Page 375
From Trinh's
Surname Viêt Given Name Nam
(1989).
ber of people who really loved
Reassemblage
had problems with
Naked Spaces
when it first came out. I guess everything has its own time. When
Reassemblage
was released, I had to wait a whole year before the film really started circulating and before I got any positive feedback from viewers. It was such a hopeless situation, for I was piling up, one after the other, rejections from film festivals and other film programs. People "didn't know what to do" with such a film; it was totally misunderstood. Then unexpectedly, the film started being picked up simultaneously in diverse places. Viewers were bewildered but enthusiastic. This unanticipated circulation of the film continues to expand. A somewhat similar process happened with
Naked Spaces
. Although the film got to be shown almost immediately to some packed audiences, the disappointment from those who came expecting another
Reassemblage
was quite apparent. Most of the praise and positive reactions I obtained in the first few months were from people who had not seen
Reassemblage
. One sympathetic viewer at a festival told me that when she shared with others her admiration for the film, she was told that she should see
Reassemblage
first before offering any comment.
Reassemblage
had become a model! And yet, since then, I have had very, very moving and elating feedback on
Naked Spaces
sometimes well beyond any expectations I had for that film.