Wikipedia

Adrift (2009 Vietnamese film)

Adrift (Vietnamese: Chơi vơi[1]) is a 2009 Vietnamese film directed by Bui Thac Chuyen and stars Đỗ Thị Hải Yến, Linh Dan Pham, Johnny Tri Nguyen and Nguyen Duy Khoa. Hai Yen plays Duyen, a young tourist guide who marries Hai (Duy Khoa), a taxi driver, but her friend and writer Cam (Linh Dan) still has feelings for her. The film deals with issues in modern Vietnam such as homosexuality and loneliness of the young generation. The film is a co-production between Feature Film Studio n°1 (Vietnam) and Acrobates Films (France).[2]

Adrift
Directed byBui Thac Chuyen
Written byPhan Đăng Di
StarringLinh Dan Pham
Do Thi Hai Yen
Johnny Tri Nguyen
Nguyen Duy Khoa
CinematographyLy Thai Dung
Edited byFeature Film Studio n°1 (Vietnam)
Acrobates Films (France)
Music byNgoc Dai
Release dates
  • September 6, 2009 (2009-09-06) (Venice)
  • November 13, 2010 (2010-11-13) (Vietnam)
Running time
110 minutes[1]
CountryVietnam
LanguagesVietnamese, French

Adrift was selected to participate in the Venice Film Festival,[2] Toronto International Film Festival[1] and Bangkok International Film Festival.[3] At the 66th Venice International Film Festival, FIPRESCI awarded Adrift with its prize for young directors and cinemas.[4] At the Cines del Sur Festival 2010, the film won the NETPAC award.[5] The film earned three nominations at the 4th Asian Film Awards, including Best Screenwriter, Best Cinematographer, Best Composer.

Plot

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Set in modern Hanoi, Adrift begins with the wedding of Duyen and Hai. Duyen is a beautiful tourist guide and translator who marries Hai, a taxi driver who is two years her junior. Duyen thinks the marriage will make her happy but it turns out more difficult, especially since her childlike husband is uninterested in her efforts of intimacy and the marriage remains unconsummated. Cam, secretly in love with Duyen, is bitter about the marriage. Cam has Duyen deliver a letter to Tho, a handsome lothario and tourist guide who physically hurls himself on Duyen when she visits his home to deliver the letter. After Tho reports back to Cam that Duyen is sexually inexperienced, Cam diabolically persuades Duyen to take a temporary job as a translator on one of Tho's beach tours, knowing what will happen. Duyen's time at the beach with Tho results in an affair leading to Duyen's sexual awakening but continued uncertainty about herself, marriage, and life.

Cast

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Production

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The movie's screenwriter, Phan Dang Di, is known for writing various works surrounding the topic of agriculture in Vietnam during the country's transitional and integrational period.[6] In 2001, Bui Thac Chuyen received the script for the movie. Throughout production, the two revised the script multiple times. Before being named Adrift, the movie had many alternative titles. Examples include No Matter How Far, You Will Comeback (Đi mãi rồi cũng quay về), The End is The Sea (Tận cùng là biển), and Stuck (Mắc kẹt). Despite repeated denial from the producers, Adrift is generally categorised as a film covering homosexual topics. Because of its contents, the film went through multiple rounds of review in a span of 7 years before receiving approval. The movie is the first ever Vietnamese movie to feature lesbian themes.

Producer Dang Tat Binh shared that the movie required a budget of 7 billion Vietnamese dong ($265,860 in 2026). However, the government could only sponsor 1.6 billion Vietnamese dong ($60,768 in 2026), forcing the crew to find alternative sources of funding. The Hubert Bals Fund from the International Film Festival Rotterdam and the Fonds Sud Cinéma Fund from France contributed a total of €130 thousand.[7]

Release

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In September 2009, the film was premiered at the 66th Venice International Film Festival. Afterwards, the film was also screened at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival[8], Bangkok International Film Festival[9], Vancouver International Film Festival[10], Festival International du Film Francophone de Namur[11], Busan International Film Festival[12], and BFI London Film Festival[13]. In November of the same year, the movie was released in Vietnamese theatres.

In the following year, Adrift continued to be screened at various film festivals. These include the Jerusalem International Film Festival[14] and the Melbourne International Film Festival.[15]

In March 2010, Adrift was selected by the Global Film Initiative to be screened at the Letelier Theatre in Washington, D.C. Starting from January of the same year, the film embarked on a year-long tour in the US and Canada.[16] In April, the film was a nominee at the 17th Titanic International Film Festival in Budapest, Hungary.

In February 2011, the film premiered in French theatres under the title Vertiges.[17]

Critical reception

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United States of America

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Stephen Holden of The New York Times commented "'Adrift' ('Choi Voi') ... is a subtle, melancholy exploration of erotic angst and uncomfortable awakening."[18]

France

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The movie received generally positive reviews from critics in the country. Eric Loret of Libération applauded the director's choice of filming in a continuous sequence, giving the film a natural feel and grabbing the audience's attention. It is also noted that since the film is from a women's perspective, the men of the film is reduced to mere "objects".[19] Jean Luc Douin of Le Monde mentioned the usage of water in the movie as "omnipresent, a symbol of sexuality".[20] Adrien Gombeaud of Les Echos stated "[Adrift] has everything one would expect from an "Asian film", at least since Wong Kar-wai: aesthetic refinement, latent sensuality and testimony to the mores of a society."[21]

Vietnam

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Ngo Phuong Lan of Tuổi Trẻ assessed that the "novelty" and "oddity" of the film led to its success.[22]

The novelty lies in the filmmaker's ability to depict an ordinary life that flows naturally. This appearance of effortlessness, however, was the result of meticulous and logical planning. Although the cast is small, the film was still able to portray a diverse range of lives in an urbanising city, of a developing country. The oddity lies in the fact that the director was able to achieve two things. First, visualise the characters' emotions and moods. Second, simultaneously push those emotions and moods into an enigmatic shape.

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
2009 66th Venice International Film Festival FIPRESCI Award Adrift Won [23]
Orizzonti Award Nominated [24]
Bangkok International Film Festival Golden Kinnaree Award Nominated
Vancouver International Film Festival Dragons and Tigers Award Nominated [25]
Vietnam Film Festival Golden Lotus Prize Certificate [26]
Outstanding Director Bui Thac Chuyen Won
Outstanding Cinematography Ly Thai Dung Won
Outstanding Graphic Design La Quy Tung Won
Three Continents Festival Montgolfière d'Or Adrift Nominated
Cinemanila International Film Festival Best Southeast Asian Film Nominated
2010 Kite Awards Golden Kite Prize for Film Nominated [27]
Outstanding Supporting Actress Linh Dung Won [28]
Cines del Sur Alhambra Award Adrift Certificate
NETPAC Award Won
Fribourg International Film Festival Main Prize Nominated
Asian Film Awards Best Screenplay Phan Dang Di Nominated [29]
Best Cinematographer Ly Thai Dung Nominated [30]
Best Composer Hoang Ngoc Dai Nominated [29]
Spirit of Fire Film Festival Bronze Taiga Adrift Won [31]

References

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  1. 1 2 3 "Adrift - Choi voi". Toronto International Film Festival official website. Archived from the original on 16 October 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-10.
  2. 1 2 "CHOI VOI (ADRIFT) - THAC CHUYEN BUI". Venice Film Festival official website. 2009-09-12. Archived from the original on 2 December 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-10.
  3. ↑ "'Adrift' competes at Bangkok Film Festival". Thanhniennews.com. 2009-09-24. Archived from the original on September 26, 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-10.
  4. ↑ "Steamy Choi Voi to "come home"". Vietnamnet.vn. 2009-09-24. Archived from the original on 12 October 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-10.
  5. ↑ "Adrift". NETPAC. Archived from the original on 7 December 2021. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  6. ↑ Giang, Hoang Cam (2016). "Rural - Urban Boundaries in Contemporary Vietnamese Cinema: A Look from Phan Dang Di's Films". Journal of Urban Culture Research. 13. doi:10.14456/JUCR.2016.13.
  7. ↑ "Chơi vơi đã không còn "chơi vơi"". thethaovanhoa.vn. Archived from the original on 2022-03-21. Retrieved 2026-06-02.
  8. ↑ tử, Báo Nhân Dân điện (2009-09-11). "Khai mạc Liên hoan phim Toronto". Báo Nhân Dân điện tử (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 2026-06-02.
  9. ↑ ONLINE, TUOI TRE (2009-09-12). "Chơi vơi tranh giải tại LHP Bangkok". TUOI TRE ONLINE (in Vietnamese). Archived from the original on 2025-08-05. Retrieved 2026-06-02.
  10. ↑ Trần, Ngọc. "'Chơi vơi' tranh giải tại LHP Vancouver". VnExpress. Archived from the original on 2022-03-21. Retrieved 2026-06-02.
  11. ↑ tử, Báo Nhân Dân điện (2009-10-01). ""Chơi vơi" và "Trăng nơi đáy giếng" đi dự Liên hoan phim Namur". Báo Nhân Dân điện tử (in Vietnamese). Archived from the original on 2025-08-06. Retrieved 2026-06-02.
  12. ↑ Online, TTVH. "Thể thao & Văn hóa - tin tức, bình luận thể thao, giải trí online". thethaovanhoa.vn (in Vietnamese). Archived from the original on 2023-07-03. Retrieved 2026-06-02.
  13. ↑ Times, Vietnam (2016-09-20). "Vietnam to participate in three international film festivals". Vietnam Times. Archived from the original on 2024-12-03. Retrieved 2026-06-02.
  14. ↑ "Những phim độc lập Việt "càn quét" giải liên hoan phim Quốc tế". Báo điện tử báo Nông thôn Ngày nay. 2014-09-11. Archived from the original on 2022-03-21. Retrieved 2026-06-02.
  15. ↑ "Phim "Chơi vơi" dự Liên hoan phim quốc tế Melbourne 2010". Báo Điện tử Đài Tiếng nói Việt Nam. 2010-07-23. Archived from the original on 2010-07-25. Retrieved 2026-06-02.
  16. ↑ baochinhphu.vn (2010-03-15). "Phim "Chơi vơi" được công chiếu tại Mỹ". baochinhphu.vn (in Vietnamese). Archived from the original on 2022-03-21. Retrieved 2026-06-02.
  17. ↑ "Phim Chơi Vơi của đạo diễn Việt Nam Bùi Thạc Chuyên ra mắt khán giả Pháp". RFI (in Vietnamese). 2011-02-09. Archived from the original on 2022-03-21. Retrieved 2026-06-02.
  18. ↑ Holden, Stephen (2010-01-17). "Marriage and Mores in Rain-Soaked Hanoi". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2022-02-04. Retrieved 2026-06-02.
  19. ↑ "Hanoi et ses cœurs". Libération (in French). Archived from the original on 2024-12-03. Retrieved 2026-06-02.
  20. ↑ ""Vertiges" : les désirs flottants dans la torpeur d'une mousson vietnamienne". Le Monde.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 2025-04-21. Retrieved 2026-06-02.
  21. ↑ "Vertiges, de Bui Thac Chuyen". Les Echos (in French). 2011-02-09. Archived from the original on 2025-08-10. Retrieved 2026-06-02.
  22. ↑ ONLINE, TUOI TRE (2009-09-20). "Chơi vơi - mới, lạ và..." TUOI TRE ONLINE (in Vietnamese). Archived from the original on 2025-08-06. Retrieved 2026-06-02.
  23. ↑ tảng, Công an Nhân dân-Hệ sinh thái truyền thông đa nền (2009-09-17). ""Chơi vơi" giành giải của giới phê bình quốc tế tại LHP Venice". Công an Nhân dân - Hệ sinh thái truyền thông đa nền tảng (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 2026-06-02.
  24. ↑ "La Biennale di Venezia - Orizzonti". www.labiennale.org. Archived from the original on 2009-11-29. Retrieved 2026-06-02.
  25. ↑ Press, Etan Vlessing,The Associated (2009-09-03). "Vancouver festival lines up Asia sidebar". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2022-03-21. Retrieved 2026-06-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  26. ↑ ONLINE, TUOI TRE (2009-12-13). "'Đừng đốt' đoạt Bông sen vàng". TUOI TRE ONLINE (in Vietnamese). Archived from the original on 2022-02-27. Retrieved 2026-06-02.
  27. ↑ tử, Báo Nhân Dân điện (2010-03-15). ""Đừng đốt" lên ngôi!". Báo Nhân Dân điện tử (in Vietnamese). Archived from the original on 2024-12-03. Retrieved 2026-06-02.
  28. ↑ tử, Báo Nhân Dân điện (2010-03-14). "Cánh diều vàng 2009: Sáu giải thưởng dành cho phim "Đừng đốt"". Báo Nhân Dân điện tử (in Vietnamese). Archived from the original on 2022-12-29. Retrieved 2026-06-02.
  29. 1 2 ONLINE, TUOI TRE (2010-03-24). "Giải thưởng điện ảnh châu Á: Phim Hàn Quốc, Trung Quốc thắng lớn". TUOI TRE ONLINE (in Vietnamese). Archived from the original on 2025-09-03. Retrieved 2026-06-02.
  30. ↑ tảng, Công an Nhân dân-Hệ sinh thái truyền thông đa nền (2014-11-20). "NSƯT Lý Thái Dũng: Mỗi bộ phim là một thách thức". Công an Nhân dân - Hệ sinh thái truyền thông đa nền tảng (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 2026-06-02.
  31. ↑ ""Chơi vơi" giành giải Taiga Đồng tại Liên hoan phim quốc tế ở Nga". dangcongsan.vn. Archived from the original on 2022-03-21. Retrieved 2026-06-02.
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