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The Beautiful Country Reviews
Watching this astonishing film is a humbling experience. Technically it is superb and wonderfully directed so that its rhythm has a spellbinding effect. Every single performance is exquisite but what really got me was the deeply spiritual undertone running through the narrative despite the harrowing scenes. Binh's odyssey in searching for his true parents becomes the journey in which he finds himself, a journey we all are asked to undergo in one way or another. The beautifully understated scenes with Nick Nolte and Damien Nguyen offer a healing quality for the observer as well as the two characters involved. The only thing this brilliant film seems to have lacked was better marketing as it deserves to be showered with awards. Switch off the phone and bring your best attention. This film deserves that.
It's an emotionally involving picture that, like the main character, embarks you on a noble transcontinental journey. Lavish exterior cinematography.
Such an amazing film... Terribly underrated... One of best films ive ever seen... Blown away.
Quiet power. How the strength of genuine humility to mold one man's character from a life born in devastation of Vietnam. How love and hope can heal the most broken of circumstances.
As Hans Petter Moland finally won his Silver Berlin Bear for "Out Stealing Horses" I decided to celebrate with a film of his that remained unknown for me for a long time. It's no apperent reason for it, this film even has the mighty Terrence Malick listed as one of the producers. "The Beautiful Country" is mainly about "Binh". He get's out of a city in Vietnam to find his mother in Saigon. From there he flees again, leaving his mother but bringing his much younger brother. They ends up in Malaysia, in a detention camp. Here he meets the lovely "Ling" and together they get out for the true destination - the USA. Here a new life starts, but "Binh" is not at the end of his mission just yet. He is looking for his father, that left him and his mom after the war and now he wants answers. This is a very enjoyable ride. It's never boring and the characters never stay for too long at the same place - it's constantly moving. The pace is excellent and the cast is really good. Nick Nolte is the biggest name, but he does not get much time on screen. Bai Ling looks like she is twenty - and still does really, and is probably doing one of her best parts here. I'm just guessing since I haven't seen much of her other work, but she usually does roles in pretty weak films. The best actor here is still the lead, portrayed by the very unknown Damien Nguyen, that only did two movies in total. This is a pretty gentle film, I believe it's rated for audiences above twelve years old. It works just fine, even if it won't suit most of the younger audiences tastes. I feared this would be a somewhat flat film but it certainly weren't. It's a drama, an exciting one. It builds up so greatly and the ending is also the great and very rewarding climax. An underrated film, from one of the best Norwegian directors. Now he's finally getting some shine outside the country and that is well deserved. 7.5 out of 10 cans of green paint.
A little known Terrence Malick produced drama, The Beautiful Country is a quietly touching study of finding oneself in this great big world and a globe spanning journey for a likable and caring young man who was shunned by his countryman through his hard and unforgiving upbringing. Dealing with the not well known facet of Vietnamese lifestyle, where those children born to both Vietnamese and American parents are treated as outcasts, Norwegian director Hans Petter Moland handles the tricky subject matter with aplomb and whether his camera roams the countryside of Vietnam, the refugee camps of Malaysia or the American landscape, The Beautiful Country is most certainly a handsomely crafted tale that shuns its low end budget to create a film that feels both lavish and grand in the non-traditional sense. Throughout almost every scene in this tale is Binh, who after years of wondering decides to set off to not only meet his natural Vietnamese mother but find his G.I American father. Played by then newcomer Damien Nguyen (who in the time since this film has virtually disappeared from the acting scene), Binh is a likable character and is just one of many colourful and realistic characters that create a vibrancy and realism in The Beautiful Country that makes it really something special. Throughout Binh's journey to the lands of America he meets his loving mother, Bai Ling's confused yet kind hearted Ling, Tim Roth's people smuggling boat captain Oh and undoubtedly most importantly Nick Nolte's one time G.I Steve, who Nolte plays with great power. Each of these characters whether on screen for extended periods or brief periods are well designed and constructed and each performer gives it theie all with Bai Ling in particular delivering what could well be her best ever performance. It's not hard to see why a visionary like Malick put his name to such a heartfelt piece of movie making and while The Beautiful Country stumbles in certain areas and at times feels hampered by its production constraints, there's still a touching tale that shines uttermost throughout. It's a shame more have not seen this journey and a shame also that director Moland has not found this vision again in his more recent career but we can be thankful that The Beautiful Country is here for us now to watch and appreciate. 4 angry Jango Fett's out of 5 www.jordanandeddie.wordpress.com
The Beautiful Country is a very touching film about the hardship of a half American boy in Vietnam and his lonely existence as an outsider everywhere, both in his own country and culture, which reject him, and as a foreigner in America. The terribly difficult trip to America and suffering along the way remind us what our own ancestors went through--the immigrant experience and the lack of acceptance, the grief of the passing of those who die on the journey,and the hard work here that is much the same as the hard work back home. It is a beautiful film that follows Binh's pilgrimage to find acceptance and a home, and well worth seeing.
An amazing story that's told well. Binh's journey is tragic and emotional. This movie has a bittersweet ending. I can only watch this movie every couple years as it really shakes me up and makes me appreciate how easy my life is.
A very good movie! Quality film, great sets, great scenery, good acting, good story, just a good movie all around.
Post Vietnam war - A mixed-race young man travels to find his father in America after being discriminated against in his own country for not being full Vietnamese. The harshness of his life feels painfully real - this one is for adults.
first i wanted to know if the Vietnamese countryside was really that beautiful, then i wanted to know if the rich ppl in Saigon really behave that way toward their servants in 1990, then i started to doubt if the Malaysian refugee camps were really as depicted (detainees could move about freely, men & women were bunked next to one another), then i really question if a transpacific cargo ship would provide their "slaves" with the privacy & luxury to personal hygiene... then i found out that the min wage in Taxes was $3.80 per hour in 1990, when our protagonist was hired as a ranch hand at $2/hr, "not a cent more"... But if you can overlook these & the abrupt corny ending, it is a tale rich in drama. Make no mistake that i liked the movie. It was a good try -- it shed light on the "bui doi" (a derogatory term that refers to a Vietnamese-born child fathered by an American soldier during the Vietnam War).
Slow paced, yet intriguing. I should take away 1/2 a star for the unsatisfying ending, but I just couldn't make myself do it. This was very well done, very moving, and very well casted. No Disney ending here, but nice enough to not get me too mad...
Excellent ensemble piece about hope, perseverance, belonging. Highly Recommended.
VynikajÃcà drama o jednom velkà (C)m putovánÃ, s ...... koncem.DobÅ(TM)e zvolenà herci(Tim Roth i na malà (C)m prostoru uhraje opÄ>t velkà (C) vÄ>ci) posouvajà pÅ(TM)ÃbÄ>h vÅ 3/4dy správnà 1/2m smÄ>rem a pro mÄ> neznámà 1/2 norskà 1/2 reÅ 3/4isà (C)r Hans Petter Moland si s komplexnÃm multikulturnÃm pÅ(TM)ÃbÄ>hem plnà 1/2m emocà poradil na và 1/2bornou.Mimochodem Bai Ling zde pÅ(TM)edvedla, Å 3/4e se neztratà ani v nároÄ?nÄ>jÅ¡Ã látce a je Å¡koda, Å 3/4e obecnÄ> hraje vÃcemà (C)nÄ> v p***vinách, neÅ 3/4 v podobnÄ> kvalitnÃch projektech.
what a beautiful movie. understated and beautifully shot
Great story and well told. To my friends working with or interested in refugee, human trafficking, and immigration issues, this is a must see. For those that care for a deep, touching human story, this will not disappoint.