The Beautiful Country (2004)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Hans Petter Moland

Writers (WGA):

Sabina Murray (story) and
Lingard Jervey (story) ...

Release Date:

13 March 2004 (Norway)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

An epic story of hope.

Plot:

After reuniting with his mother in Ho Chi Minh City, a family tragedy causes Binh to flee from Viet Nam to America. Landing in New York, Binh begins a road trip to Texas, where his American father is said to live.

Plot Keywords:

Vietnam | New York City | China | Vietnam War | Gun

Awards:

4 nominations

Cast

Damien Nguyen	...	Binh
Ling Bai	...	Ling
Thi Hoa Mai	...	Wa
Nick Nolte	...	Steve
Tim Roth	...	Captain Oh
Chapman To	...	Chingmy
Temuera Morrison	...	Snakehead
Xuan Phuc Dins	...	Pham
Thu An Nguyen	...	Old Woman
Ka Duy Pham	...	Cousin 15 years old
Minh Trang Ngo	...	Cousin 14 years old
Dang Quoc Thinh Tran	...	Tam
Thi Kim Xuan Chau	...	Mai
Tang Vu	...	Head Servant
Thu Anh	...	Mrs. Hoa

MPAA:

Rated R for some language and a crude sexual reference.

Runtime:

Norway:137 min | USA:125 min | Argentina:128 min

Country:

USA | Norway

Language:

English | Cantonese | Mandarin | Vietnamese

Color:

Color (Cinecolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:M | Finland:K-11 | UK:12 | Argentina:16 | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Netherlands:MG6 | Norway:11 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

USA

Company:

Dinamo Story A/S

Goofs:

Errors in geography: When Binh gets to Texas, the family giving him a ride drops him off outside a city and refers to it as Houston. The skyline of the city is very clearly that of Dallas, not Houston.

Quotes:

Captain Oh: [to Binh] I offer you a new life; you choose an old dream.

Movie Connections:

Features Wall Street (1987)

A movie beyond expectation

This movie is not specifically about the Vietnam war, but it gives a good perspective that is not biased in any way. It proves that justice and freedom are not present for all people, only the "lucky" ones. The people that are born in the western world. We take it all for granted what 70% of the population can just envy. It is usually said that if you work hard you will always become something significant. But after watching this movie, I understand that no matter how hard you work, if you are born poor you WILL most likely stay poor. The story follows Binh, a half Vietnamese and half American man. He isnt accepted in society in Vietnam just becasue of this hard fact "he is the enemy" and therefore he is worthless. This has become a major issue in Vietnam after the Vietnam war, but it has never been taken this seriously before. This is a very good movie! I would reccomend everyone to watch this, it gives everyone a humanitarian lesson about how we are all humanbeings no matter where we come from.