Vietnamese Videos & Media

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A very enjoyable way to immerse yourself in the language and pick up new expressions and phrases is by watching Vietnamese movies with English subtitles.

Find a scene, play it a few times, write down the words, and then try and act it out yourself with all the feeling and gestures used in the movie. Using your body and feelings to act a part will dramatically boost your retention - much more than sitting at a desk and trying to memorize words.

Below are some famous Vietnamese movies which you could use as language learning tools, but will also give you a glimpse of the fascinating culture and history of the country.

The Scent of Green Papaya: Set in the 1950's this film explores the interior life of a Saigon family as seen through the eyes of young servant girl. When the father of the family absconds with all the family money, the mother is forced to eek out a living through her small fabric shop. Although very slow moving, the film is beatifully shot and gives you a real feel of what living in 1950s Saigon was like.

The Vertical Ray of the Sun: Shot in Hanoi, this film follows the lives of three beautful sisters during the month of the anniversaries of their mother and father's deaths. Attempting to protect the ideal memory of their parents, the girls recount their happy memories, as the serene charm of the café they run is to be overturned by an unexpected preganancy and other marital problems.

Buffalo Boy: A powerful coming of age story about 15 year old Kim, the son of a poor family in 1940's Cá-Mao on the southern tip of the country where the lowland meets the sea. Every rainy season the area is completely flooded for about six months, and the farmers must take their buffalo on a long and arduous journey to the mountains. When Kim's ailing father asks him to take their two starving buffalo in search of food, he takes up with a rough and dangerous band of buffalo herders. On the jounry he discovers the adult world of brawls, alcohol and pillaging - one that in the end turns into friendship, freedom and love.

DAT KHO - Land of Sorrows: A though provoking film which dramatizes the effects of the Vietnam War on a single family, who face the inner conflict of having to decide whether to stay in the country they love or to flee abroad.

Help Others Live & Learn Vietnamese

Have you enjoyed watching Vietnamese videos or films? Do you know of a place to get DVD's with Vietnamese language options? If so we'd love to hear from you!

Please e-mail us your findings using he form below. Your shared language learning experiences will save other language learners' time, energy, and money. In fact, that is the the mission of Live & Learn Languages!