The Age of Commercialism

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

What a wonderful movie it is. Hans Petter Moland made a masterpiece with this movie. I'll try to watched his another movies for sure. What a wonderful theme, what a wonderful acting, great Tim Roth in secondary role. I really like this movie. Beautiful music as well.

To be honest, I only got this movie because Bai Ling was in it. She was a secondary character, however, and the main story was about this half Vietnamese, half American boy who searches for his parents.The film is soul wrenching at times, showing this quiet and calm boy going through hell just to survive and go on, but most of the time it just slowly builds up empathy and outrage. There is a timeless quality about the feel of the movie (I honestly thought it was an 80's film) and the acting is top notch. The first half of it is in Vietnamese, the other in English, after the main character crosses the ocean.Bottom line: quite good, however really slow paced. There are not many scenes to make the blood boil, so you need to be in the mood for a slow drama. It is worth it, though. It makes people understand that there are misfortunes, and then there are misfortunes.

This was a wonderful story and totally believable. Having known of those who fled Vietnam the story is realistic. Having spent some time in Sout East Asia, the scenery was outstanding. However, I'm left hanging at the end. What happened to the mother? How did the relationship between Binh and his father end? We are left wondering how Binh was able to track down his father with little information and what happened to the character played by Bai Ling? She was such an important part of Binh's life. The acting overall was great and Nick Nole was outstanding. I've been a fan of Nole for many years and found this to be a performance of merit.

While we are engaged in yet another intrusive ill-advised war, the time is right for the release of a story that reminds us of the lingering malignant consequences of the equally intrusive war in Vietnam. For those who falsely believe that a war is over with the signing of a declaration and the evacuation of troops this magnificently poignant film will be an eye opener. And for those who are aware of the broken families and bitter scars of war marking those who fought on both sides, the story will find a different response - one of memory of pain, regret, and wonder at the tale of just one survivor.Binh (Damien Nguyen) is a half-breed, his mother a Vietnamese and his father an American soldier, and as such is has no country: he doesn't belong and lives as an outcast. His struggle for life leads to his departing his village in Vietnam for Saigon where he reconnects with his estranged mother Mai (Thi Kim Xuan Chau), and his very young half brother Tam (Dang Quoc Thinh Tran), who works as a servant in an abusive wealthy Vietnamese household. The reunion is touching and Binh joins his mother on the staff as a servant. An unfortunate accident occurs forcing Binh to flee to America, his young brother Tam accompanying him at Mai's insistence: Mai sees America as the beautiful country where her sons will find their father in Houston, Texas and have a new life.The bulk of the film is the treacherous journey of Binh and Tam along with Ling (Ling Bai), a Chinese girl who befriends them. They survive a detention camp in Malaysia, a doomed boat trip, and a long journey aboard a filthy human trafficking ship whose Captain Oh (Tim Roth) monitors their survival (except for Tam who succumbs to fever) and ultimately releases them into the waters along New York. Binh and Ling survive in Chinatown in New York in the most menial of jobs, again surviving abuse in the land of promise. Eventually Binh travels to Texas for a reunion with his biological father (Nick Nolte) and even that reunion is marked by the permanent scars the war has left on the survivors.Through all of the incomprehensible hardships Binh is marked with a spirit of survival that pays homage to the human soul's ability to sustain life through hope. The message is powerful and for once is not cosmetically altered by the writers or the director or the fine cast. Damien Nguyen and Ling Bai are outstanding and the cameo roles are all superb. This is an epic film, not a pretty one, but a film about the pity of war, one that pleads the case against war in simply recalling the disastrous after effects that many choose to forget. And it is a story of the triumph of the human spirit. If we are to ever understand the pity of war and the inhumanity of war, we must be aware of the sequelae. Highly recommended on every level. Grady Harp