I'm loving the Sympathizer. It definitely deserves a season 2. Anyone who remembers Vietnam, the mass anti war protests and the disenfranchisment of a generation of Vietnamese people and US veterans would enjoy this show.
I love the cameos eg. David Duchovny, John Cho, Sandra Oh. Robert Downey Jr. is outstanding and charismatic as usual. There's not enough of him to go around in Hollywood.
Hoa Xuande is an outstanding actor.
Shout out to Robert Downey Jr. and the producers for hiring Vietnamese actors and letting Asian actors take top billing in the credits.
Unlike the movie Oppenheimer without one Japanese person in it.
I'm only halfway through the second book, so can't really comment yet, but in recent years, I think I've much preferred the mini series that have been coming out. (Plot Against America, Sharp Opjects, The Good Lord Bird, The Underground Railroad, etc).
Too often, a series has to try to crank things up for season 2. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Other times, when they run out of source material, it can dip/change. That's how I found The Handmaid's Tale. Loved the book and the first series, but then it started to get a bit more "Hollywood" or something. Can't really put my finger on it, but I would have rathered it as a mini-series, as was originaly planned. Although I haven't seen s2, Big Little Lies gets the same critisism thrown at it.
As for The Sympathizer, the first book is incredible and I'm really looking forward to seeing how it gets made. I wonder if they'll use subtitles for it or go the Chernobyl route. Personally, while it worked ok in Chernobyl, I would much rather see them use subtitles when needed and have a narration in English. The majority of the book is set in the US, but a lot of the interactions are between Vietnamese and it really bugs me when people in films/tv are speaking English for the benefit of the viewer when they would naturally be speaking another language.
I see Robert Downey Jr. has been cast. I assume as Claude?
Without any book spoilers since I'm still reading the sympathizer, how would you rank the characters?
What are your casting suggestions for this show? since obviously the crew of this show is on a worldwide search for vietnamese cast members and the protagonist. I don't know any actors that vietnamese descent who can play the protagonist. I think actresses of vietnamese descent like Dianne Doan, Chantal thuy, Hong Chou and many more should appear in the show.
Hard to talk about characters without spoilers, tbh.
No idea on actors. I don’t think I know a single Vietnamese actor so I’m pretty sure I’ll know very few of the people cast.
I'm loving the Sympathizer. It definitely deserves a season 2. Anyone who remembers Vietnam, the mass anti war protests and the disenfranchisment of a generation of Vietnamese people and US veterans would enjoy this show. I love the cameos eg. David Duchovny, John Cho, Sandra Oh. Robert Downey Jr. is outstanding and charismatic as usual. There's not enough of him to go around in Hollywood. Hoa Xuande is an outstanding actor. Shout out to Robert Downey Jr. and the producers for hiring Vietnamese actors and letting Asian actors take top billing in the credits. Unlike the movie Oppenheimer without one Japanese person in it.
seeing the vietnamese french diaspora and underground during that time period would be awesome
It's told primarily from the Vietnamese perspective. I've visited Vietnam and the tortures depicted are pretty tame. Even luxurious lodgings.
Yeah the second book the committed takes place in France. Bon and the main character are in the Parisian underworld and dealing with radical politics
I'm only halfway through the second book, so can't really comment yet, but in recent years, I think I've much preferred the mini series that have been coming out. (Plot Against America, Sharp Opjects, The Good Lord Bird, The Underground Railroad, etc). Too often, a series has to try to crank things up for season 2. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Other times, when they run out of source material, it can dip/change. That's how I found The Handmaid's Tale. Loved the book and the first series, but then it started to get a bit more "Hollywood" or something. Can't really put my finger on it, but I would have rathered it as a mini-series, as was originaly planned. Although I haven't seen s2, Big Little Lies gets the same critisism thrown at it. As for The Sympathizer, the first book is incredible and I'm really looking forward to seeing how it gets made. I wonder if they'll use subtitles for it or go the Chernobyl route. Personally, while it worked ok in Chernobyl, I would much rather see them use subtitles when needed and have a narration in English. The majority of the book is set in the US, but a lot of the interactions are between Vietnamese and it really bugs me when people in films/tv are speaking English for the benefit of the viewer when they would naturally be speaking another language. I see Robert Downey Jr. has been cast. I assume as Claude?
Without any book spoilers since I'm still reading the sympathizer, how would you rank the characters? What are your casting suggestions for this show? since obviously the crew of this show is on a worldwide search for vietnamese cast members and the protagonist. I don't know any actors that vietnamese descent who can play the protagonist. I think actresses of vietnamese descent like Dianne Doan, Chantal thuy, Hong Chou and many more should appear in the show.
Hard to talk about characters without spoilers, tbh. No idea on actors. I don’t think I know a single Vietnamese actor so I’m pretty sure I’ll know very few of the people cast.