Film about the dark side of beauty queens' lives sparks controversy

Hanoi [Vietnam], April 20: 'The First Promise,' which recently premiered during prime time, quickly sparked heated discussion, as the series chose to directly address the hidden aspects of beauty queens' lives, unafraid to expose the dark side of the spotlight.
Instead of telling a beautiful story about the journey to the crown, The First Promise places the central character right into the whirlwind of ambition, suspicions of rigged results, behind-the-scenes power struggles, and the thirst for fame in showbiz. This choice helped the film gain attention, but at the same time, it thrust the series into the center of controversy from the very first episodes.
The first episode of *The First Promise* is full of suspense right from the start.
The film's central character is Vi Minh (Huyen Trang), a Tay girl who enters a beauty pageant with the hope of changing her life and opening up a different path for herself. But instead of being bathed in the glory of victory, she is immediately thrown into a much more complex world, where the title is merely the starting point of pressure, competition, prejudice, and behind-the-scenes bargaining.
Right from episode 1, "The First Promise " heightened the drama when Vi Minh, immediately after being crowned, faced suspicions that the competition results were rigged. A victory that should have been the most glorious moment in her life instantly became the source of controversy. Furthermore, she was treated coldly by the very environment she had just entered. Her management company didn't give the new beauty queen the support she deserved, while the two runners-up openly showed jealousy and rivalry, readily causing trouble and receiving protection from the "boss" of the management company.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper