In Vietnamese musical culture, the song lang is a percussion instrument used in modern folk opera cai luong. The idea is that its rhythms not only guide the opera, but also the musician, down a moral path in life. The words literally translate to “two men.” That instrument provides the philosophical backbone of writer-director Leon Le’s low-key Song Lang, set in the world of cai luong theater and contemplating a good deal more than simply a tragic, non-starter romance. Delving into suppressed artistic drive, abandonment and karma, Le’s debut could be described as a uniquely Vietnamese hybrid of Wong Kar Wai’s In the Mood for Love and Richard Linklater’s Before Sunrise. When a surly debt collector demands payment from a folk opera troupe, he forms an unlikely bond with their rising performer who must stall for time.