One on the left
The real protagonist of the film however is Hanoi. Its suffocating heat, its noise, its crowds, restlessness and its poise waiting for something to happen. There is a bubbling tension under the surface intended to express the inner torments of Huyen, as from her we did not get much of anything. She drifts through the whole film towards that tomorrow, when the abortion comes, always in an attainable distance, but never quite there for her to grab it.
And this is where we leave her, leaning against the balcony railing the rumbling of the train creeping through Hanoi, the only sign of the passing time in this inert landscape. The ending, however unsatisfactory it may be, stays true to the rest of the movie: there are no answers, only more questions and the persisting, all-encompassing nowhere. The cinematography is exceptional, full of memorable shots, sometimes dancing on the edge of pretentious. On the positive side are the uplifting (pun intended) crane rides across the city and the literary smudge scenes of cockfights, while almost all shots featuring Hoang are among the more questionable choices (ultrasound image projection and the plastic bubbles on the lake). Two violent and brilliant scenes stand out both featuring Huyen while she witnesses an abortion and dreams about giving birth to a pile of eels.
One on the right
The real protagonist of the film however is Hanoi. Its suffocating heat, its noise, its crowds, restlessness and its poise waiting for something to happen. There is a bubbling tension under the surface intended to express the inner torments of Huyen, as from her we did not get much of anything. She drifts through the whole film towards that tomorrow, when the abortion comes, always in an attainable distance, but never quite there for her to grab it.
And this is where we leave her, leaning against the balcony railing the rumbling of the train creeping through Hanoi, the only sign of the passing time in this inert landscape. The ending, however unsatisfactory it may be, stays true to the rest of the movie: there are no answers, only more questions and the persisting, all-encompassing nowhere. The cinematography is exceptional, full of memorable shots, sometimes dancing on the edge of pretentious. On the positive side are the uplifting (pun intended) crane rides across the city and the literary smudge scenes of cockfights, while almost all shots featuring Hoang are among the more questionable choices (ultrasound image projection and the plastic bubbles on the lake). Two violent and brilliant scenes stand out both featuring Huyen while she witnesses an abortion and dreams about giving birth to a pile of eels.