The Tofu Maker's Son

In a ship's container, a man cannot put himself to sleep. He is, in fact, on a night flight across continents. Jet-lagged and overwhelmed by time's lassitude, the man relapses into his innermost memories of other places and times. There, in the container, he meets his teenage self, who is remembering his childhood experience as a refugee living in a segregated camp in Hong Kong. They talk, confront, and reproach each other over their mother's coin.

The alleyways of Ho Chi Minh City are narrow and labyrinthine, with walls full of splatters and flyers advertising all kinds of services. Through Đỗ Văn Hoàng’s lens, they become a stage whereby the surrealist drama of idleness unfolds. In between moments of profound uncertainty and darkness are playful dialogues grounded in the experience of traversing the city. Probationary speaks of the existential issue of livelihood from within, without pretense.