Below are Phương’s SELECTS:
I have two stages that shaped me as a filmmaker. The first was before I had real access to cinema. The works I encountered came randomly, through CDs, television, or things I happened to see growing up. I didn’t fully understand them then, but they stayed with me. They shaped my taste, my connection to hip-hop culture, editing, movement, and even why I started dancing. Those early impressions still link directly to what I do today.
The second stage began when I was properly exposed to cinema. Certain films deeply influenced my visual style. I rewatched them repeatedly, trying to understand how they were made how they built worlds, controlled pacing, and constructed emotion. I’ve continued to follow those directors and their evolution, and that curiosity still drives my work now.
I first watched this when I was young, my parents used to play the CD at home. I didn’t understand how something like this could be made as there were so many colors and layers. It left a strong impression on me very early on.
At the time, I thought that the characters were extremely hip-hop. I was especially impressed by Dương Đá Tảng (Duong ‘the Boulder’) and Nam Công tử (Nam ‘The Young Master’). Hip-hop culture was just starting to enter Vietnam, and people around me dressed like in the film, baggy pants, MTV influence. I even started dancing partly because of this. It’s extremely cheesy even cringey, but it’s also a sincere throwback to a time when everyone biked to dance battles and took it very seriously.
I watched this with my parents when I was young and felt very drawn to this version of Vietnam. Watching it again later, I noticed many layers and meanings underneath. It reminds me of a certain time and atmosphere in Vietnam that feels distant now.
This was a big part of my childhood. I really love how the movie imagined the future – the fashion, the atmosphere, the world-building, and the character design. It was probably the first time I felt cinema could create an entirely new reality.
This film influenced my worldview a lot. The idea that a soul can move through memories, through bodies, through both physical and non-physical spaces stayed with me. It feels like looking at the most primitive essence of a human being.
I was drawn to its raw and primitive energy, and the illusion built around the main character. The pacing, the fashion, the wetness of the characters, the lighting. Everything feels very tactile. I also like how love is romanticized inside chaos.
I really like how the film visualizes a trippy mental world using practical effects. Instead of relying on VFX, they build physical setups like a stage opening up. This influenced my current visual style a lot, especially how psychological states can be expressed through physical space.
I like Anton’s use of color and how he visualizes feelings alongside images. The camera moves are distinctive but still poetic, and the treatment never becomes overly complicated or distracting. Everything blends naturally into the image while still expressing a clear idea.
It’s like bad CGI in a way that’s very stylish. The pacing is interesting, and the world feels very graphic and different. I really love BRTHR’s works, their visuals feel instinctive and bold.
