Glorious Ashes (original title: Tro tàn rá»±c rỡ) is a 2022 Vietnamese-language drama film directed and written by . It is an adaptation of two short stories, Glorious Ashes (Tro tàn rá»±c rỡ) and Drifting Firewood (Củi mục trôi vá»Â), taken from the ÃÂảo (Island) short story collection by Vietnamese writer Nguyá» n Ngá»Âc Tð. The film has an ensemble cast including , Juliet Bảo Ngá»Âc Doling, , , , Thạch Kim Long, and . Set in Thám Rám village of CàMau, the story revolves around three women, their journey of love and their efforts to keep their men. The imagery of fire and ashes appears throughout as a metaphor for the passion and longing of these women.
Glorious Ashes surpassed 27 other projects to win the top prize of $15,000 at the Asian Project Market, a division of the Busan International Film Festival, in 2017. The film also won the Inaugural Southeast Asia Co-Production Grant by the Singapore Film Commission in November 2019. It was then premiered at the 35th Tokyo International Film Festival and became the first Vietnamese film to compete for the festival's top prize, the Tokyo Grand Prix, in October 2022. The film won the Montgolfière d'or at the 2022 Three Continents Festival, won four awards at the 2023 Kite Awards and five awards at the 23rd Vietnam Film Festival, including the Golden Lotus Prize. In Vietnam, Glorious Ashes opened in theaters nationwide on December 2, 2022. The film was chosen as the Vietnamese entry for Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards.
Set in the poor Mekong Delta coastal village of Thám Rám, the film follows the lives of three women, whose love lives are unusual and unique to their nature. The film is narrated from Hau's perspective, as she experiences life with a husband who only has eyes for another woman, and develops her growing friendship with her rival.
Nguyá» n VÃÂn Thạch and Hoàng Thá» Thuý appear as neighbors; Phạm Thá» Hoa Lan appears as charcoal factory boss; Lê ÃÂnh Há»Âng appears as Loan's aunty; Huỳnh Ngá»Âc Tâm appears as old man in charcoal; Trðáng Và © Phðá»Âc appears as Hau's father; Phạm VÃÂn Cðá»Âng, Lý VÃÂn Tiá» n and Nguyá» n ChàHữu appear as workers in charcoal factory; Lê Phðáng Anh Dà ©ng appears as boat captain; Kha Ngá»Âc Há»Âng Hạnh appears as Nhan's daughter; Trần Minh Chi Nhân appears as singing man on boat; Uyên Nhi appears as Hau's daughter.
Set in the poor Mekong Delta, the film portrays the love and pain of three women with their men. The imagery of fire and ashes appears throughout as a metaphor for the passion and longing to be "seen" of these women. Bùi Thạc Chuyên said he was fascinated by the power of love of women in the original story by Nguyá» n Ngá»Âc Tð.
The film is produced by An Nam Productions and distributed by CGV. It began principal photography in 2021.
Glorious Ashes was selected to compete for the Tokyo Grand Prix at the 35th Tokyo International Film Festival to be held from 24 October to 2 November 2022. It screened for the first time in Tokyo and subsequently had its French premiere at the Three Continents Festival in November 2022.
On 10 November 2022, Glorious Ashes had its premiere in Ho Chi Minh City before being released in Vietnam theatrically on 2 December.
Jordan Mintzer of The Hollywood Reporter, wrote "Premiering in competition at Tokyo, the film provides an intriguing look at a part of the world where the old ways, whether in farming, fishing or wives being completely subjected to their husbandsâ every last whim, still dominate daily life. But the two-hour drama never quite rises above its earnest and weighty message, which makes it more of a thoughtful pedagogical item than a movie with serious market potential."
Wendy Ide of Screen Daily, describing it as "a thoughtful piece which is elevated by strong performances."