Song Lang

"Song Lang," Leon Le's heart string-pulling story of a love that goes unconsummated is probably the the first LGBTQ movie from Vietnam that we have ever seen. If this is to be the standard bearer of a new source of queer cinema, then we cannot wait to see what might follow that could match this film.

Set in Saigon in the late 1980s, this is the tale of thuggish debt collector Dung, nicknamed 'Thunderbolt' (Lien Binh Phat), who, without the hint of any emotion, does the bidding of his loanshark boss (Kim Phuong). Dung is a real loner, the strong silent type, whose whole life seems to revolve around beating up the hapless poor people who cannot afford the extortionate interest payments they were forced to agree to.

It is when Dung has to pay a visit to the local opera company to collect an outstanding debt that he meets Linh Phung (Isaac), who takes umbrage and stops Dung setting fire to all their costumes as a warning to ensure they pay up. It's only later, in a bar where Dung comes to the aid of a drunken Linh Phung (who is being badly beaten up in a brawl) that the two men somewhat reluctantly start to become aware of each other.

During the night that they hang out together, they discover that they have much more in common than they could have imagined. Dung's parents were also performers in a cai luong opera company. His father played in the orchestra, and his mother was a singer. When she up and left, Dung never recovered; he still carries that pain around like a chip on his shoulder. Moreover, he makes sure to keep his emotional distance from everyone else, lest he gets hurt again.

Linh Phung has also been brought up in a cai luong opera company – until, that is, both his parents were killed in a car crash. Although he is now the star of the company and the director praises his technical skill, at the same time he tells him that he lacks emotion in his performance because he has never experienced love.

This very unlikely pair are shocked (as we are, too) that they relate to each other so well, and although it is abundantly clear what they are experiencing is deep and quite profound, they are each still cautious as to not let the other see this.

The irony is that this seemingly-unfeeling debt collector shows he really has a heart when he sells off his possessions to pay the debt of a family who have suffered because of what they owe. Sadly, this actually ends up being his undoing.

Before this happens, though, it leads to Linh Phung finally giving the performance of his life on the stage because he at last has found the happiness he has unknowingly always craved.

Long Le's debut feature film is an unexpected and compelling love story between young men who have found their potential soul mates in the most unlikely of circumstances. It is also a love song to a Saigon long changed, and the wonderful tradition of Vietnamese cai luong opera which Le, a resident of California since he was a teenager, treats with the utmost respect and passion.

Kudos to the very talented lead actors who evidently are very successful pop stars in Vietnam. They have a subtle but sizzling chemistry between them which makes their finely nuanced performances a joy to watch. Credit also to Le for letting his camera linger long enough on the opera scenes to get us quite addicted to them, too.