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Monsoon (UK)

Continuing with the theme of first- and second-generation emigrants trying to stay connected with their roots and their new life, its a balance thats hard to maintain. a story about young British Vietnamese man trying to find his place in the world. not just that, he is also trying to find his true identity and connect.

Kit , a young British Vietnamese man, returns to his birth country for the first time in over 30 years. He is a stranger, a tourist to his own relatives. He recognizes very little as he and his family fled Vietnam (Saigon specifically) when he was six years old. Vietnam has changed and so has Kit. To ease pain he hooks up with people where he meets Lewis, an American whose father had fought in the war & with whom he forms a bond with. They discuss how their lives were affected deeply by the Vietnam war and they clearly bond through their pain. Kit is in the country to see if he wants to spread ashes of his mom on this country, and to do that he makes a trip from Saigon to Hanoi in search of his ancestral home. During his travels, Kit finally starts to connect to the memories of his parents and his own roots.

The film doesn't talk much but at the same time, a lot gets said in those empty glances and stares that Kit has. He sees places, homes, streets trying to jog his memories as a kid to figure out what the place should mean for him. Kit travels in awe which turns into melancholy every time. The maker s keeps a good balance of showing the modern Vietnam along with the traditions and beauty of the pre-war beauty of Vietnam. Henry Golding of Crazy Rich Asians fame play Kit and gives a powerful performance as a man unsure about what is place is in a country that he should feel at home. His relationship with hLewis is a tender and warm story of two people dealing with the fallout of two separate families dealing with the same horror. In tat essence, its less of a gay love story and more a story of family and individuals trying to find a place and a home. The film is slow and will not be everyone's cup of tea, but in those slow movements and shots, Vietnam has been captured so beautifully. It brought back all of my memories of my trip just over a year ago. in a very relevant and poignant scene towards the end, when Kit tells his cousin that neither of his parents ever spoke of their homeland, his cousin’s response goes to the heart of the complexity of the refugee predicament. “They went through so much to leave here, and now you bring them back?”

Films like this touch your heart but at the same time, subjects like this are something only emigrants can relate to. We all have had our reasons to leave our motherland. Do not expect entertainment from this film. IT is a sensitive portrayal of cultural displacement. (7/10)

Comments

Hedgehog said…
I wonder if you already seen Skam France?
Golu said…
I haven't yet. i have all the international versions of season 3 (the gay storyline). The whole Norway version is still so fresh in my mind. What all versions have you seen? Any thoughts or feedback? Maybe I will pick one and watch soon.
Hedgehog said…
I’ve seen the Og, Italia, Germany, France. For me Skam is the best France version. Skam Germany being my least favorite. Skam NL (Netherlands) looks promising. The isak/lucas of that version is interesting but sadly there’s is no plan doing the season 3 of Skam NL.
Golu said…
Thats good to know. I will probably pik up theh frenc version first then at some point.
Hedgehog said…
Glad to hear that. I’m pretty sure you’re going to love it.

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