The Beautiful Country
◦2004 R 2h 5m
Synopsis from IMDB: One of the consequences of the U.S.-Viet Nam war was the children of G.I.s by their Viet Namese wives and lovers. For years, women who were involved with U.S. soldiers were social outcasts, treated as collaborators while their children, even when living with grandparents, endured taunts and abuse. This is the story of one such child, Binh, being forced from his village at seventeen years, going to Saigon to find his mother, then trying to escape to the U.S. with his much younger half-brother, Tam, in 1990. The film lingers on the rigors of the voyage: the sampan, the Malaysian detention camps, the illegal refugee ship, and the underground economy with near-slavery in New York City. It then opens up when Binh leaves New York for Houston to find his father.
My thoughtsI saw this movie in 2004 when it came out and it stands out as one of my favorites and made me ball my eyes out. So much so it was painful. It's a difficult to find movie, but so very worth the watch. Few movies have hit me so hard, probably because I have felt the sense of being an outcast, lonely, and a desire to have the connections of others, but also because I met kids like this in Japan, where I lived and taught for a few years., only a few years prior to this movie. This is an incredible story, not too unlike the many true stories of those who found themselves in similar circumstances as the main character, Binh, The acting is superb, especially Damien Nguyen, who in my opinion was overlooked for his portrayal in this film. The music is sweeping and moving, one of my favorite scores. I hope you get a chance to see it.