The world of cinema often finds its richest stories in unexpected places. This August, a film that blends the vibrant energy of musical theatre with the intimate setting of a Vietnamese family kitchen will arrive in cinemas across the UK and Ireland. In The Nguyen Kitchen, a debut feature by Stéphane Ly-Cuong, offers a unique look at cultural identity and the unspoken bonds of family, presented by T A P E, with special events organized in partnership with MilkTea.
The film follows Yvonne Nguyen, a Vietnamese-French actress who dreams of a career on stage. Her mother, however, holds a different vision for her daughter’s future. When circumstances lead Yvonne back to her mother’s home, the two women, once strangers despite their relation, begin to connect in the bustling kitchen of their family’s Vietnamese restaurant. It is there, amidst the familiar aromas and sounds, that a new understanding starts to grow.
Stéphane Ly-Cuong, who both wrote and directed the film, has spoken about the personal motivations behind his work. “In The Nguyen Kitchen is a dramatic and culinary comedy, but it’s also, of course, a musical – a genre that allows us to go beyond the real, to magnify feelings, while using the incredible emotional power of music.”
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He explained the subtle communication often present in Franco-Vietnamese families: “The story is about the quest for identity, the generation gap and the dialogue that is rekindled, but not through words, because we’re in a Franco-Vietnamese family, and we don’t tell each other things like that. Instead of saying “I love you” or “I’m proud of you” to her daughter, Mrs. Nguyen prefers to cook her favourite dishes. A bit like my mother. And me, a little like Yvonne, between family and external injunctions, between France and Vietnam, I searched for my place for a long time before finding it.”
The choice of a musical format, Ly-Cuong notes, serves a specific purpose for Yvonne’s character. “For her, moments of song and dance are associated with strong, exhilarating and unique moments. They are windows onto the dreamy and the wonderful. And in these moments, we allow ourselves to believe that anything is possible and that the best is yet to come.” These sequences are sometimes part of the film’s reality, like auditions, or they exist in Yvonne’s imagination, akin to dream sequences.
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Beyond the music, the film pays careful attention to the culinary aspects. Ly-Cuong emphasizes that the cooking scenes are “suspended moments, imbued with magic and poetry.” He sees the mother’s cooking as a form of music in itself, where “the chirping of the Vietnamese language, the clinking of utensils, the simmering of water, the sizzling of hot oil: diegetic noises blend harmoniously with extra-diegetic music.” The aim is to create a rich sensory experience for the audience.
The arrival of In The Nguyen Kitchen on August 29th is part of a broader effort to bring diverse voices to the screen. T A P E, the distributor, focuses on films that explore mixed-heritage and dual-identity experiences.
Their collaboration with MilkTea, an organization dedicated to showcasing East & Southeast Asian cinema in the UK, underscores a shared commitment to building inclusion and new audiences. These screenings will include opportunities for audiences to engage directly with the filmmakers and cast through Q&As and other special events.
Ly-Cuong’s stated ambition for his cinema is clear. He seeks to highlight a variety of characters—women over sixty, people with different body types, individuals of Asian, Black, mixed-race, and white backgrounds, and LGBT individuals—not to fulfill quotas, but because, as he states, “this is the world I live in. It’s an abundant, rich, plural world in which we live. I don’t want uniformity. I want difference and singularity. That’s the kind of cinema I want to make, and that’s what I hope we’ll make together.” In The Nguyen Kitchen offers one such distinctive viewpoint.
