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The Beautiful Country
Average Customer Rating:  
List Price:
$14.94
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$12.99
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Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
Starring: Damien Nguyen, Ling Bai, Thi Hoa Mai, Nick Nolte, Tim Roth
Directed By: Hans Petter Moland
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Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 9781404979826
Format: AC-3
ISBN: 1404979824
Label: Sony Pictures
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Sony Pictures
Region Code: 99
Release Date: 2005-12-13
Running Time: 125
Studio: Sony Pictures
Theatrical Release Date: 2004
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Editorial Reviews:
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An epic story, exotic locales and electrifying performances from Bai Ling (Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow), Tim Roth (Dark Water) and Nick Nolte (Hotel Rwanda) highlight this moving film that celebrates the power of the human spirit. Raised as an orphan, Binh (Damien Nguyen) is a young Vietnamese man with one impossible dream: to be reunited with his birth father, an American G.I. who left without a trace. In an incredible odyssey that stretches from Saigon to New York to Texas, Binh confronts unimaginable hardships as he finds danger, love and, finally, the key to unlocking the mysteries of his past.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: What is in the heart
Comment: There is much sadness in this drama. It is a story of an outsider--in this case, a bui doi, or "less than dust". This is someone of mixed parentage, specifically, Vietnamese and American, but living in Vietnam. His name is Binh and as the film begins, we see him in search of both his parents, neither of whom he knows.
He finds his mother locally, but also finds out his father is back in America, after marrying his mother in Vietnam. The reasons for his father's abrupt departure are mysterious, which drives the story, as does Binh's meeting Ling, a Chinese woman in search of a better life who, like Binh, also travels to America.
The sadness here penetrates directly to the heart. Ling has feelings for Binh but at the same time wants a life Binh can never give her. Binh has a very young brother, Tam, who accompanies him on his journey to America, during which deep sadness overtakes the two brothers. And when Binh finally does find his father in America, it is a sad reunion for several reasons.
The soul of this story is its simplicity, which is communicated expertly by Hans Molland (director of "Zero Kelvin" and "Aberdeen") and screenwriter Sabina Murray, who supplies an interview for the DVD. The acting is straightforward and effective; included in the cast is Tim Roth and Nick Nolte, as well as a number of unknown Asian actors, and Bai Ling as Ling. Molland is an interesting director who effectively fuses man, nature, and deep emotions. In "Zero Kelvin", this combination had the frigid setting of a polar region; in "The Beautiful Country", it is the hardships of life at sea--the journey from Asia to America via freighter.
This is a great piece of cinematic work that should not be overlooked. Very highly recommended.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A journey of hardship from Vietnam to search for his American father
Comment: This 2004 Norwegian film begins in Vietnam in 1990. Here, we meet Binh, the gangly 20-year old son of a Vietnamese mother and American G.I. father. He looks different from his Vietnamese relatives who are raising him, and he has been taunted all his life for his awkward tallness and mixed race features. Cast out of his childhood home, he goes to the city where his mother works as a housemaid for cruel wealthy people. His American father has disappeared long ago but his mother has a marriage license that lists his father's home as Houston, Texas. His mother gets him a job at the same household where she works where both of them are treated quite badly. Because of a freak accident that will surely be blamed on Binh, he must leave Vietnam. His mother gives him her life savings and he and his young half-brother who is about 5 years old leave on a long and unpleasant trek to America.
The trip to America exposes the realities of the global traffic in human beings. After a harrowing voyage on an open boat, they finally get to a refugee camp in Malaysia which is a virtual prison. Here, he meets a beautiful young Chinese woman named Ling who sells her body for food and money. She befriends him and helps him care for his young brother. Later, she uses the money she has saved to get Binh, his brother and herself on a boat that smuggles people to America where Binh is forced to sign an agreement that will put him into virtual slavery. The voyage is awful and there is little food or water. People die. All of this is shown in excruciating detail. It is absolutely horrible and very very sad.
In America, Binh is forced to work in a Chinese restaurant, living in a barracks where he sleeps on his bed for only a limited time and then must give it up to the next man who will also use it for only a few hours of sleep. During one very moving scene, he learns from his fellow workers that since his father is an American, he is actually an American citizen and didn't have to sneak into America the way he did. He could have made an application in Vietnam and been flown here on a jet plane. I must say that I shared his joy when he learned that. Now he was free. He could leave the slavery of the kitchens.
It's a long way from New York to Texas but he is determined to find his father. He hitches rides. He does odd jobs and we all get a glimpse of America through his eyes along the way. Eventually, near the very end of the film he does find his father, played by Nick Nolte. This meeting is not what I expected and includes its own kind of pathos that pulled at my heartstrings. The film ends on a bleak but positive note. It was a satisfactory journey for both Binh and the audience.
The part of Binh is played by a young actor named Damien Nguyen, who came to America from Vietnam at the age of three and grew up in California. This is his first film which must have been a huge challenge. He is in every single scene of the movie and had to show a tremendous range of emotions. I applaud his performance as I applaud this film. It was real and serious and thought provoking. I loved it.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Gorgeously Filmed and Strangely Unpredictable
Comment: THE BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY employs a Norwegian director, a half-Filipino writer, and a primarily Chinese and Vietnamese cast to paint its picture of a man's search for self-resolve and his father. As the offspring of a G.I. and a Vietnamese beauty, Binh (exquisitely portrayed by first-timer Damien Nguyen) is oversized and ostracized in his native land.
The plot of this movie is like a Chinese dhow tacking into a wind that keeps changing direction; if you have the patience to watch, its progress is both slow and unpredictable. As Binh progresses on his path, he graduates from fatalistic survival mode to self confidence. And along the way, Binh makes the acquaintance of Tim Roth as the memorable and morally devoid captain of a rusting scow filled with human cargo. (Where has Roth been? This film is a reminder that he's been MIA too long.)
SIDELIGHT: Screenwriter Sabina Murray worked with auteur Terrence Malick (THE THIN RED LINE) on the script preparation. His contributions was to work in memorable visual scenes (of which this movie has many) and the casting of Nick Nolte playing the magnificent wreck of a man. (In other words, playing himself.)
Customer Rating:
Summary: Thoughtful and reflective film
Comment: A beautiful moving story, that encompasses sadness,love,understanding and hope. Lovely soundtrack to accompany it.
Customer Rating:
Summary: an original approach
Comment: This film was very well made and cast-the direction,screenplay,acting,cinematography,and location shooting all blended harmoniously.Nick Nolte's role was small in total screen time,but not in importance.Damien Nguyen was highly effective and believeable as the protagonist even though this is apparently his first film performance.Ling Bai and Temuera Morrison are strong in supporting roles.Ling Bai is an experienced and well-known actress,but Morrison may not be a household name to most in the US-he plays the role of a menacing "snakehead" smuggler to perfection-if anyone has seen him in "Once Were Warriors"made in New Zealand it's apparent that he can play the kind of people you wouldn't want to know real well.The depiction of the alien smuggling operation and its aftermath in the USA is solid-I know from my professional experience of over 20 years as an INS agent.The film has a surprise in it-you think you know the story,but you don't.I don't put spoilers in my reviews.It's truly worth seeing.
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