ONE WISH (Lật Mặt 7: Một Điều Ước ) (2024)

Genre: Drama
Director: Ly Hai
Cast: Quach Ngoc Ngoan, Tram Anh, Truong Minh Cuong, Tran Kim Hai, Thanh Hien, Dinh Y Nhung
Runtime: 2 hrs 20 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: Shaw Organisation
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 18 July 2024

Synopsis: The longest and most successful franchise in Vietnam delivers a rejuvenating twist with its latest instalment, taking audiences on an enlightening journey with Ba Hai, a 73-year-old widow who questions the meaning of family love after an injury forces her to depend on the care of her 5 busy adult children.

Movie Review:

Naturally, you’d think that this Vietnamese movie is riding on the popularity of Pat Boonnitipat’s commercially and critically successful How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies.

The protagonists of both movies are kind looking grandma characters, and because of their old age, you know it’s a matter of time before they pass on. And you’d be heartless if you don’t feel anything or relate the story to your own experience.

It is important to note that for the Vietnamese production we are reviewing is a longest and most successful franchise in its home country. Known as the “Face Off” series in Vietnam, each title is a standalone tale. Director Ly Hai made the instalment in 2015, and he is delivering the seventh movie nine years later. Considering how each instalment has earned bigger bucks at the box office than the previous one, it is only a matter of time the success is seen in other parts of the world, especially in the Southeast Asian region where we are situated. In fact, there were many Vietnamese in the audience at the preview screening this writer attended, and it was evident that they enjoyed the 140 minute movie.

And rightly so, because the sentimental film plays out like a travelogue and features some of the most scenic locations in Vietnam. This makes it instantly relatable to Vietnamese who have been away from home for a while. The movie is also like a soap opera series with individual episodes that can be viewed independently.

This then brings us to the story. Ba Hai (Thanh Hien) is a widow who gave her all raising her children. When the kids grow up, she enjoys her time selling flowers and interacting with neighbours in a slow paced countryside of the country. A vehicle rams into her roadside stall one day and she ends up injured, and this prompts her five children to come up with a plan to take turns caring for their mother. The thing is, they live in different parts of the country and are seemingly too busy to make time for the poor old lady.

The movie conveniently segmentises the story to have Mdm Hai travelling to the different children’s homes. And expectedly, each chapter sees a situation where Mdm Hai saving the day with her almost perfect motherly instinct. There is the eldest son who stays in a swanky apartment but has a hard time with his uptight wife and rebellious daughter. Then there is the son who earns a living as a fisherman and you know something bad is going to happen when he heads out to sea during a stormy season. There is also the daughter who works as a farmer and tries to convince Mdm Hai that she lives a comfortable and luxurious life – this entertaining segment also happens to be our favourite. And not forgetting the son who runs a construction business and gets into trouble when some calculations go wrong.

As much as you think the drama in each child’s home is too conveniently scripted, you also have to admit that these are the issues that happen in your family. Amidst the shouting and arguing, it is also what makes the family, and at the end of the day, these are the people in your life that matter.

Movie Rating:

(A sentimental family drama that reminds you to appreciate of all the great things your mother has done)

Review by John Li