I liked this movie.

Firstly, I felt that the situations were totally different between Vietnam and  United states at that time.

So I didn’t think I would like this movie as much as I did! I had to leave about an hour early which was disappointing because the beginning was very good! I think this movie helped me to understand Japanese Culture even more.

The scene where her dad killed himself in front of everyone was so sad Especially since the daughter had to watch. My dad died when I was 16 and it was the worst moment in my whole life. He died at home, while I was at my friends house. I remember every second of that day perfectly and it runs through my mind often…but I couldn’t imagine watching it happen. It would definitely scar me more than I already am.

The part when Kai was beat for fighting in the match, was very sad to watch. He didn’t have much of a choice because the guy who was supposed to fight was put under a spell.

I really enjoyed this movie, although it was really sad and I wanted to cry at times!

Binh was so brave to go travel to a new country to go find his dad… somebody he never even met before! But it’s really sad how he was treated the whole time. I couldn’t believe how they starved the people on the ship, and caused them to fight until their death. And how so many people died while trying to start a new and better life. The worst part of the movie was when Binh’s little brother died and he had to throw him off of the ship. I don’t know how he even got through that. Their first impressions of America also had to be so bad because they weren’t able to enjoy the place they’ve been waiting to come to…instead they had to spend years repaying their debt.

I am happy that he found his dad and was able to work on the ranch with him. His father also brought up a few times how he had such good memories in Vietnam when he was married, which Im sure Binh was relieved to hear! But what Really bothered me is that Binh never told his father that he was his son! It really frustrated me when the movie ended because I wanted to see his reaction!

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Hans Petter Moland’s The Beautiful Country has mostly ups for me with a few downs. However, despite the heartbreaking elements to the plot I felt very refreshed to see a movie that focused on the appropriate struggle. Instead of focusing on the life after war for lead character Binh’s father, Steve, the story follows Binh. I was pleased that we did not learn about Binh through the “white lens” story, which has been a common theme I have seen. (For example, in Netflix’s popular original series Orange is the New Black we are introduced and learn the lives of many women inside the prison, but we are only allowed that opportunity through lead white character, Piper Chapman. It’s a well developed series, but the problem still lies therein the fact that our vehicle into the stories of People of Color need to be white.)

I was very pleased with the cast of The Beautiful Country and the use of real life situations, even though they were very melancholy. The realistic drama of it was extremely raw. For example, as terrible as it was for Binh’s little brother [Tam] to die it was also a point that was touched in previous readings on the transportation of immigrants. There was a lot that was illuminated in terms of the discrimination inside Of Vietnam with mixed race children; the refugee camps; slave trade and human trafficking; the way that people find comfort in each other without it turning into a fairy tale that erases the real life struggle; the way falsities about America can be problematic (you’ll be rich!); and how class systems and racial prejudices can truly manifest in someone’s life and is prejudices are still relevant.

However, I was disappointed with two developments of big characters. First, I was disappointed with the transformation of Ling’s personality and how shallow they made her character seem once she was in New York. I think that, at best, it was showing the possibility of opportunities and how those can manifest, because her character was truly sincere and caring for most of the film. But even if that is the case, there are other ways to showcase that possibility which does not hold necessity on Binh and Ling remaining romantic. I also fond the view and commentary on her as a sex worker as stereotypical and problematic.
My second disappointment came from the final understanding of his father, but only because it is so rare to have real blame and guilt placed on a white character without also being given a reason for us [the audience] or them [those who were harmed in the film] not find an excuse to feel sorry for the “bad guy”. I do recognize that injuries are a very real part of war, and I was happy to see that it ended with Binh finding a place where he could be accepted, but what is it saying to have one of his few acceptances to be by his blind father? Similarly, previous readings have given examples of American GIs abandoning women without medical excuses and I thought this point would be one of importance to illustrate in such a film.  

This was my first time to watch the movie about Asian Americans except about Japanese Americans. However, I found that every movies about Asian American made me really sad. Because of the poor, their life were really hard, and had bad experiences. In this movie, I was impressed by the word; “wherever you go, you are poor.” Even he was poor, Binh had a dream to meet his parents However, the dream was not sure to come true. With thinking about his situation, I am sure that the word might have affected his mind. Wherever he went, he was poor. In the ship to move from Vietnam, their life was terrible. Through this movie, I found that people couldn’t live together under the harsh condition and in one space. Weak people would die, and powerful people would control there. The environment change the life of people there.

I think one of the reason why Asian people came to America and why they choose to be Asian Americans is caused by the wars. There might be a lot of couples between Asian people and American people. And more, quite a few people separated each other like Binh’s parents. Binh’s father had the reason why he didn’t be back to Vietnam. I could deeply understand the reason, but I couldn’t help being sadness for Binh’s mother. If the age in the movie was now, it was impossible to live all of them together. I am still frustrated against the problem.