The Last Room in Hanoi

A young writer travels Vietnam to honour his wife’s passing. Amongst the bustling streets of Hanoi, he tries to find the words and, in the process, conjures up her existence and memories.

We watch as Aron (Jack McEvoy) ventures through the capital, not quite understanding his purpose at first. Not a word is spoken through his moments of solitude, grief, and searching for answers internally. He carries a little pocket book at every sight he visits, never being able to jot anything down. Throughout the bliss of these locations, we notice Aron cannot soak anything in; he wallows in the pain of his wife’s death. So much so that he loses himself in an alcoholic spiral and begins to draw inspiration and write his wife, Mya (Jessica Truong), into actuality.

The locations and cinematography do a lot of the heavy lifting here. Gary Long produces such gorgeous visuals, translating Hanoi’s vibrancy perfectly. Every shot looks like a painting and helps to narrate the storyline. Aron’s grief rests amidst breathtaking backdrops; one to note is when he’s travelling via train as he goes by wonderful views outside whilst he’s cooped up and isolated.

Whilst it’s difficult to tell a story with no dialogue, both McEvoy and Truong convey their characters’ relationship and emotions effectively. Through facial expressions and mannerisms, they carry worry and heavy hearts as we approach the inevitable conclusion. The film ebbs and flows with the composition of scores to accompany, ranging from soft and melodic to darker undertones. At its core, we feel Aron’s hopelessness and loss of purpose as he scrambles to find meaning amongst his writing.

As Aron and Mya reunite temporarily, they radiate intimacy, and this is a credit to their on-screen chemistry and up-close shots. We come to find out their love is on a time limit, and this makes it all the more harrowing. As a feature-length film, it explores the depth of characters, in particular Aron’s; however, it would have benefited from a shorter run time. The same sentiment would have been established even in a condensed format, honing in on the pivotal moments. An enjoyable, visually stimulating film about love, loss, and what comes next.

The Last Room in Hanoi has won multiple awards at the Mei International Film Festival 2026 and the Terra Di Siena Film Festival 2026.