Flapping in the Middle of Nowhere (Đập Cánh Giữa Không Trung)
Nguyễn Hoàng Điệp’s film Flapping in the Middle of Nowhere, revolves around a simple premise: a young woman has to make a decision about whether or not she should get an abortion. But how Nguyễn tells this story is startlingly poetic. A transplant from the countryside, Huyền is a college student living in Hanoi. Her boyfriend Tùng is a state-employed worker who participates in cockfights to supplement his income. As viewers quickly find out, Tùng is, to use Jay-Z’s words, “young, slung and hung.” His primary motivation is to have as much sex with women as possible, and not necessarily to provide for his girlfriend’s abortion. Tùng’s scheme to do this actually becomes aborted midway through the film.
Huyền, on the other hand, is anxious about the abortion and worries about having enough money to pay for the procedure. As a result, she dabbles in a little sex work—thanks in part
to her transgender roommate’s introduction to a local madam.
Such details form the skeletal frame for Flapping in the Middle of Nowhere, but they belie the way the film richly fleshes out the lives of these characters. The film breathes life into the young characters’ lives with both sensitivity and sensuality. Most of all, Flapping speaks
eloquently to the conditions of being a part of and yet apart from contemporary Vietnamese society. The motif of food –cháo (or rice porridge) to be precise – becomes a reminder of what little this underclass of students, sex workers, and laborers have to sustain themselves in contemporary Vietnam. A bracingly fresh debut from a woman director, Flapping stands as one of the most important films to emerge from this country’s cinema. It is for this eason that Viet Film Fest has decided to close with this evocative film.
Viewer discretion is advised
TALKING TO MY MOTHER
The film explores the complicated relationships between Michael, a second-generation Chinese American man; his mother, Mrs. Yue; and Julianne, his girlfriend of two years, to whom he plans to propose. After a twist of fate, Julianne accidentally discovers Michael's secret that would change their lives forever. Will Michael be able to face the truth with his loved ones--and most importantly, himself before it's too late?