On August 27, the National Cinema Department under the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism received the explanation letter from the fictitious action movie Lua Phat’s producer and director on its alleged advertising for a brandy brand.

According to the department, the letter confirms that there are no disguised wine advertisements in the movie, as has been claimed. The head of the department, Ngo Phuong Lan, added that the department’s censorship board had no comment on the issue of advertisements in the movie before.

After its nationwide premiere last week, Lua Phat, directed by Vietnamese-American director Dustin Nguyen and promoted as the first Vietnamese fantasy action movie, has received negative responses for its alleged brandy advertising.

In one scene, the main character, named Dao, walks into a tavern and asks the bartender to serve him their best wine. A green bottle of wine appears on the screen, slowly enough for viewers to recognize the brand name on it. The scene continues for a few minutes, with Dao talking about the wine, before a wall of many other bottles from the same brand is shown behind the bar.

“There are currently two groups of opinion. One expresses doubt over the brandy advertisement, while another says the alleged product placement is just a part of the movie’s characters’ mood,” Lan stated. “The department is working with the ministry’s inspector to investigate the case.”

She also said that public opinion has been affected by the press’s opinion.

Despite the incident, the movie has been bought by international film distributors and will be screened in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, South Korea, India, Pakistan, and Taiwan.