Anh Hung Tran - A la verticale de l’été (2000)

The plot centres around three sisters, two of whom are happily married, or so it appears. The youngest sister is single and living with her cute older brother, whom she is desperately in love with. A second sister is married to a man who has another woman and child elsewhere whom he loves just as much as his wife -with a few conditions, she agrees to carry on with the marriage. The third sister and her husband are overjoyed to discover she is pregnant, and though he is tempted, her husband remains loyal to her.

La joven Lien, de 23 años, trabaja en el bar de su hermana mayor y comparte piso con su hermano mayor. Todos ellos se reunirán con la hermana mediana en el aniversario de la muerte de su madre. La complicidad entre las tres hermanas les lleva a compartir fantasías, temores y dudas, pero cada una de ellas guarda un secreto sobre sus sentimientos más íntimos, que terminarán por revelar.





While watching this movie we might be reminded of the word lush. It is the lush emerald scenery, the lush colors, the lush texture of fabrics, the lush succulence of food… this film is a feast for the senses, a sight for sore eyes! With its mixture of the scents of summer and the moist coolness of rain, this is one of the most enchantingly atmospheric films you'll ever see!

The cinematography is top-notch. Everything is filmed with the utmost care and patience. The lighting is brilliant! We don’t have a conventional plot over here. It’s sort of a ‘phase’ in the life of three sisters. A phase of feeling new things, experiencing new pleasures, realizing the strength of relationships and giving up oneself to the prevalent course of life, each sister rest assured that she can rely on her faith in her other two sisters and her own self-will to surmount all odds.





All the characters have been rendered really well by the cast, especially by Tran Nu Yên-Khê who played Lien. The framing of each shot is aesthetically innovative, like when in the end after the three sisters cry on each other’s shoulder, there is a shot of their bowed heads with the partings in their hair prominent. I thought that was a really good shot. The music is really nice too. The songs fuse in the life of the characters, becoming entities by themselves.

The amazing part of their culture is how well they balance modernity and tradition. If it were not for the tale-tell signs of modernity one would almost be fooled into thinking it to be a period piece. This film reminded me a lot of the beautiful Chinese film ‘Postman in the Mountain’ directed by Huo Jianqi which is equally good. This film with its emotional subtlety, its studied pace and aesthetic superiority is an unforgettable reminder of the finer things in life and the finest aspects of film, as a medium, in existence.





Cualquier fotograma de esta película serviría para pegar en la pared. Los colores y las formas están estudiadas obsesivamente, trasmiten tanta belleza que acabamos viendo ese reducido y viejo apartamento como si de un palace-loft o algo por el estilo se tratara. La vida en una pequeña ciudad vietnamita, sumergida en un paradisíaco entorno natural que se impone a las edificaciones por cada ventana, por cada hueco, se nos presenta como ideal, pese a la ausencia de cuestiones tan básicas como el agua corriente. Cuando la lluvia inunda las calles, todo parece limpio y hasta jurarías que ese agua cristalina que surcan las ágiles bicicletas huele bien, no como la clorada de nuestros vulgares grifos.

En el argumento la situación es similar. Un drama muy estudiado en cada detalle que de nuevo consigue trasmitirnos algo que no existe. No hay grandes historias, ni creo que ideas demasiado brillantes. Si acaso destacar el affair de la hermana mayor, el autoimponerse una relación de silencio con su amante le da un cierto encanto envuelto de misterio. Pero todo está contado con sumo cuidado, con precisión puntillosa tanto en los diálogos como en el ritmo.

Script/Guión: Tran Anh Hung
Music/Música: Tôn-Thât Tiêt
Cinematography/Fotografía: Pin Bing Lee
Cast/Reparto: Tran Nu Yên-Khê, Nhu Quynh Nguyen, Le Khanh, Quang Hai Ngo, Chu Hung, Manh Cuong Tran, Le Tuan Anh, Ngoc Dung Le