#leon le

[gayfilmgeek]

[fatenumberfor]

Song Lang (2018) dir. Leon Le

[lifestill]

Song Lang (2018) dir. Leon Le

[daktyl-z-jordanii-blog]

song lang, dir. leon le, 2018

(part 1)

[arcoirisdegasolina]

[jerichopalms]

Song Lang (2018, dir. by Leon Le)

[saltedlimes]

Song Lang, directed by Leon Le

[dweemeister]

“Trường Tương Tư” from Song Lang (2018, Vietnam) -- music and lyrics by Leon Le; performed by Isaac and Liên Bỉnh Phát

Song Lang is a drama with LGBTQ elements that takes place in 1990s Saigon amid the city’s cải lương scene. Cải lương (Cai LOONG) is Vietnamese folk opera incorporating influences from southern Vietnamese folk songs, Western classical music, and classical Vietnamese opera (itself influenced by Chinese opera). In this scene, we see the film’s two main characters --   cải lương actor Linh Phụng (Isaac) and loan shark enforcer Dũng (Liên Bỉnh Phát) -- sharing a musical moment together. Linh, who initially despises Dũng for his hypermasculine behavior and threats towards his cải lương company, sings a song written by Dũng’s late father following the abandonment of Dũng’s mother.

Today, cải lương is considered a dying art form in Vietnam for reasons of thematic and artistic accessibility (similar to the status of Western opera). As is characteristic of cải lương, note how few breaths the singer takes – though this song does not contain such extremes, musical phrases in cải lương often require continuous singing without breathing, demanding the singer to modulate their tones mid-lyric. The film has won various awards at international film festivals, but has had limited financial success in Vietnam.

A rough translation follows:

Ngày cuối thu âm u cơn gió bấc (On the last day of autumn, the sky is gray and dark.) Nhận được tin người mà tấc dạ tái tê (My heart shattered when I received your letter.) Nghĩa trăm năm tôi luôn son sắt một lời thề (I’ve been faithful and true to the wedding vow we took) Sao nỡ để tôi phải ê chề trong ngao ngán (Only to be let down in the end.) Giữa đêm khuya tiếng đàn, nghe ai oán vẳng cung sầu cống sự hò sang (In the still of the night, only through this song I can express this pain.) Nhớ ai thức trắng cả trăng tàn bàng hoàng (I’m thinking of you throughout these sleepless nights, shocked,) Ngỡ ngàng nơi phương trời xa thẳm nỗi nhớ người có còn nặng mang (In disbelief, millions of miles away, are you still thinking of me?) Trăng dẫu sáng nhưng đâu soi thấu nỗi tâm can (The moon may be bright and glowing, but its light can’t penetrate my aching heart.) Như tiếng đàn tôi nghẹn ngào nức nở oán than (Only the sounds of my lute echoing in the night,) Cho một khối sầu ly tan (As if it’s crying for the end of a love story.) Nhịp song lang (Like the beat of the song lang,) Tôi vẫn giữ âm thầm giữa cuộc sống đa đoan (I keep moving on,) Chờ đợi buổi tương quan nối lại đá vàng hàn gắn tơ loan (Longing for the day we will be reunited, healing the pain, and to pick up where we left off --) Ngỡ đâu ai đã quay bước phũ phàng (--Not knowing you’ve decided to walk away for good,) Để bẽ bàng cung bậc dở dang (Leaving behind an unfinished love song.)