing that beautiful love. This scene brought tears to the audience because it was an important turning point marking Vinh's wait for the girl he loved for so many years, finally reaching a happy ending. After so many storms, Vinh was able to put aside his shyness, and used his passionate love mixed with tolerance to decide to protect Su and the first love he secretly loved.
The wedding climaxes the film.
Leaving unforgettable impressions in the hearts of the audience
The film's setting recreates a wedding scene in the countryside of Southern Vietnam in the late 1980s and early 2000s. The bustling sound of drums mixed with the cheerful laughter of the guests made the atmosphere of the ceremony even more bustling. The banquet table was carefully arranged with all kinds of rustic dishes, the fragrant aroma spread throughout the space. Children played under the ancient banyan tree, their laughter echoed throughout the neighborhood. In which, the female lead Mien appeared with a graceful, elegant beauty in a white ao dai, the male lead Vinh attracted viewers with his handsome, scholarly appearance in a vest, tie, and leather shoes, the standard "back then".
The 2000s are meticulously recreated from costumes, makeup to scenery.
Every look and gesture that Mien and Vinh make when facing each other creates an explosion of emotions that makes everyone admit that Ngoc Xuan - Avin Lu is the perfect "book-tearing" version of the novel "Once upon a time there was a love story".
“Once upon a time there was a love story” was shown early in cinemas from October 25, then officially released from November 1. The film is for audiences aged 16 and over.
