A hot chilling tale filled with action and spy-thriller fiction, “The Sympathizer” follows the tale of a Vietnamese Agent who is working for a union named Viet Cong, in the aftermath of the Vietnam War. The agent’s name is, The Captain further joins a refugee camp in the U.S. after the war ends spies on his community, and reports back to the Viet Cong. In an unexpected twist of fate, he is employed by the CIA to spy on the Vietnamese as a double agent.
Park Chan-wook and Don McKellar created the HBO Max drama, which is based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name. The episodes move us between the United States and Vietnam in the 1950s and 1970s.
The Sympathizer show takes us to the transforming tales of the Captain who created a fake identity to reside in the country creating a satirical plot by accurately replicating Vietnam War scenes. The film’s director, famed South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook, was brought on board.
Park used a translator to explain his direction, but he and Robert Downey Jr. quickly built a connection, communicating well through facial expressions and gestures. After reading Nguyen’s work, Park discovered a shared history of imperialist occupation and north-south separation between Vietnam and South Korea.
Where Was The Sympathizer Series Filmed?
Furthermore, South Korea’s involvement in the Vietnam War gave Park confidence in grasping the novel’s vision and performing justice to the production.
HO CHI MINH CITY (VIETNAM)
Principal photography on The Sympathizer series began in November 2022 and was wrapped up for the first season by late April 2023 in Thailand.
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This location proved to be contradictory as the Vietnamese government declined the filming process of the movie, but the crew was able to capture a few shots residing there.
LOS ANGELES (CALIFORNIA)
The majority of the scenes were filmed in the iconic city of LA, home to Hollywood. The 1970s retro atmosphere was able to capture the audience and the suitable location was given by the promising country.
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The Sympathizer series also features parts of Santa Clarita and other remarkable landmarks as backdrops for the movie. Many aerial shots were also taken in the city capturing the boasting skylines and tall scrapers.
BANGKOK (THAILAND)
To film the parts where the production team wanted to show the Vietnamese backdrops were replicated by the backdrops of Bangkok. Filming was largely carried out in the studios built in the city to create the Vietnamese Atmosphere.
Bangkok, Thailand’s capital, is renowned as a cosmopolitan tourist attraction, with golden temples and breathtaking natural settings juxtaposed against a busy metropolis filled with skyscrapers. The rainforests of the city were used to film for the scenes which included the depiction of Vietnamese war sets.
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The first episode of The Sympathizer series, which depicts The Captain and his buddies sipping beers in a carinderia (restaurant) before to the fall of Saigon, was filmed on location in Bangkok.
Thailand is well-known for its on-location shooting, particularly of jungles, beaches, and Southeast Asian cityscapes. However, the demands of foreign productions have expanded to include studio areas and modern soundstages, spurring local creation of such facilities.
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