AND HUNDREDS OF YEARS FROM NOW WILL ANYONE CRY THE SONGS I CRIED?
TWO HUNDRED YEARS LATER
COOPERATE WITH
PRESENT
A FILM BY MAI THU HUYEN
BASED ON 'TALE OF KIEU', A POETIC MASTERPIECE BY NGUYEN DU
♪♪ [epic]
♪♪ [continues]
♪♪ [ends]
♪♪ [opera]
♪ For hundreds of years in the realm of humans ♪
♪ Talent and fate are always apt to strife ♪
♪ The trials, the tribulations in life ♪
♪ Only leave behind mournful stories ♪
Let me see my family off for the last time.
Sir?
My life is now in the hands of fate.
Oh father!
man: Wow, what a gorgeous blossom!
[chattering]
[chattering continues]
That woman up there is Tu Ba, the owner of this establishment.
Let's go greet her.
Hello.
Everyone here calls me 'Mother'.
My my... What bewitching beauty!
Well worth every penny I'd say.
Fret not.
Soon enough I will show you the ropes around here...
all the ropes.
Aren't I to be wedded to my consort?
Tu Ba: [maniacal laugh]
This bordello is your home now,
and the gentlemen who come here, they are indeed your husbands.
[chattering]
man: [grunts]
[chattering continues]
♪♪ [suspenseful]
♪♪ [continues]
- Hey beautiful, where have you been? - Let go of me! Let go of me!
Come with me, come with me!
man: [grunts]
[thud]
[water dripping]
woman: Water.
Water.
[water continues dripping]
Why did they treat you so badly?
I tried to escape...
But they captured me...
There's no getting out of this whorehouse!
Don't.
You'd be beaten to a pulp!
[door opens]
[snickers]
Such dainty hands...
and yet you still managed to break the lock!
Very good!
Mother... please...
Mother... please don't...
[screaming]
[eerie supernatural sounds]
[thud]
[groaning]
You cannot, why? You cannot!
What on earth did you do to her?
She... she can't be touched!
How can I trust you with hands that reek of vulgarity?
I'm telling you!
You can't touch her.
I'm... I'm scared. I really am.
So that means...
she's a virgin?
A virgin?
But we spent so little on her!
And we will find ways to sell her tenfolds.
What if she doesn't comply?
Tu Ba: Then we remind her why she ended up here in the first place
♪♪ [soft, cheerful instrumental]
♪♪ [continues]
How dare you! Don't you know she came from a lineage of blue blood?
How dare you!
Get lost! Scram!
My dear! So beautiful!
Come! Come with me.
I'll make you even more breathtaking.
[chattering]
Look alive, darling.
Let's go.
It's your regular!
Do you need something?
What are you up to, Thuc Sinh?
Painting water rolling in waves,
clouds floating by,
and people daydreaming.
For someone whose dreams are only of money,
must be very hard to capture, Tu Ba
♪♪ [bright, cheerful instrumental]
Kieu here is my latest addition to the family.
We're looking for the finest silk to match with her grace and talent.
Eyes pure like fall lakes, brows bold like spring hills,
Flowers grudge such crimson lips,
willows crave such verdant hair.
Wait for me.
Thuc Sinh here trades fine silk, from Hedong to Hangzhou.
He is the one to go to for the best silk in town.
And for the best courtesans, only at my salon!
I come from an educated household, I cannot sell myself like that.
Please don't make me
You're an exquisite flower, with talents to match...
not to mention, an untouched flower,
I would be a fool to make you do such a thing!
I will for sure find you a husband of repute.
♪♪ [bright, cheerful instrumental]
♪♪ [continues]
[synchronized percussion]
I travelled hundred of miles to get here...
only for this mediocrity?
[inaudible whispering]
woman: I fear for your future...
Who are you?
I am the one to whom you paid a visit.
Do you remember?
♪ Such forlorn is a woman's fate ♪
♪ After all, a bitter ending is destined for all of us ♪
It warmed my heart dearly.
It has been so long since someone burned an incense for me.
Thank you.
You're Dam Tien?
A wife of all, then a nameless ghost...
So?
I wouldn't even take 900 taels.
This much will only allow you to look then.
Keep this dagger. For your safety.
To be in your arms is indeed to die for!
One more step and I'll slit my throat!
♪♪ [whimsical]
Maybe, just maybe, this whole boat of silk could get her out.
She's not a dime a dozen, you know.
Her grace and talent are unmatched.
Come by and see it.
Tonight, I'll make sure you look just heavenly!
A noble man will take you home.
Useless! Useless! Useless!
- Guard! - Yes.
Mother... Please have mercy on me!
Wait.
Oh dear.
What happened to your arm?
After all these months and you still can't get one chord right!
How can she play with such a tattered arm like that!
Please.
You have Kieu's good grace to be thankful for.
♪♪ [percussive instrumental]
♪♪ [continues]
Let go!
Sir.
It's rumored that there's a surprise tonight,
And I'm seated here, looking at the same boring stuff.
The flower is waiting for your arrival to bloom.
♪♪ [string instrument]
Oh my God.
Sir?
Is she to your liking?
A natural being in white jade! As if fairies descended unto earth!
What a beautiful sound.
Yet how it drowns in bittersweetness.
And she's still untouched!
You're kidding!
♪♪ [continues]
- ♪♪ [stops] - [audience gasps]
I will get you out of this place.
This melody has to be mine!
This beauty can only be mine!
No one has the right to kill the music.
What a spoilsport!
Will this buy me such right?
What a waste of good music, drowned in the sound of dirty money.
You can't stay in a vulgar place like this.
I will get you out.
Are you ok, sir?
Sir.
Guard!
Kill him!
Go help him! Go on!
♪♪ [intense]
♪♪ [continues]
[screaming]
This is from him.
Where is he?
Madame said to not let him in for now,
in fear of another altercation.
But he said he would get you out of here at all cost.
Kieu, it's not easy to come by a nice gentleman.
This is your one chance.
Don't miss it.
Thank you.
I should be thanking you instead.
Thanks to you, I'm no longer a courtesan.
Tu Ba lets me be her maid instead.
female: [scream]
If you can't get Kieu, you'll have to find another sacrifice next month!
- She must be a virgin! - Yes sir.
Who is he? How dare he stand in my way?
Dear sir! He trades silk at the docks.
To be against you would be like striking a stone with eggs.
Let's see how much that boat of silk is worth.
It's burning!
Put out the fire!
♪♪ [dramatic]
Sir, it's too dangerous!
The painting!
Quickly, get out!
Let me go!
♪♪ [continues]
[horse galloping]
♪♪ [relaxing]
I've asked the maids to set a table here so you can enjoy the scenery.
♪♪ [instrumental]
♪♪ [continues]
Is there something on your mind?
There's a merchant in Hedong with great threads coming.
So... you'll have to go soon?
I truly want to be here with you.
But I have to go to get first dibs on that shipment.
Please eat something.
♪♪ [string instrument]
Sir.
♪♪ [continues]
Yes sir.
How much did Tu Ba spend on her?
A lot, sir.
How much is "a lot"?
Four hundred gold taels.
But she won't let her go.
As you can see,
people have been flocking here as if it was a festival, just to see Kieu.
Madame would be foolish for sending her money spinner away.
Then I, too, would be foolish not to obtain her.
♪♪ [continues]
[ominous sound]
What the...
Guard!
Help!
♪♪ [intense, ominous]
[splash]
All of my jewelries are here should be enough for your business trip.
But you really treasure them.
I've made a vow to protect you from men of all kind. No one can touch you.
But what if someone treats me with love...
and respect?
No such thing as love and respect in a salon my dear.
They all come here for one thing, and one thing only.
But he's different.
He's not like them.
You're blinded by lust!
Thuc Sinh!
You forgot this.
This is yours.
I don't have the hearts to sell it.
Please take care of yourself.
♪♪ [instrumental]
♪♪ [continues]
[birds chirping]
Mother.
Did your husband tell you when he'd be back?
Answer me.
With him constantly on the road like that, when am I to have an offspring?
It's my fault that I can't conceive a child, not his.
Like all the animals in this world, people need to be in herds, in pairs,...
so as a woman, it is your duty to keep your husband by your side.
Our family is one of means,
how can you be so spineless?
It's because we are a family of means that my husband has to work so hard to be rich,
so that he doesn't get the reputation of riding on his wife's coattails.
What people say is true, a woman in love is a foolish one!
[eerie sound]
Why do you keep following me?
The other day I lost my temper. My apologies.
It's sad without you here,
that makes me miss him too.
Kieu!
Who were you talking to?
No one, madame...
Why the long face?
Chin up! I'm about to find you a suitable consort.
♪♪ [dark]
♪♪ [continues]
This beauty, it's out of this world!
Such a shame that the fire got to it.
- Go fetch the dandy some water to wash his hands! - Yes.
Tu Ba,
people say that antiques increase value over time,
and women lose theirs.
I've made a better offer that what you initially paid for.
But this is once in a blue moon!
No one in this town will be able to match my offer.
You are correct!
But there might be another gentleman across town who is just as infatuated?
You mean that bastard who owns this boat?
I shall wait and see! The painting!
The painting! The painting!
Sir.
My painting...
You whore! How dare you ruin my painting!
You dare to defy me!
Die! Die!
What's wrong?
What happened to your face?
No one here will buy that burnt boat with that price.
Fine.
I need the money right now.
As you wish.
Pleasure doing business with you.
♪♪ [intense, energetic]
That sack of money you're carrying belongs to someone else.
We want it back.
You're picking the wrong one to rob, lads.
♪♪ [continues]
Follow him!
♪♪ [continues]
Exactly one thousand gold taels. Just like you asked.
I am a man of my words.
And I am a business woman.
Pay your money, take your choice.
♪♪ [brooding]
♪♪ [continues]
Why?
Where is Kieu?
How dare you lie to me?
I don't know what to say... Thank you.
They will torture you to death...
I died a long time ago
from the day I stepped into this whorehouse!
[angry growl]
My money... Where are you taking my money?
It's my money!
My money! It's my money! My money! How dare you?
My money. My money!
My money!
♪♪ [uplifting]
♪♪ [continues]
Thuc Sinh!
Kieu!
How dare you disobey me?
Please leave us alone.
Get lost!
♪♪ [ominous]
♪♪ [continues]
For hundreds of years,
I have been resting in a cold,
wild grave and you came and woke me up.
I thought my resentment had died out,
and then you, with your dark destiny,
resurrected it!
People can die from resentment and hate.
But how unfortune to have them eat you alive.
Thanks to my hatred towards all men,
you have been saved countless of times from being dishonored!
Do you know why?
Because we are one.
Because I am you, from hundreds of years ago.
Things have changed after all these years.
I am not you.
I want to be able to love in this life.
You no longer need my protection?
The gratitude I have for you,
I shall carry with me to my grave.
But I love him.
And I don't want anyone to stand in the way of our love!
♪♪ [uplifting]
♪♪ [contintues]
♪♪ [continues]
[water splatter]
Where are we?
We're home.
♪♪ [relaxing, cheerful]
♪♪ [continues]
[thunder]
There must be something of great importance to make you travel all the way here.
Isn't it curious that Thuc Sinh is such a great painter,
and yet there appears to be no portrait of you, a woman of beauty and grace?
My husband is busy dealing with greater issues, there's no time for him to participate in frivolous hobbies.
Do you recognize these brush strokes? Familiar, no?
And is this said "great issue" that you referred to?
Would you like to know who this maiden is?
What fictional nonsense!
Who are you to spread vile rumors about my husband?
Guards!
-Yes. - Madame,
please believe me! I only want to help you! What I'm telling you is the truth!
Madame!
Get lost!
How can you do this to me?
Madame, please!
[whistling]
[bird whistling]
What are you doing?
[whistling]
- [whistling] - [whistling]
[bird continuously whistling]
[footsteps]
- I want to find where she is. - Yes.
[waterfall burbling]
♪♪ [string instrument]
♪♪ [flute joins in]
♪♪ [continues]
♪♪ [uplifting]
♪♪ [continues]
♪♪ [intense, dramatic]
[screaming]
♪♪ [emotional]
♪♪ [continues]
[thunder]
[shill screaming]
[sobbing]
Since she got back,
she hasn't eaten anything, or spoken to anyone.
Let me handle it.
Yes, madame.
Thuc Sinh is having an affair, isn't he?
That bastard gained a lot when he came to marry into this household.
He went from rags to riches and yet he dared to betray my daughter!
I'll show him!
Mother!
Please hear me out.
I've been thinking.
If word of this gets out,
it will jeopardize our reputation greatly,
and I will lose every last bit of my dignity!
We can't keep the lid on such a heinous act for long!
A needle lost in a bundle will eventually come to the surface.
We're having a death anniversary coming up,
aren't we?
This should be enough food for you while I'm gone.
So that I'm always by your side.
I'll be back soon.
♪♪ [emotional]
♪♪ [continues]
[sobbing]
♪♪ [continues]
Coming home at night, lonesome shadows awaits
While he alone ventures into wilderness.
High above who cut the moon into two?
One stampes the pillow, half brightens his road.
You've travelled so far to honor your in-law like this.
- He would be proud. - Yes.
In the olden days,
this incense was used only in the royal palace, reserved for the concubines,
when they were selected to serve the king. If madame uses it, sir will surely love it.
♪♪
♪♪ [suspenseful]
♪♪ [continues]
[maniacal laughing]
Trying to run huh?
Let go of me!
Help!
Help me!
Help.
[thud]
What's the matter?
I'm... I'm tired.
That's not it.
You're daydreaming.
There's someone occupying your mind, isn't there?
It's common for men to have mistresses.
But I'm your wife.
I demand to know.
Actually...
Toss it all out now! This second-rate rubbish is not deserving to be up here!
I just have a lot on my mind right now...
Especially my business.
Things aren't very good right now.
You're of the metal sign,
and this is month of fire.
Fire melts metal.
Be careful when you deal with fire.
♪♪ [intense]
[horse galloping]
♪♪ [dramatic]
♪♪ [continues]
No!
♪♪ [emotional]
♪♪ [continues]
Let's get something to eat.
You stay here and watch her.
Don't be too long.
Intruder! Catch him!
- Run! - Run!
- Now what? - Let's go.
- Run! - Run!
Run!
Jump into the river, get to the other side!
Hurry!
Help.
Help me.
You seem to come from a good family.
So I took mercy on you and let you be a maid here.
From now on, your name is Hoa No.
I don't know how to thank you for your saving grace.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
Faster.
Pour some water over here.
Why are we planting flowers on a stone floor?
Just do what you're told and stop asking questions.
Make haste.
Here comes Lady Hoan Thu.
This new maid was rescued by Madame Hoan. She's new here.
Very pretty.
Like a wildflower.
Easy to pluck, hard to plant?
Looks like the hand of a talented person.
You must play for me some time.
This shall be fun I'm sure.
Everything is ready, my lady.
Very well.
Make haste.
Why are you still here?
Lady Hoan Thu is looking for you!
To receive such a warm welcome after a long trip,
what a nice surprise.
There's a lot more in store for you.
Please, enjoy.
Go ahead and eat.
Pour some wine for my husband.
♪♪ [dramatic]
She's our new maid,
she doesn't know the ropes yet.
Fetch a fresh pair of chopsticks for my son now.
Yes madame.
[sobbing]
Kieu.
Try and bear through it.
Don't do anything foolish!
[ground cracking open]
Please forgive my ineptitude.
This girl,
beautiful but not bright,
still so much to learn.
If you apologize you must raise your face
to look in each other's eyes so he can see how sorry you are!
Come on,
let's raise a glass for this pair of soulmate finally reunited.
May we soon be blessed with an offspring!
Let me see.
What an eyesore!
Our family is of the rich and famous,
why would you wear tasteless junk?
This bracelet is made of delicate fauna,
how could you say that it's tasteless?
Things brought from the wilderness can carry evil spirits with them.
Burn it.
[eerie sound]
Can't you take a hint?
My husband needs the fire.
[sigh[
♪♪ [opera]
♪ All things in life are but determined by God ♪
♪ Before one is born, one is given a fate from above ♪
♪ A turmoiled life must be at one with the wind and dust, A highborn one, refinery ♪
[thunder]
What familiar scenery, don't you reckon?
Very charming indeed.
Drink this wine, for a night full of intimacy.
Right here on this bed of flowers?
Soft bed and great wine
what else is missing?
No.
You being right here is all I need.
Lady Hoan Thu ordered it.
Start playing!
♪♪ [string instrument]
We're just maids and servants.
Bear through it!
♪♪ [stops]
You seem to have forgotten who saved your life don't you?
Keep playing!
♪♪ [continues playing]
No.
I can't!
Didn't you use to love these modest flowers?
Or am I no longer good enough for you?
♪♪ [stops]
Pour the wine!
[wine pouring]
[whimpering]
Stop.
You played very nicely out there,
but it was too faint.
Stay here and play for us!
Turn around.
♪♪ [continues playing]
♪♪ [continues]
Such sensual music. I hope this will keep us up all night.
No!
Let's get this over with!
Kieu!
Thuc Sinh!
Stop!
Listen to me.
Please know that I'm torn.
Love on one side.
Obligation on the other.
Which side carries more weight?
Please forgive me.
♪♪ [emotional]
Love is unjust.
But what goes around, comes around!
♪♪ [ominous]
♪♪ [continues]
Dam Tien: Remember who tortured and dishonored you!
Kill her.
What goes around, comes around!
No!
Thuy Kieu!
You can't run from the hands of fate!
Some people have proven to beat the odds.
You saved me...
How could I not? I am your husband after all. Till death do us part.
♪♪ [emotional]
I'm alive.
But my heart stopped beating long ago.
♪♪ [continues]
♪♪ ['KIEU MENH KHUC' BY BUI LAN HUONG]
♪♪ [continues]
♪♪ [end]