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)

One of the best movies of 2004

Underrated by critics and virtually ignored by the mainstream film press, I found this to be one of the unexpected surprises of 2004. An amazing film covering the often grim fate of Amerasians (ie, children of American servicemen and Vietnamese mothers, often illegitimate and to the detriment and neglect of the mothers/children), one of the messy side-effects of a messy and mismanaged war.

This film was as haunting as it was brilliantly conceived and surprisingly well constructed for a low-budget film. I wish the actors all the best, as their tour-de-force performances captured the essence of the struggles any desperate person faces in trying to create a better life out from poverty, neglect, and despair. An absolute MUST-SEE for any serious independent/off-the-beaten-track film connoisseur....