The program of this year's edition of Sehsüchte, the international student film festival, featured the current short film “Trading Happiness” by Vietnamese directing student Duc Ngo Ngoc. He has been studying at the Film University Babelsberg Konrad Wolf, in Germany, since 2015 and has already shot several short and feature-length films, documentaries as well as fictions. “Trading Happiness” is his graduation film and won the production award of the festival. Prior to that, the film was screened at the Filmfest Dresden and Max Ophüls-Preis, where it was also awarded.
The story leads to Vietnam and begins one day before the planned wedding of the family's older daughter Phuong. Phuong lives with her mother and younger sister in a modest house in a modest district outside the city. The family has debts and the wedding with a Chinese businessman is supposed to save the situation. The women find the step difficult, but the future groom looks good and the money is desperately needed. The whole neighborhood comes together for the celebration, everyone puts an envelope with money into an oversized winged heart made of aluminum and they look forward to the homemade food.
Phuong sees the man she is supposed to share her life with from now on, for the first time and realizes that he bears little resemblance to the person she saw in the picture. She becomes queasy about it, but also the inability to talk to him in Chinese and his childlike joy when he talks about his pigs make her strongly doubt his intentions. Following an impulse, she flees. Completely overwhelmed, her mother tries to undo the deal. But she is made to understand that one will not leave without a bride. In case of emergency, the younger daughter would be taken for it. All attempts to raise money fail. The next morning the daughter returns and faces her fate.
Due to China's one-child policy for decades, the country lacks women capable of marriage. Therefore, they look for these in other Asian countries. This bridal service is a thriving business, but the women involved do not always make money. Many of them are sold through intermediaries, others are abducted for this purpose. Either way, these connections result in numerous mixed marriages, which certainly, at least partly, lead to isolation, adaptation difficulties and other psychological stress. In any case, the atmosphere that “Trading Happiness” creates is threatening, although everything remains in the intimation.
The film tells of a strange dependency. We now know a lot about the consequences of the Chinese one-child policy. But it is always impressive to learn more about the various parties involved. The director does not take sides and that is one of the strengths of the film. The sovereign and interesting picture finding as well as the outstanding cast up to the supporting roles are the others. Nhu Quynh and Tran Thien Tu harmonize as mother and daughter. Khing Boon-Heng acts as an overburdened groom, whose permanent smile appears more and more oppressive to the viewer – as it does to the bride. Remarkable is also Dang Ngoc Thu in the role of the marriage broker, who fluctuates between honey-sweet and uncompromisingly malicious within a very short time.
