Song Lang

A hard-edged debt collector for Aunt Nga, known for his ruthless approach to unpaid debts. Beneath the tough exterior, he carries a reverence for cai luong and a propensity for sacrifice, especially as his actions pull him toward the art and family he was raised in. His choices—billing debts, paying off families, and pursuing a tragic romance—drive the film toward its emotional and physical clashes.

The male lead of the cai luong troupe, passionate about his art and driven by a dream of a respected career in cai luong. He forms a deep connection with Dung, revealing a gentler, more idealistic side that clashes with the harsh realities of debt and social judgment. His family’s past and their acceptance of his career shape his resilience and resolve.

Aunt Nga’s daughter and a key figure in the troupe’s social circle, with a complicated relationship dynamic that mirrors the film’s themes of desire and loyalty. Her interactions reveal the tensions between familial duty and personal longing, and her choices have meaningful consequences for others around her. Lan embodies the era’s intersection of affection, tradition, and risk.

Dung’s mother, who left the family when he was young. Her absence hovers over the family’s dynamics, symbolizing the costs of rupture within a culture that prizes lineage and remembrance. Her departure marks a generational rift and containment of past traumas that later inform the characters’ actions.

A cai luong accompanist whose musical legacy and lyrics influence Dung and Linh Phung. He embodies the artistic lineage that binds the family to the stage, even as economic pressures threaten that bond. His remembered influence guides characters toward or away from their ancestral craft.

Owner of the debt-collection operation and guardian over the troupe’s finances, whose decisions ripple through the lives of Dung and Lan. Her authority drives conflict between debt, loyalty, and art, illustrating how economic power can shape personal destinies within a close-knit community.