Tran Nu Yen Khe: "Muse" of Tran Anh Hung, once won the Miss crown

Tran Nu Yen Khe is no stranger to those who love cinema. She is one of the most famous Vietnamese actors in the international Saturday art scene, having appeared in many famous films such as "The Smell of Green Papaya", "Cyclo", "Third Wife". ..

Tran Nu Yen Khe is a French-Vietnamese film actress. She was born on March 18, 1968 in Vietnam but immigrated to France at a young age. She is best known to audiences for her role as Mui in the film The Smell of Green Papaya (1993) - the first and only Vietnamese film to be nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Her film career is mostly associated with famous film works of overseas Vietnamese director Phap Tran Anh Hung, who is also her husband.

Tran Nu Yen Khe was born in Vietnam, she lost her father and migrated to France with her mother at the age of three. She studied architecture, Architect Design course at École Camondo Paris. At the age of 18, Tran Nu Yen Khe won the title of Miss Vietnam Ao Dai in a beauty contest for the Vietnamese community in France. When participating in the casting for the graduation film of a film major student of the prestigious École Louis-Lumière school at that time, Tran Anh Hung. The two fell in love and became one of the famous couples in the film industry.

Since then, for more than a quarter of a century, the duo has been inseparable and accompanied on the artistic path. Tran Nu Yen Khe said that the meeting with the director of Vietnamese origin was the reason why the girl who graduated in architecture decided to venture into cinema. This bond makes them liken to the Vietnamese couple Truong Yimou - Gong Li.

Tran Nu Yen Khe acted in most of the works of overseas Vietnamese directors, including many important films in her husband's career such as: The Smell of Green Papaya , Cyclo , Vertical Summer and I come with the rain .

It seems that in each work, Tran Anh Hung borrows a bit of material from his wife to incorporate into the script. His three films about Vietnam all have characters who lost their fathers early. That is also the image of Yen Khe, who lost his father and went to France at the age of three.

In The Smell of Green Papaya, Yen Khe plays the adult Mui. No matter how many years have passed, Mui still retains his innocence, every day passionately watching the magic of nature around him. At the end of the movie, she marries the artist. Many people see this as a happy ending, but Tran Anh Hung believes that The Smell of Green Papaya is about the enslavement of women. The main character's choice is sad because he wants a woman to serve him. The characteristics of Vietnamese women such as resignation and sacrifice are shown through this film.

Coming to Cyclo , Tran Nu Yen Khe transformed into a prostitute - the lover of a gypsy poet (played by Tony Leung Trieu Vy). Although there are sensitive scenes, Yen Khe's character is not exploited in a sexual way. Here, the audience still sees the poetry imbued with Tran Anh Hung's mark. The gypsy girl in the film is depicted in an aesthetic way, going beyond the usual structure of a story.

Vertical Summer is the most popular work by Tran Nu Yen Khe. Her character has many layers of inner acting, although the film still follows Tran Anh Hung's style of hitting hard on emotions, not focusing on details.

From his first work to his fourth film about Vietnam, Tran Anh Hung always cast his wife as the female lead. In movies where there is no suitable choice for Yen Khe to act, she plays an important role behind the camera. Tran Nu Yen Khe became the costume designer for Tran Anh Hung's film. Especially in the film Norwegian Wood , Tran Nu Yen Khe took on the position of Production Designer and Costume Designer, the film helped her be nominated for Best Costume Design for the first time at the 5th Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong.

In a previous interview with the media , the director said that his wife has the dynamism of Midori and the romance of Naoko (two female characters in Norwegian Wood ). Yen Khe is the person who helps Tran Anh Hung's soul balance between real life and the excitement of art. Even though she lives abroad, she still keeps many Vietnamese habits such as drinking tea, cooking Vietnamese dishes, and holding death anniversary ceremonies. Currently, the two have a perfect life in France with their son named Cao Phi and daughter named Lang Khe.

Born into a family full of artistic tradition, Lang Khe also has extensive acting experience. Lang Khe is pursuing a degree in Cinema and Theater at a university in Paris (France). She also had the opportunity to appear in the movie Les confins du monde (The End of the World) with French actor Gaspard Ulliel - The work participated in the Director's Fortnight section at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.

In 2023, the attention of movie lovers is focused on the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. This year's impressive series of films are being released one after another and recently attracting attention is the work The Passion of Dodin Bouffant by French director Vietnamese origin - Tran Anh Hung.

According to Deadline Hollywood, after screening at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, the film The Passion of Dodin Bouffant received a 7-minute applause from guests and the audience. This news site also posted a video of director Tran Anh Hung happy and joyful in the "sea" of applause from the entire auditorium. At this year's Cannes Film Festival, the film directed by Tran Anh Hung is one of the brightest candidates for the Palme d'Or. At the Cannes Film Festival red carpet, the male director's entire family appeared together. The members wore matching black outfits, appearing luxurious on the red carpet.