Journey from the Fall (2006) directed by Ham Tran
Plot:
After the fall of Saigon, Vietnamese families who sided with the Americans are left in desperate straights. Long, for reasons he doesn't fully explain, insists on staying behind while his wife, mother and son join the boat people in a harrowing journey they hope will bring them to America. The film shifts between Long's ordeal in the re-education camps and his attempts to escape with his family's journey.
The focus of the film changes half way through as Long dies in his attempt. The family ends up in California, and the film turns into a domestic drama pitting the troubled young boy and his grandmother against the mother.
Commentary:
The decision to change the focus of the film halfway through is interesting but not entirely successful. Once the family is in California and the father disappears from the film, it becomes a rather ordinary domestic drama. It's hard to compete with the drama of the parallel plights of the imprisoned father and the escaping family.
Comments