It
is probably safe to argue the first emperor of the Later Lý Dynasty was
considerable better than his predecessor, the last king of the Anterior Lê
Dynasty. The latter was only the third of a short line, who had killed the
second, his brother, soon after he ascended to throne. The future emperor Ly
Cong Uan witnessed all that chaos and oppression first hand, learning lessons
in governance to establish a new dynasty that would last for two centuries. Ly’s
rise from humble roots to the heights of royal power are chronicled in Luu
Trong Ninh’s The Prince and the Pagoda
Boy (trailer
here),
which screens during the 2015 edition of New Vietnamese Cinema at the Honolulu
Museum of Art.
Little
is known of Ly’s mother, but it is an established fact he was raised in a
pagoda as a Buddhist disciple. As a result, young Ly had mad skills that he
used to defend the village children from bullies. Recognizing Ly just is not
ready for enlightenment yet, his master transfers him into the king’s service.
The new officer cuts quite the imposing figure, so Le Long Dinh, one of three
ambitious princes vying to succeed their father, makes a point of befriending him.
However,
Ly still has the same sense of righteous justice, causing friction with the
prince, especially after he kills his freshly crowned older brother to claim
the throne for himself. Nevertheless, Ly agrees to return to Le’s service to
help unify the nation and establish security for the peasantry. Of course,
their new understanding will only last so long, given Le’s duplicitous nature
and Ly’s ethical principles. To top it all off, they are both attracted to the
same woman.
You
probably shouldn’t swear by the historical details in Pagoda. Some liberties might have been taken, especially with
respects to Ly’s hardscrabble origins, but they make for a big sweeping Horatio
Alger epic. However, the film will have plenty of credibility with martial arts
fans thanks to the involvement of action star Johnny Tri Nguyen as the fight coordinator.
There are some great battle scenes, but it is tough to top young (ten-ish) Ly
laying a beatdown on a trio of thuggish twelve year olds (who surely walked
away from the film with only minor bruising. After all Nguyen co-starred in Power Kids, so he must have picked up
plenty of child safety tips there).
Quách
Ngoc Ngoan is also a pretty convincing action star and dignified enough to be a
future emperor. His size, athleticism, and a speak-softly-but-carry-a-big-stick
presence have the potential to breakout with international fans if they see
enough of him. Alas, that could be the tricky part (as it has been for Nguyen),
considering Pagoda was released in
2010 to celebrate the millennial of Ly’s founding of Hanoi as the new Capitol
city.
Likewise,
the young actor playing Ly while still a Pagoda Boy has tremendous moves and similarly
impressive screen charisma. Understanding the demands of villainy, Vu Dinh Toán’s
prince aptly chews the scenery and preens like a peacock, embodying the
absolute antithesis of the ramrod-straight Ly.
