Twists in the variant Tam Cam
Right from the introduction, the project Bran has aroused curiosity when introducing as a horror version of the familiar fairy tale to the audience Tam Cam . Plus the success of director Tran Huu Tan's two previous works, which are mini series Tet in hell village and movies Soul Eatermany audiences look forward to Bran what's new
Compared to fairy tales, Bran offers a new premise for the “What if” motif in Hollywood movies. What if Cam was not actually the favorite child in the family? What if Tam and Cam's father was still alive? What if Tam and Cam loved each other before both fell into tragedy?
In the fairy tale, Cam is a petty person who always bullies the gentle Tam with her stepmother. Tran Huu Tan's movie is the opposite. Cam (played by Lam Thanh My) was born with an ugly appearance and was always abused by her father Hai Hoang (played by Quoc Cuong) and her biological mother (played by Thuy Diem). On the contrary, Tam (played by Rima Thanh Vy) is the only one in the family who truly loves her half-sister.
In the movie version, Cam was born ugly and hated by her family.
From then on, the plot begins to follow the familiar “dark” direction in movies in recent years. The village where Cam's father is the village chief seems peaceful on the outside, but in fact hides a terrible secret.
That peace came from a deal made many years ago in Hai Hoang's family with a demon in the forest named Bach Lao. Every 10 years, Hai Hoang's family had to sacrifice a virgin daughter in the family to the demon. Tragedy happened continuously in Tam Cam's family and the village.
Movie Story Bran creating a “familiar yet strange” feeling for the audience. The film version still retains classic details such as calling goby fish to eat, looking for shrimp, testing comedy, cutting areca trees, but they all have different perspectives. The film continuously offers intricate plot twists, making the audience wait to see which direction the plot will take, especially how the controversial ending in the fairy tale will be resolved.
The horror element of the film is heightened through bloody scenes, as well as the scary appearance of the characters.
The special makeup is the strong point of the film, with elaborate designs such as Cam's face, the strange body of the demon named Bach Lao, as well as the scenes of villagers being murdered. The climax of the film also left a strong impression with the intense action and charisma of the actors.
The actors are well-rounded, and the character design has a lot of investment.
Regarding acting, we must give much praise to Lam Thanh My for her almost complete transformation. Bran also marks the actor's first “adult” role. I see yellow flowers on green grass after she turned 18.
With the re-release in Bran, Lam Thanh My was able to portray all three states of the character, from gentleness and resignation at first, love blossoming in the middle, and revenge with haunting eyes and smiles later. Among the young Vietnamese actors, she is one of the few young actors who can express such diverse expressions.
In addition, we must also mention the challenge of Lam Thanh My when she had to act in many scenes with part of her face covered due to the deformed makeup.
The actress said she had to practice acting with one eye so that she could still express the character's emotions. In addition, in some scenes, she had to act a lot with her body when the character Bran become unusual.
The film version has a strong investment in costumes and settings.
In the movie titled Bran, Other characters such as Tam or the prince (Hai Nam) had their roles reduced. However, the actors in the film also had moments to express their characters' personalities. Two actors familiar to many audiences, Quoc Cuong and Thuy Diem, both played the roles of Tam Cam's parents.
Their characters have moments that make the audience both angry and sympathetic, because after all, they are just ordinary people who have to face the evil things passed down from their ancestors. As for Meritorious Artist Hanh Thuy, although appearing a little, she made an impression with the role that has the most unique appearance in the horror universe of Tam Cam.
Continuing the spirit of fantasy horror and drawing on many experiences from two projects Tet in hell village and Soul Eater director Tran Huu Tan and his crew showed their investment in costumes and settings. The film crew received advice from expert Phan Thanh Nam (painter Am Che) in creating many beautiful ancient costumes.
The most beautiful costume of the film is in the scene where the prince marries Tam, while a large scene shows the extravagance with more than 200 extras.
Regarding the film's setting, the most impressive is probably the sacrificial forest, when the film crew took the trouble to choose a special location in Quang Tri province with many tree branches with scary shapes.
