Anthony Huynh, Chi Dau, Dinh Y Nhung, drama, Hong Dao, Khazsak, Khuong Ngoc, Le Khanh, movies, reviews, The Real Sister, Viet Huong, Vietnam
February 24, 2025
by Carla Hay
Directed by Khương Ngọc
Vietnamese with subtitles
Culture Representation: Taking place in an unnamed city in Vietnam, the dramatic film “Betting With Ghost” features an all-Asian cast of characters representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.
Culture Clash: A wealthy widow invites the four sisters of her deceased husband to the family’s ancestral house, and the five women have conflicts with each other.
Culture Audience: “The Real Sister” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners and dramatic films about family relationships.
“The Real Sister” tells a bittersweet story of the tensions between a widow and her four sisters-in-law. Some of this drama is styled like a soap opera. However, the filmmaking and acting performances are generally very good.
Directed by Khương Ngọc, “The Real Sister” (which has the Vietnamese title “Chị Dâu”) takes place in an unnamed city in Vietnam. There is no credited screenwriter for the movie. Although “The Real Sister” uses many familiar formulas of relatives arguing and making confessions during a family reunion, there’s enough uniqueness in the movie to keep viewers interested.
“The Real Sister” is told from the perspective of narrator Bà Hai Nhi (played by Việt Hương), a wealthy widow who lives alone. Hai has an adult son named Jimmy (played by Anthony Huýnh), who lives in the United States and is happy with his American life. Jimmy is seen briefly near the beginning of the movie, when he cheerfully calls to check in on his mother.
Hai is very lonely and depressed, but she hides her sadness from Jimmy and other people in her life. She also has a big secret that is eventually revealed. Hai has inherited the ancenstral house owned by her husband’s side of the family.
Hai has big and costly plans to renovate the house. But first, she wants to tell the four sisters of her deceased husband about these plans. She decides the best time to tell her sisters-in-law about this decision is at an upcoming event at the house for the death anniversary of the sisters’ father.
These are Hai’s four sisters-in- law, from the eldest to youngest:
- Bà Ba Ky (played by Hồng Đào) is a divorced mother who works as a plastic surgeon. She is still very bitter about her divorce, she abuses alcohol, and she is promiscuous. Ba is outspoken with her opinions and is sometimes very quick to rudely insult people who disagree with her.
- Tư Ánh (played by Đinh Y Nhung) is quiet, introverted, and very secretive about her love life. She works in the food service industry.
- Năm Thu (played by Lê Khánh) is in a troubled marriage and is educated as an accountant. She is the sister who is most likely to gossip about others. Thu is very insecure about the fact that she and her husband do not have children because of infertility issues.
- Út Như (played by Ngọc Trinh) is a “trophy wife” homemaker. Her wealthy husband Kiêm (played by “The Real Sister” director Khương Ngọc is heavily in debt. Như is spoiled and materialistic and wants to keep up appearances that her life is fabulous.
Bé Nhi (played by Khazsak) is the teenage daughter of Ba. Nhi, who is about 16 years old, has a lot of resentment toward her mother Ba’s lifestyle. Nhi admires Hai and feels she can connect more with Hai than she can with Ba. This predictably causes Ba to feel jealous of Hai.
The bickering starts almost immediately at the death anniversary gathering. Hai has invited numerous people from the community, many of whom do not know the family very well. Ba disagrees with this decision and accuses Hai of inviting all these people, including the neighborhood “drunks,” so that Hai can show the lavish meals and other preparations. Hai denies the accusation and says that if she didn’t invite certain people in the community, then Hai would be accused of being a snob.
Hai finds out that renovating the house will be extensive. She is advised by a local contractor named Tám Hói (played by Nhóm Lộc) who does an inspection, it will probably be a money pit. The house, which has been uninhabited for years, has many problems, including a rermite infestation and rotting wood for the roof.
Tám warns Hait that in the roof’s current condition, it would collapse if there’s a rainstorm. (And as soon as he says that, you know it’s going to happen, as already revealed in the movie’s trailer.) Tám also says that he doesn’t recommend that anyone live in the house.
Tám gives a price quote of ₫ 1.2 billion (which is a little more than $47,000 in U.S. dollars in the 2020s) to do the repairs. Out of all of the sisters, Ba is the one who is very much against this renovation. And you know what that means: Hai is going to insist on doing the renovations.
Most of “The Real Sister” consists of the women giving scrutiny and criticism to each other, in order to avoid dealing with the problems in their own individual lies. Hai has good intentions to bring the famly closer together, but she can be as stubborn and opinionated as her sisters-in-law. All of the cast members give admirable performances, with Việt and Hồng as obvious standouts in portraying clashing sisters-in-law Hai and Ba.
“The Real Sister” can get repetitive with showing the family squabbles, but the performances have a lot of vibrant authenticity, so this repetition doesn’t get tiresome. Each woman is written to have personalities that are unique from each other. There are some comedic elements to the movie, but most of the film is serious in its tone. The last half of “The Real Sister” is better than the first half.
“The Real Sister” succeeds in its intentions to make viewers feel a wide range of emotions. The complicated feelings that these family members have for each other result in a lot of angry messiness, but there are also some tender and heartfelt moments. “The Real Sister” ultimately has a message about accepting loved ones for who they are—flaws and all—and knowing that however aggravating it might sometimes be to deal these loved ones, it’s better to appreciate these loved ones before it’s too late rather than have regrets about taking them for granted.
Edge Code Films released “The Real Sister” in select U.S. cinemas on February 21, 2025. The movie was released in Vietnam on December 20, 2024.