Saigon Electric
Vietnam/USA 2011 Producers: Elizabeth Ai, Danny Do, Stephane Gauger |
What happens when director Stephane Gauger (Owl and Sparrow) combines the culture of hip hop that originated in 1970’s New York with one of the most complex, crowded, and oldest cities in the world?
The answer is Saigon Electric, Gauger’s innovative take on hip hop street dance and Saigon.
At the plot level, it’s a classic dance-movie plot. Mai, a ribbon dancer from the countryside moves to Saigon to audition for a dance school only to find herself over her head. A street dancer named Kim falls for a guy from the right side of the tracks. And their crew, Saigon Fresh, risks losing their community center/dance space to greedy hotel developers unless they can outduel their rivals, the North Killaz.
But three aspects distinguish Electric from the rest of the dance movie pack.
The first is Gauger’s attention to detail, all the seemingly little factors that quickly add up to pack a cinematic punch. The score and music, by Pete Nguyen and DJ Slim respectively, add reflection and energy to Gauger’s great eye for and camera work of daily life in contemporary Saigon. The opening sequence of a b-boy dancing in a puddle is gorgeous and sets a definitive tone for the rest of the film.
Second, the performance of the actors, while especially raw for the dancers, is visceral. There is a sense that these dancers, who learned so much of their craft watching videos and YouTube from abroad, want to return the favor and get their name out to the world with passionate performances that range from street solos to impromptu battles to a full-fledged competition. Newcomer Quynh Hoa, who plays Kim, has a battle face and street swagger that could make her at home in the streets of Los Angeles or New York.
And last, Gauger’s global vision rings true. Vietnam is now a young country, with a majority of the population of ninety million inhabitants under the age of thirty-five. In Saigon Electric, he captures the story of a city and a nation, for better or worse, dancing itself into an interconnected future.
Synopsis by: Ky-Phong Tran
Print & Tape Source
Saigon Electric, LLC
Kenneth Nguyen
4202 Jefferson Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA, USA
Tel.: 213-446-2274
nguyenkenneth@hotmail.com