Review | Dad, I’m Sorry movie review: sitcom-style melodrama that topped the box office in Vietnam is an anarchic and overblown celebration of family dynamics
- Tran Thanh writes, co-directs and stars in Dad, I’m Sorry, made up with greying hair and a moustache to play a patriarch hiding something from his family
- The film lurches from one drama to the next with little regard for subtlety or consistency, and reinforces conservative attitudes about filial responsibility
2/5 stars
Thanh is a hugely successful comedian and television presenter, while the web series upon which the film is based scored more than 50 million views on YouTube alone. Delivering a precarious balance of localised observations and universal home truths, its broad humour and often hysterical tone may prove a challenge for international audiences.
Detailing the daily dramas of a working-class family in a dilapidated neighbourhood of Saigon, the film is anchored by Tran’s overblown central performance as Ba Sang, the father of the title and a persistently meddlesome patriarch. The big joke here is that Tran, who writes and co-directs – alongside Vu Ngoc Dang – as well as stars, is only 34 years old, while Ba Sang is closer to 50.
Thanh’s make-up comprises little more than greying hair and a wonky fake moustache, precariously perched on his top lip. However, as the story unfolds, it becomes apparent that behind his outwardly energetic demeanour he may be hiding something from his large, close-knit brood.