Dancing for Hanoi
Posted: November 17, 2010 Filed under: #hanoi1000, change, environment, expats, Hanoi, Movies, News, Reflections | Tags: lenin park, movies, Reunification Park, Thong Nhat Park 5 Comments »I still hold true with an old theory of mine about living in Hanoi.
That the more you allow yourself to become isolated from the city the less you enjoy it. And yet, the expat bubble seems so much easier.
I came across the above film today and was bowled over by it. It has more Hanoi magic in its 11 minutes 15 seconds than the whole millennium celebrations put together. It reminded me of so much that is wonderful that is out there and so much of what I miss by habitually trying to escape from the more challenging elements of the city.
The irony being, of course, that the film is also about finding a quiet place in Hanoi.
It moved me to tears. It’s an incredible piece of work.
To its makers….thank you I needed that.
Thank you for posting and sharing this. I learned more about the city and its parks and people in this 12 minutes than I have in the three months of being here. Lovely!
That was awesome!
What a wonderful film!
Thanks so much Steve.
I’m merely an annual visitor to Hanoi (for 5-6 weeks a time) and I avoid expats like the plague when I’m there, so I know nothing of the frustrations to which you allude.
However the film encapsulates much of what has won my heart about that vibrant city and I’m grateful for the pictorial and social reminder of what awaits me when I return.
cool vid. too bad a lot of parks in HN are still kinda ghetto, but that’s beside the point. i liked the view that street life was not the result of a less developed country but was a reflection of the country’s social lifestyle, and is needed to continue to support it. I don’t think we should really hide within the expat community nor look down on them either, but part of being a Hanoian is being a world citizen because we live in such an international community; such is the undeniable nature of Hanoi. In short, I agree that whoever we are we should strive to overcome our fear and do our best to participate here, we don’t have to love it but when did we ever love everything about a place we lived? Thought provoking post. nice.
Zac
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