Young actresses Pham Nguyen Lan Thi (right) and Hoang Ha will play the lead roles in Em và Trịnh (You and Trịnh), a film about the late talented songwriter Trinh Cong Son by director Phan Gia Nhat Linh. They will play Dao Anh and Bich Diem, who inspired some of Son’s famous romantic songs. Photo courtesy of the producer

The film’s director Phan Gia Nhat Linh and his staff are working on the last period of casting.

Two young actresses, Pham Nguyen Lan Thi and Hoang Ha, play the lead roles in the film. 

They were chosen from over 500 candidates, including professional artists, from Hanoi, Hue and HCM City.

Em và Trịnh is about the life and career of Son, a talented songwriter in Vietnamese contemporary music. Son is famous for his anti-war songs and called the "Bob Dylan of Vietnam” by his fans at home and abroad.

The film features the artist and his music in the 1960s and 70s. 

Son’s love life is also highlighted. The love between Son and a Japanese fan, Yoshii Michiko, during Son's time in Paris in the 80s, is featured. Yoshii later travelled to Vietnam many times to discover Son and his music. The couple decided to wed. They faced cultural differences and then cancelled the wedding at the last minute. 

Actresses Thi and Ha will play Dao Anh and Bich Diem, respectively, who inspired some of Son’s famous romantic songs. 

Director Linh originally wanted the characters of Anh and Diem to be residents of Hue, the city where the girls were born, but both Thi and Ha are from HCM City. 

“My actresses will spend a training course with specialists to have an accent from Hue,” said director Linh, who has not revealed the casting for the character of Son. 

According to Linh, the producer Galaxy Studio and its partners spent more than VND20 billion (US$860,000) on the production. “We hope the film will meet the demands of Son’s Vietnamese and foreign fans,” he said. 

Born in Hue in 1939, Son became popular in 1957 with his first song, Ướt Mi (Crying Eyes).

His lasting legacy includes albums of romantic love songs, such as Diễm Xưa (Diễm, My Cherished Memory) and Ru Tình (Lullaby To Love), released in the 1960s and 70s.  

Diễm Xưa is well-known in Japan, where it was introduced through singer Khanh Ly in Osaka in 1970. Later, the song was written in Japanese, Utsukushii Mukashi, and was listed among Japan’s top 10 favourite love songs.

Son went on to become southern Vietnam’s most famous songwriter of anti-war music collections including Ca Khúc Da Vàng (Yellow Skin Song), Kinh Việt Nam (Vietnamese Prayer) and Ta Phải Thấy Mặt Trời (We Must See The Sunlight).

After 1975, Son continued to write songs and enjoyed great success with both his lyrics and melodies. He died in HCM City in 2001 after a prolonged illness. VNS

Casting for film on late songwriter Trinh Cong Son begins

Film director Phan Gia Nhat Linh has begun casting for his movie on the late famous songwriter Trinh Cong Son called Em và Trịnh (You and Trịnh).