Introducing Hue culture from the perspective of cinematography, the series "The Muse of Hue" gave the viewers an innermost feeling towards the unique values of Hue.
Le Tran Ngoc Tran - Miss Hue Tourism - main character in "The Muse of Hue".
Preserving Traditional Style
The torrential rain opened the first episode of the series "The Muse of Hue" as an introduction to the viewers about the "specialties" of the ancient capital. After the rain, the garden of the "Muse of Hue" - the MC of the series - seemed to be lit up by the sprouting trees, fresh green vegetables and figs, etc
Following ‘her’ steps in an ancient garden house surrounded by trees with fruits all year long, the viewers experience the peaceful life of a pure Hue girl: picking vegetables in the garden, cooking in the kitchen, husking rice, making rice paper, going to the market, going to pagoda ...
Although living in the modern age, "the Muse of Hue" still leads a normal life in her own way: Living with nostalgia, preserving the traditional life style of Hue because of her mother’s and her grandmother’s wishes. Nearly all the special dishes typical of Hue (from vegetarian to non-vegetarian, from folklore to royal ) are reproduced with her little hands. Whenever she misses her mother, she goes out into the garden picking figs, and ground peanuts to make a dish of mixed fig salad exactly like the way her mother did in the old days. In this way, - through cuisine - the Muse tells the stories about Hue from her own perspective and memories. The film director Tran Nguyen Bao Nhan said, "There are many new things in the series, but the content mainly exploits the image of a Hue girl with her ‘beauty of labor’. The beauty of the series’ main character, "the Muse of Hue", represents a simple but very poetic beauty created by the way she lives and the dishes she makes. Everything in the series looks intimate and rustic in accordance with the spirit of Hue people.
With the utmost care for each background, for the choice of camera angles and color ... just like what is done in cinematography, the beauty of Hue through the images of Tu Hieu Pagoda, Phuoc Tich Ancient Village, An Hien Garden House with lines of green trees is presented as being very peaceful, rustic and romantic. The serenity is also expressed through the pure beauty of the "Muse of Hue" whose role is played by Miss Tourism Hue Le Tran Ngoc Tran.
Ngoc Tran said, "Since it was the first time I took on the main role as the symbol of Hue women’s beauty, I was under so great a pressure to do my best to meet everyone’s expectations. I was not only the MC but also the soul of the series so I felt so nervous as I had never tried acting on the stage before."
"I tried a lot of practice before taking the role, and because Hue is where I was born and grew up, this land’s culture has been deeply absorbed into my soul, and as a result, I took on this role quite easily. After winning the title of Miss Tourism Hue, I feel very interested in introducing and promoting the beauty of Hue culture. The program offers me an opportunity to introduce Hue culture to our friends in and outside the country,” said Tran.
The pure beauty and simplicity of Hue girls are well presented clearly in the series.
Hue in the eyes of a child away from home
The film director Tran Nguyen Bao Nhan, born and grew up in Hue, always feeds his desire to do something for Hue to show his gratitude. Like many other children living away from home, when he is in Hue, Mr. Nhan often thinks that everything around is normal, but when he leaves it and is exposed to a new environment, he then finds that Hue is so different in culture, in the local people lives, and in their ways of thinking...
Bao Nhan said, "The idea of making the series "The Muse of Hue" struck me when I watched a Chinese country girl's culinary program, in which emerged the unique culture of China. This type of program is available in China, Korea, and Japan. Later, I met some partners and friends of mine in Korea and found that not many Koreans know about Hue. This made me decide to produce this series to introduce my hometown to my friends.”
Immediately after the release of the over 50 second trailer, the series attracted the attention of the community social networks with thousands of shares and favorable comments about the romantic beauty of Hue as well as the pure beauty of the Muse Ngoc Tran. The backgrounds, props, items, details of the scenario, etc are all simple and popular, fulfilling the criteria set up by the series to promote the beauty of the people and the cultural quintessence of Hue".
The poetic images of the Ancient Capital captured from a fresh cinematic perspective together with the visual and music investment is the series’ new way to get to the young generation.
According to Director Bao Nhan's story, young people in Hue may not know much about these stories, but the foreigners will find them very special. He emphasized: "What we do is introduce the stories to the younger generation of Hue for their awareness of the special traits of Hue culture, and maintain them voluntarily. "The Muse of Hue" also acts as a cultural bridge that helps spread and show the similarities between Korean culture and Hue culture. "
Le Tran Ngoc Tran in the premiere of the "Muse of Hue". Photo by Minh Hien
"The Muse of Hue", produced by directors duo Bao Nhan and Namcito, is a lifestyle series introducing and promoting cultural beauty, people and landscapes of the ancient capital. Besides the quintessence of culinary culture, the series also introduces stories about cultural tourism, lifestyle, and royal culture values.
The series consists of 20 episodes, each lasting 10 minutes. Ten of the episodes are filmed in Hue and the other 10 in Korea. The film crew have already finished their production in Hue and they will start shooting ten other episodes in Korea in July this year. The series will be released both in Korea and in Vietnam at the same time from July 2018.
By Minh Hien