Director Hans Petter Moland's (Aberdeen) tale of a 20-year-old Vietnamese peasant's harrowing journey to find his American G.I. father is a sublimely atmospheric film that nevertheless relies a little too heavily on near-operatic archetypes (the hero is an abused servant who finds a tough girl with a heart of gold to help him get to New York) to tell its story. Capturing the iconic disparity of class structure in Vietnam and the gray world of the Ho Chi Minh City slums (photographed in a way that finds some beauty within), the film follows soft-spoken Binh (a remarkable Damien Nguyen) on an odyssey that takes him from Saigon to a Malaysian refugee camp to New York (via a brutal ocean passage aboard a vessel tied to a human-trafficking ring), and ultimately to Texas—all while keeping a sense of hope and the simple concept of basic humanity front and center. The plot has some holes (how does Binh know where to find his father?) and is sometimes overly simplistic (said absentee father is found to be blind, a cheat to garner sympathy), but the script is powerful enough to have drawn the likes of Nick Nolte, Tim Roth, and Bai Ling, and with their help The Beautiful Country leaves a lasting impression. A strong optional purchase. [Note: DVD extras include audio commentary by director Hans Petter Moland, an interview with screenwriter Sabina Murray (20 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a beautifully shot but dramatically flawed film.] (R. Blackwelder)
The Beautiful Country
Sony, 125 min., R, DVD: $24.99, Dec. 13 Volume 21, Issue 1
The Beautiful Country
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As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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