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| Vietnamese horror-comedy “Mưa trên cánh bướm” (Don’t Cry Butterfly) receives a big applause during its world premiere on September 3 at the Venice Critics’ Week in Italy. (Source: VOV) |
Many reputable international cinema sites such as IndieWire, Screendaily, and Cineuropa have also made reviews of the film.
‘Don’t Cry, Butterfly’ is a Vietnamese voodoo drama which can be considered as a spellbinding debut feature, IndieWire newspaper wrote about the film.
Strange things that only some people can hear or see are recurring components of writer/director Duong Dieu Linh’s high-energy, vividly surreal debut feature. Indeed, the film playfully probes various topics of marriage, mother-daughter relationships, and troublesome barriers of communication with both nuance and wit, the media outlet noted.
What never falters is Linh’s prowess as a creator of indelible images with her debut feature, following a few short productions, making her another very exciting talent to watch amidst a real boom period for Vietnamese cinema on the international stage. All too appropriately for its story, “Don’t Cry, Butterfly” is often truly spellbinding, according to IndieWire.
Both written and directed by Duong Dieu Linh, the Hanoi-based film follows the life of a housewife who uses voodoo in an attempt to get her cheating husband to fall back in love with her, but instead accidently invites a mysterious presence into the house.
It explores recurring themes of womanhood, family relations, and cultural traditions, all of which are told with a quirky sense of humour and making use of magical realism.
The film is one of seven selected from 700 worldwide to take part in the Venice Critics’ Week.
Held annually in Venice, the film festival is the world's oldest and one of the Big Five International film festivals worldwide, alongside the Big Three European Film Festivals, the Toronto Film Festival in Canada, and the Sundance Film Festival in the United States.
In 1951, the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF) formally accredited the Venice Film Festival. This year marks the 81st edition of the festival, running from August 28 to September 7./.