Ky Nam Restaurant: Causing a fever with early screenings, promising to be a year-end box office highlight

Amidst the bustling year-end movie season, director Leon Le 's Quan Ky Nam attracted strong attention with a sold-out early screening, promising to become a rare artistic highlight at the Vietnamese box office.

The Vietnamese film market in the last months of the year is heating up day by day with the appearance of a series of entertainment projects. In that context, Quan Ky Nam - the latest film by director Leon Le - suddenly became the center of attention because of its rare artistic color in commercial theaters. Although it has not been officially released, the work has proven its strong appeal with impressive numbers right from the early screenings.

On the evening of November 27, the film opened a special screening at 6 p.m., before being released nationwide on November 28, 2025. In just a few hours, the number of tickets sold exceeded 300, bringing in more than 28 million VND in revenue (as of 11 a.m. on November 27). This is considered a positive signal for an art film - a film genre that is often selective of audiences but possesses a depth of emotion that most commercial films find difficult to achieve.

One of the factors that makes Quan Ky Nam so anticipated is the reunion of director Leon Le and actor Lien Binh Phat after the artistic mark that Song Lang left. If Song Lang is a tribute to Cai Luong in cinematic language, Quan Ky Nam continues to exploit emotional colors but in a completely different space: Saigon in the 1980s.

The film is set in an old residential area where Khang, a young translator from the countryside, moves to the city to start his career. His life gradually intersects with Ky Nam, a widowed woman from Hanoi who lives quietly with a small restaurant she runs herself. The chance encounters, the sparse questions and the hesitant looks create a delicate emotional flow, light as a breath but full of life.

Instead of following a fast pace or dramatic drama, the film chooses a slow storytelling style, focusing on the hidden emotions of the characters. Each frame is carefully crafted by the director like a painting, where light, color and space all convey emotions.

What makes film lovers especially curious is Leon Le's use of 35mm film - a rare material in modern Vietnamese cinema. This choice brings a retro, rustic nuance, making old Saigon appear both thoughtful and full of memories. According to many critics, Quan Ky Nam has a "literary breath", is rich in poetry, and prioritizes sophistication over noise.

Not only is it a story about two lonely people, Quan Ky Nam also opens up a world where every sound, dish or street corner evokes memories. The radio from the neighbor's house, simple meals under yellow lights, the sound of someone reading poetry in a small room... all blend together to create a picture of life rich in emotions.

The old residential area – where people are close to each other like a family – also becomes the soul of the film. That closeness is what makes many older audiences feel familiar, while young people are curious about a Saigon they have never seen.

Right from the special screening on the evening of November 27, Quan Ky Nam received positive feedback. The fact that audiences proactively bought tickets early shows that this could be a rare work of art that creates a boost at the box office at the end of the year - a time that favors entertaining films.

Lien Binh Phat: From a young entertainment star to the prestigious "King of the Golden Stars" Kim Chung Thảo Vi12:46:55 19/10/2025Lien Binh Phat has risen to international fame, from Song Lang to Running Man Vietnam, and has just won the prestigious 2025 Kim Chung Award, affirming his outstanding talent and becoming a great pride of Vietnamese cinema.