# Mai (2024) Review: Saigon Melodrama With a Full Heart > Mai is Trấn Thành's record-breaking Vietnamese romantic drama about a Ho Chi Minh City masseuse and an unlikely love, a big-hearted melodrama that aims for tears. Canonical: https://celluloidscore.com/reviews/mai-2024-review/ Published: 2026-07-22 Last updated: 2026-09-24 Author: Kaiser Khan — Founder & Editor Language: English Review basis: direct-viewing Spoilers: none Rating: 4/5 ## Verdict Yes, with reservations. It is a sincere, emotionally generous crowd-pleaser for fans of big romantic melodrama, if you can accept its length and its heavy hand. ## Is Mai worth watching? **Yes, with reservations. Mai is an unabashed tearjerker that earns much of its emotion through a dignified lead performance and a real sympathy for working people in Ho Chi Minh City.** It became the biggest box-office hit in Vietnamese history for a reason: Trấn Thành knows exactly how to make an audience laugh, root and cry. The reservation is that he rarely trusts quiet moments, and at more than two hours the film piles on hardship and emotional climaxes until subtlety has little room left. ## What is Mai about? [Mai](https://celluloidscore.com/movies/mai-2024/) follows its title character, a massage therapist in Ho Chi Minh City who has learned to keep her head down. She works long hours, carries a painful past and lives with the judgement that her job and her history attract. When a younger, easygoing man (Tuấn Trần) takes an interest in her, Mai is wary. The romance that develops has to contend with family pressures, gossip and the weight of everything Mai has not yet dealt with. The film is directed by [Trấn Thành](https://celluloidscore.com/stars/southeast-asia/vietnam/tran-thanh/), the comedian and presenter turned filmmaker whose earlier family dramas were also major hits at home. It is a Vietnamese-language production, runs 131 minutes, and was a phenomenon in local cinemas before reaching an international audience on streaming. ## A lead performance that holds the centre The film rests on its lead, and Phương Anh Đào gives Mai a steadiness that keeps the melodrama grounded. She plays a woman who has made herself small in order to survive, polite and guarded with clients, careful with hope, and she lets glimpses of humour and longing slip through that armour. In a film that often turns the volume up, her restraint is the most persuasive element on screen. Tuấn Trần supplies the counterweight: loose, charming, a little reckless. Their scenes together have real warmth, and the age and class difference between the characters gives the romance a tension that is more interesting than the usual will-they-won't-they. The supporting cast, full of neighbours, co-workers and relatives, adds colour and comic relief, even if some of those figures are painted in broad strokes. ## Trấn Thành's crowd-pleasing instincts Trấn Thành makes films for a full auditorium. Mai shifts between light comedy and tearful confrontation with little warning, and the dialogue often states feelings outright. But beneath the sentiment there is a sharp eye for the everyday texture of working life in the city: cramped apartments, long shifts, money worries and the ways women in service jobs are looked down on. That specificity is what separates Mai from generic romance and explains why so many Vietnamese viewers saw themselves in it. The film is also handsomely made, with polished photography of Saigon's streets and interiors and a soundtrack that underlines every emotional beat. ## Where the melodrama overflows The film's weaknesses are those of its genre, amplified. At 131 minutes, it is long, and the second half stacks misfortunes and revelations in ways that can feel engineered to wring out tears. Some antagonists are one-dimensional, and the swings between broad comedy and heavy drama can be jarring. Viewers who prefer understated romance will find it heavy-handed; those who come for catharsis will likely leave satisfied. ## Who should watch Mai? It is best for fans of big-hearted romantic melodrama, viewers curious about contemporary Vietnamese popular cinema, and anyone who enjoys a good cry. Plan for a long sitting and have tissues nearby. It deals with family conflict, social stigma and other adult themes, with some sensuality, so it is aimed at older teenagers and adults. If you want to compare it with other romances: - [In the Mood for Love](https://celluloidscore.com/reviews/in-the-mood-for-love-2000-review/), for a love story that works in near silence, the opposite of Mai's full-throated approach. - [Viet and Nam](https://celluloidscore.com/reviews/viet-and-nam-review/), an art-house Vietnamese romance that shows a very different side of the country's cinema. More stories of love under pressure are in our [romance](https://celluloidscore.com/genres/romance/) section. ## The verdict Mai is a sincere, emotional crowd-pleaser that turns the life of a working woman in Ho Chi Minh City into full-scale melodrama. It is too long and often too insistent, but Phương Anh Đào's graceful lead and Trấn Thành's feel for his audience make it easy to see why it became a national event. **Rating: 4/5** ## Related title - [Mai (2024)](https://celluloidscore.com/movies/mai-2024/) ## Editorial - [Editorial standards](https://celluloidscore.com/about/editorial-policy/) - [Report a correction](https://celluloidscore.com/about/corrections/)