Buffalo Boy

Set in southernmost Vietnam during the time of French colonial rule in the 1940s, this debut feature from writer-director Nguyen-Vo Nghiem-Minh—based on two short stories from a collection by Son Nam—is a slow-moving but highly evocative coming-of-age tale. The central character is Kim, a teen assigned by his aging father to take the family's two precious water buffaloes away to the grasslands when the annual Mekong floods strike their low-lying rice fields. But Kim falls in with a rowdy gang of nomadic herders, encountering drinking, fighting, and love. Ultimately, Kim will be forced to deal with a tragedy in his own family, along with some startling revelations about his father's past. There's an episodic character to Buffalo Boy, and at times the deliberate approach tries one's patience—just as the many nighttime scenes test one's eyesight—but overall the film boasts a quiet beauty as it takes viewers on an intoxicating journey through an exotic world. Recommended. [Note: DVD extras include a brief interview with Nghiem-Minh (in which the soft-spoken director discusses his background as well as the making of the film), a photo gallery, and text director's statement and bio. Bottom line: a small but solid extras package for a small but solid film.] (F. Swietek)