A SON'S SEARCH, MOVINGLY DEPICTED.Byline: Bob Strauss Film Critic LIFE IN POSTWAR South Vietnam wasn't very good for most people. But it was particularly hard for the ``Bui Doi,'' the children of American servicemen (the term translates as ``less than dust''). ``The Beautiful Country'' charts the course of one such young man with sensitivity, some generic hand-wringing and, ultimately, a gentle steeliness. Newcomer Damien Nguyen's marvelously controlled performance, backed up by a top-notch supporting cast and unobtrusive direction by Hans Petter Moland, gives a story that could have been one long wallow wallow mud bath frequented by pigs, elephants, red deer, hippopotami as a cooling aid. in misery both dramatic dignity and a well-earned sense of quiet uplift. It's 1990, and too-tall, not-Asian-looking-enough Binh is barely tolerated in the rural hamlet where his mother hid him just before the Communist victory. The family he lives with won't allow him to eat in their house, everyone in the village treats him like their personal slave, and when the lady of his house marries an old guy who hates Binh, it's obviously time to leave. But where to go in a world where he'll always be an outsider? Binh actually manages to track down his birth mother in the former Saigon, but the bittersweet reunion is undone by tragedy. Forced to flee with his little half-brother Tam (Tran Dang dang interj. Used to express dissatisfaction or annoyance. adv. & adj. Damn. tr.v. danged, dang·ing, dangs To damn. n. Quoc Thinh), Binh is at least fortified fortified (fôrt  ´fīd),adj containing additives more potent than the principal ingredient. by the knowledge that his American father married his mother - before he disappeared one day without a trace, presumably pre·sum·a·ble adj. That can be presumed or taken for granted; reasonable as a supposition: presumable causes of the disaster. back home to Houston. He'll need all the fortification fortification, system of defense structures for protection from enemy attacks. Fortification developed along two general lines: permanent sites built in peacetime, and emplacements and obstacles hastily constructed in the field in time of war. he can get. From a risky escape from Vietnam by boat to an extended stay in a Malaysian refugee camp to a harrowing ocean crossing on a rusting freighter to indentured servitude servitude In property law, a right by which property owned by one person is subject to a specified use or enjoyment by another. Servitudes allow people to create stable long-term arrangements for a wide variety of purposes, including shared land uses; maintaining the in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. , Binh suffers just about every tragedy an illegal immigrant can undergo. And when he learns about an agonizing irony that changes the nature of his entire, awful journey, Binh's one driving impulse - to track down his father - takes on a new, poignant urgency. A full-blooded Vietnam native who has lived in the United States since the age of 3, Nguyen possesses a natural, stoic stillness that feels right for both Binh's debasement Debasement 1. To lower the value, quality or status of something or someone. 2. To lower the value (of a coin) by adding metal of inferior value. Notes: In other words, debasement is the degrading of the value of something or character of someone. and determined fortitude. It also makes Binh's rare displays of anger and assertiveness more powerful than a more histrionic histrionic /his·tri·on·ic/ (his?tre-on´ik) excessively dramatic or emotional, as in histrionic personality disorder; see under personality. performance might. Also terrific are Bai Ling as a Chinese prostitute who becomes Binh's guide to the world and first love; Tim Roth as the ruthless, yet at times oddly compassionate, skipper of the human trafficking ship; and Nick Nolte as a man whose own life has been constrained by circumstances. Working from a story by Sabina Murray and Lingard Jervey, Norwegian Moland displays an empathetic em·pa·thet·ic adj. Empathic. em  pa·thet i·cal·ly adv. understanding of several cultures that are not his own in ``The Beautiful Country.'' It's one of those specific stories that touches universal notes all the way along. Bob Strauss, (818) 713-3670 bob.strauss(at)dailynews.com THE BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY - Three stars (R: violence, children in jeopardy, racism, drug use, sexuality) Starring: Damien Nguyen, Bai Ling, Tim Roth, Nick Nolte. Director: Hans Petter Moland. Running time: 2 hr. 5 min. Playing: Rialto, South Pasadena; ArcLight, Hollywood; Monicas, Santa Monica; Westside Pavilion, West L.A.; Edwards South Coast Village; Costa Mesa. In a nutshell: Compelling tale of a Vietnamese man's struggle to come to the U.S. starts out standard-issue, grows in specific drama and character development. Partially in Vietnamese with English subtitles. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Damien Nguyen, right, with Bai Ling and Chau Thi Kim Xuan, makes an arduous trek to the U.S. in ``The Beautiful Country.'' |
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