The blights of social media and the extremes people reach in order to achieve internet success has been a common motif throughout cinema recently, and even more titles from ASEAN countries, where SNS seem to dominate a rather large part of everyday life. Singer and actor turned director Khuong Ngoc presents his own take on the topic, through two rather extreme stories.
LIVE (Phat Truc Tiep) will be available in US theaters starting November 17, courtesy of 3388 Films
In the era the film takes place in, which could be both the present and the future, two platforms hosting potential influencers, Mukbang and Reviewer, are dominating the SNS setting, by having people doing everything in their power to draw in followers, fans, view counts, and most of all, flowers, the currency of the whole thing. Truc, a budding Mukbanger who tries to be famous by eating enormous portions of occasionally disgusting food, is one of those wannabees, who is willing to go as far as even ending up in hospital due to what she is consuming. Emi, one of the top celebrities in Mukbang, particularly due to her impressive silicone breasts, looks down on Truc, up until the latter discovers a pill that makes her appetite insatiable, eventually skyrocketing her own popularity. As the two become arch enemies, their antagonism culminates in an intense competition.
In the second story. Hoang, a star Reviewer who is quite popular, gets entangled in a death scandal that ends up with him being considered as the main instigator. Soon, his reputation plummets and he becomes canceled to the point that he is barely able to survive, among lack of funds and constant attacks from everyone around him.
Khuong Ngoc directs two very different stories, both of which, however, present quite eloquently the consequences of internet, social media, and fame addiction, which have gradually become the rule in many parts of this world. In that fashion, the comments presented in the movie are spot on, and essentially move beyond the consequences of the web, into the human psyche. How sex and human pain in all its forms attract (web) viewers is one of the main ones in the first story, with Ngoc using a particularly direct and even grotesque on occasion approach to highlight this remark. That people are willing to indulge in both, from both sides, the presenters who actually make the content and the viewers, who are even willing to pay to watch people get disgraced, is another rather pointed comment here, cementing the rich context of the movie.
At the same time, and particularly in the first part, the visuals are so impressive that someone actually needs to try to reach the context here. It is not only the intense number of different scenes that pass in front of the screen, occasionally with thunderous speed, it is also the coloring, the set design and the sound, all of which create a setting that starts as ridiculous and turns into hellish as time passes. Particularly the final broadcast is as grotesquely impressive as possible, with Ngoc essentially mocking his protagonists in the crudest way, in an approach that gets his messages across as eloquently as possible while also entertaining the viewer (with the strong stomach).
The second part, on the other hand, slows down both in pace and visuals, in order to present a more “conventional” drama, this time focusing on the whole concept of canceling. The declining path of a rather popular reviewer towards disrepute and eventually even utter degradation is shattering to watch, as it is realistic in the way the particular world works. Once more, Ngoc criticizes both sides for going too far, the content generators in their pursuit of fame and the audience for their willingness to easily bury what they worshiped before.
At the same time, and in another rather interesting aspect here, the fact that the two protagonists follow completely opposite paths, one from the bottom up and the other from the top down, also emerges as quite intriguing, while adding even more to the whole presentation of how the particular world works.
Ngoc asks a lot of his protagonists, and they manage to deliver fully. Ngoc Phuoc as Truc is impressive in her obsession and the way she loses her grip on reality as time passes. The antithesis with Ngân 98's Emi also works quite well here, particularly since the latter starts from the top only to be dragged down in her similar pursuit of fame. Quốc Khánh as Hoang highlights his demise, and his failing effort to prevent it quite convincingly, rounding up the overall excellent acting aspect here.
“LIVE (Phat Truc Tiep)” is an excellent film that manages to eloquently communicate its plethora of comments while also retaining entertainment through an approach that moves towards comedic, dramatic and even horror paths.
