IN THE LANE(NGÕ HẸP)

Director: BẠCH DIỆP. 98 minutes. VIETNAM. 1988. Language: VIETNAMESE. Colour. 2K restoration

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The contradictions and hypocrisy of Vietnam on the edge of Đổi Mới Policy (Renovation Era) are contained within the nameless narrow alley and the romance between Loan (Thanh Quý) and Trung (Vũ Thân). As the gap between them widens, so does the gap between those who chase after material gains and those who resolutely stick to their moral principles within an ever-changing Vietnamese society. Bạch Diệp, as one of the most prominent female Vietnamese directors, offers a shrewd look at the conditions of women and the same-old challenges they must navigate in a new world — of classism and bourgeois pettiness. A defining look at a curious era of Vietnamese history.

(NOTES BY Trà My Nguyễn Hoàng)

Vietnam Film Institute