Pham Thi Hao

Thi was born in a traditional family in the country. Her parents are teachers. She came to Hanoi to study languages. Today, she works as a translator. In the city, she gains more freedom: she meets foreigners and some of them have become friends. But when her mother comes to visit, she reminds Thi of the principles of traditional education, the duties and obligations of a young woman, and is insistent on the issues of marriage and children.

“The Glorious Pain” is a documentary film which features the journey of a small classical Vietnamese opera (Tuồng) troup and one of the very few left, as they travel and perform through the Western Vietnam countryside. The Royal characters, behind the closed curtains are commoners and peasants who struggle to make ends meet. The troup is on the verge of disbandment because the main artists were going through a hard time. What future awaits the troup and its artists? Would it disappear in the same way as many other traditional art forms?