Hair, Paper, Water… Review
Hair, Paper, Water… / Tóc, Giáy Và Nuóc (2025) Film Review from the 78th Annual Locarno Film Festival, a movie directed by Nicolas Graux and Minh Quy Truong and starring Thi Hau Cao, Xuan Doanh Cao, Thi Hieu Cao and Thi Bat Cao.
Hair, Paper, Water… is a rich film unlike any other. Directors Nicolas Graux and Minh Quy Truong seemingly set out to make an aesthetically fascinating portrait of a determined grandmother’s life and the complexities of her surroundings. It is successful on that account, but this movie ultimately plays like a tapestry of rich personal values and ideals set against the backdrop of a language which is unique to the culture from which its lead, Thi Hau Cao, comes from.
Thi Hau Cao is an unforgettable screen presence. Born in a cave, Thi Hau embraces possibilities which enable her to grow both as an individual human being and as a parent/grandparent. Thi Hau, at one point, starts selling her hair and the value consistently decreases time and time again as she goes back to trade her hair for help obtaining necessary resources. There’s no stability in the trade-off although it certainly helps one get through the hard times either way. Preserving her family’s survival is of vital importance to her as she feels the presence of her own deceased mother’s spirit calling out to her.
Hair, Paper, Water... is the type of movie that can be educational as well as thoughtful and relatable as it presents its central lead as a woman of integrity who has true respect for the things that she does. Ruc is the name of the language Thi Hau practices (a Vietnamese language) and she wants her family to preserve it. Ruc becomes a character in and of itself in the film. Living in a village presents formidable challenges to Thi Hau who overcomes many obstacles to achieve what is possible under the most challenging of circumstances.
Water plays a key part in the film through rain and in other ways as well. Water becomes a driving force of the survival of both the human beings presented and the land they occupy in this film. What also drives the film, however, is the yearning for accomplishment (big or small) and the need to recognize our heritage and be there for our families. This is all conveyed in the form of the brave human being named Thi Hau who must travel from one location to another to be there for her grandchild.
There are many obstacles that are thrown in the way of Thi Hau, but her bravery to face them and instill her language and protect her family is often inspiring. In the film’s excesses, there are fascinating elements to be found. By presenting the complications to happiness that come through death or moving away from places we once called home in life, we see the multi-faceted themes the picture brings into view. A haunting shot in the picture shows several women together who are ultimately joined by their similarities more than their differences and it’s one of the best in the film.
Family plays a pivotal role in Hair, Paper, Water…, but so does familial education and the preservation of those rich values that help define us as human beings. Language is a beautiful way to represent a cultural bond between people who come from the same type of upbringing. The fact that our main lead was born in a cave is also able to create some imagery that shows how her life has changed now from back when she was originally brought into the world.
This is a short film, but a powerful one, showing the landscapes of a land that depends more on what values one brings to one’s life rather than what potential riches the said existence can provide for the particular person or group of people. There’s something very respectable about the aging Thi Hau that makes us feel for her and care for her family. Being that the family she stands by is pivotal to Thi Hau’s gifts being fully utilized, we yearn to see those unique ideas and ways of expression that help define a particular group of people be obtained.
With the film’s very “basic” story-telling techniques, the images ultimately speak volumes for themselves and bring to life vividly the challenges that are presented from COVID-19 to the very existential realities that haunt us all. One can feel the filmmakers’ passions through each frame of this film although its brevity is sadly felt. This is the type of film that could have gone on much longer than it actually is. We must be grateful for the moments in Hair, Paper, Water… that remind us of the beautiful things in life that we may not be able to cherish if we miss them in the moment.
Rating: 8/10
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