Dreamy Eyes

Ngan has carried a quiet love for his childhood friend Ha Lan for years, watching the small rhythms of her life while keeping his feelings mostly to himself. They share a long history that shapes how they speak and act around one another, and ordinary days are heavy with unsaid things. As they move into adulthood, new people and decisions begin to complicate the pattern they once knew. The film follows the slow shifts in their relationship, the lingering presence of memory, and the ways loyalty, longing, and growing up test what they thought would always remain the same, without revealing the story's final turns.

Directed by Victor Vũ and released in 2019, the movie adapts a work by celebrated author Nguyễn Nhật Ánh. It stars Trúc Anh as Hà Lan, Trần Nghĩa as Ngạn, with Đỗ Khánh Vân, Trần Phong, and Nguyễn Lâm Thảo Tâm rounding out the main cast.

The film opened widely in Vietnam and attracted substantial attention from local audiences, helping it secure a prominent place in that year's domestic releases. Its box office performance boosted visibility for the cast and kept conversations about the story alive on social platforms and in cinemas.

Dreamy Eyes fed into a broader interest in adaptations of Nguyễn Nhật Ánh's novels, especially among younger viewers who responded to its nostalgic tone. Scenes emphasizing memory and quiet longing circulated online, and the leads gained recognition that extended beyond this single release, reinforcing the novel's place in contemporary Vietnamese pop culture.

Critical and audience responses were mixed to positive, reflected in modest aggregated scores and active fan discussions. Reviewers tended to praise the film's mood and its focus on unrequited love and the residue of childhood ties, while some noted a desire for sharper narrative propulsion. Overall, the movie reads as an intimate study of affection that isn't returned, and of how past attachments shape present choices.