A chilling and chilling action-packed espionage thriller, “The Sympathizer” follows the story of a Vietnamese agent working for the Viet Cong union, after the Vietnam War. The agent is named Captain, who after the end of the war joins a refugee camp in the USA and spies on his community and reports 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 the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name by Viet Thanh Nguyen. These episodes move us between the USA and Vietnam in the 1950s and 1970s.
The show takes us into the transforming stories of a captain who creates a false identity to live in the country and creates a satirical plot by replicating Vietnam War scenes exactly. The film’s director, well-known South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook, was brought on board.
Park used a translator to explain his direction, but he and Robert Downey Jr. they quickly developed a connection and communicated well through facial expressions and gestures.
The Sympathizer (2024) Series Filming Locations
After reading Nguyen’s works, Park discovered a shared history of imperialist occupation and north-south separation between Vietnam and South Korea.
Additionally, South Korea’s involvement in the Vietnam War gave Park the confidence to take the novel’s vision and do the production justice.
HO ČIMINOVSKÉ CITY, VIETNAM
Principal photography for The Sympathizer series began in November 2022 and was completed for the first season in late April 2023 in Thailand.
The location proved to be controversial as the Vietnamese government refused the filming process, but the crew managed to capture some footage staying there.
BANGKOK, THAILAND
To shoot the parts where the production team wanted to show that the Vietnamese sets were replicated with the Bangkok sets. Filming took place largely in studios built in the city to create a Vietnamese atmosphere.
Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, is known as a cosmopolitan tourist attraction with golden temples and breathtaking natural scenery alongside a bustling metropolis full of skyscrapers. The city’s rainforests were used to film scenes that included depictions of Vietnam War scenes.
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The first episode of The Sympathizer series, which depicts the captain and his buddies drinking beer in a carinderia (restaurant) before the fall of Saigon, was filmed on location in Bangkok. Thailand is known for its location shooting, especially the jungles, beaches and cityscapes of Southeast Asia.
However, the demands of foreign productions have expanded to include studio spaces and modern sound stages, which has stimulated the local creation of such facilities.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
Most of the scenes of The Sympathizer were shot in the iconic city of LA, which is the home of Hollywood. The retro atmosphere of the 70s managed to captivate the audience, and the appropriate location was given by the promising country.
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The Sympathizer series also features parts of Santa Clarita and other notable landmarks as film sets. Many aerial shots have also been taken of the city, capturing the opulent skylines and towering skyscrapers.
