A Dream in Hanoi (2002)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Tom Weidlinger

Writer:

Tom Weidlinger (writer)

Genre:

Documentary

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Vietnamese

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Company:

Dateline Productions

An Exemplary Documentary About Shakespeare in Vietnam

Tom Weidlinger's "A Dream in Hanoi" is the feature-length, honest, no-holds-barred story of an American-Vietnamese co-production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" in Hanoi in 2000 (well before today's virtual love-fest between the two countries).

In the film, the Artists Repertory Theater of Portland, Oregon, and the Central Dramatic Company of Vietnam struggle together (and frequently against each other) to stage a bilingual production of the play. Improbably, cameras keep rolling through squabbles, hostilities, misunderstandings, exhaustion and moments of insight and discovery.

With the mixed Vietnamese-American cast, virtually no knowledge of the other language, hemmed in by strange Communist-but-commercial rules and regulations, the actors struggle with basic differences between cultures.

Emoting openly or (heavens!) kissing on stage is extremely difficult for the Vietnamese actors; the Americans - especially the technical staff - are driven to distraction by three-hour lunch breaks and no semblance of a schedule.

The Portland dramaturg (and instigator of the project) is reduced to tears when the Vietnamese director insists on deep cuts in the text because "the information has already been conveyed." The American director desperately tries to keep things on an even keel. Oh, and no tickets can be sold until government censors attend a performance, meaning that the house for the premiere needs to be filled with "volunteers," even though the producers are expected to raise money. Communist rules in a capitalist environment - a puzzlement.

And, as long as Bill Clinton is visiting Hanoi at the same time, why not have the President at the premiere? It is not to be and the project is kicked out of the Opera House where something else is being produced for the visit. The entire project is jeopardized and producers and directors from the two sides are ready to kill their counterparts. The film's end is suspenseful, moving and memorable. You're likely to remember these people for a long, long time.