Kien

Kien was expelled from the Hanoi Fine Arts College, as he was HIV positive. Painting has become his refuge. His friends try to express their compassion, but suffering cannot be shared. “If we cry in the same glass, our tears do not mingle.” The film is like these friends, convinced that if people knew Kien’s story they would no longer reject him, that their attitude to his HIV would change and that, if his suffering were better understood, it would be somewhat alleviated. Kien agrees to tell his story, but only off camera. Kien refuses the filmmaker’s tears. It is only when the filmmaker realises his approach is mistaken that, step by step, the film like the phoenix rises out of the ashes and comes face to face with its real subject. (Yann Lardeau)