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The true story of the Vietnamese refugees who fled their land after the fall of Saigon -- and those who were forced to stay behind -- sets the stage for this powerful drama from independent filmmaker Ham Tran. On April 30, 1975, American troops finally left Vietnam as they withdrew from the war they decided could not be won. As Saigon fell and the Communist North Vietnamese forces took full control of the nation, many people who fought the Communists alongside the South Vietnamese and the Americans found themselves in great danger. One such man was Long (Long Nguyen), who faced imprisonment in a "re-education camp" for his crimes against the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Before he was sent away, Long urged his wife, Mai (Diem Lien), to take their family to America by any means possible, and with Long incarcerated with no hope of escape, Mai, her mother and her young son, Lai (Preston Tri Nguyen), escape Saigon aboard a tiny fishing boat to make the dangerous journey to the United States. Six years later, Mai and her family have settled in Northern California, where they've begun a new life -- one that an older Lai (now played by Nguyen Thai Nguyen) finds profoundly difficult to accept. Journey From the Fall (aka Vuot Song) was written and directed by Ham Tran, who was born in Saigon and emigrated to America with his family in 1982; this was his first feature after a handful of award-wining shorts. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kieu Chinh, Long Nguyen, (more)
- 2007
A girl who refuses to surrender her optimism despite difficult circumstances brings two unlikely strangers together in this comedy-drama from Vietnam. Thuy (Pham Thi Han) is an orphan who, after the death of her parents, has been sent to live with her uncle Tran Le Minh (Nguyen Hau). Tran runs a company that processes bamboo, and he puts Thuy to work in his factory, where's she puts in long hours and is treated poorly by her uncle and his associates. Convinced life has better things to offer, Thuy runs away to Saigon, and she soon makes friends with a handful of plucky fellow orphans who survive on the street and look out for one another. Thuy supports herself by selling flowers, and during her rounds she meets Hai (Le The Lu), a friendly zookeeper who is looking after a baby elephant which is soon to be sold. Thuy and her friends meet every day at a diner where a boy (Hoang Long) serves the kids soup; another regular at the restaurant is Lan (Cat Ly), a stewardess who takes a liking to Thuy and lets the girl stay with her when she's in town on layover. Thuy senses that Lan is lonely, much like Hai, and she decides that with a little intervention on her part, Hai and Lan might make a good couple and she could become their adopted daughter. However, Thuy soon learns that matchmaking is a more challenging task than she realized. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 2005
Darwyn (Michael Ealy) once again reconciles with Gayle (Melissa Sagemiller). This time Farik (Oded Fehr) is watching him, and warns him, "romantic relationships complicate our mission." Farik strong-arms Eddy (Jeff Mallare), convincing him to fly to Vancouver in order to test a batch of anthrax and then smuggle it back into the U.S. Darwyn sneaks his cell phone into Eddy's luggage, so the FBI will able to track him with the GPS device, and calls Ray (James LeGros) to let him know what's going on. Ilija (Henri Lubatti) accompanies Eddy on the flight, but once they have the anthrax, Eddy will drive it back over the border in an RV. While at the airport, Farik and Darwyn go to arrivals, where they see influential Islamic scholar Zayd Abdal Malik (Marc Casabani) coming in from Yemen. Farik orders the members of the sleeper cell to attend a speech Malik is giving at a local mosque. Malik talks about the evils of terrorism, decrying those who use the label Islam to murder. Tommy (Blake Shields) walks out in disgust, but Christian (Alex Nesic) seems genuinely intrigued by the man's words. Darwyn is worried the Farik plans to murder Malik, who has worked to "deprogram" terrorists in the Middle East, but Ray suspects that Malik is a fraud who is secretly working with Islamic extremists. Meanwhile, agents in Canada have to come up with a way to make sure that the anthrax doesn't get across the border, without blowing Darwyn's cover. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
