Journey From the Fall
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Movie Reviews of Journey From the Fall
Movie Review: The End Of One Nightmare, And The Beginning Of Another
Summary: 5 Stars
Directed and written by Ham Tran, "Journey from the Fall," is a very emotional film. The films narrative is based on fictional characters, but in a sense these characters are representative of the millions of South Vietnamese who were displaced, forced to leave their country, or sent to re-education camps after the fall of Saigon. The film reminded me in many ways of "The Killing Fields" starring the late Haing S. Ngor. And while "The Killing Fields" dealt with Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge, it has much in common with the film "Journey from the Fall," in that it deals with the aftermath of Americas absence from Southeast Asia, and what befell those who were left behind. In this particular film, the director weaves three main narratives into the film.
One of these narratives revolves around the father Long (Long Nguyen). It is April 1975, and the North Vietnamese have nearly conquered the South. However, Long believes it is his duty to continue fighting for Saigon until the very end. He tells his wife Mai (Diem Lien) that he must remain behind to carry on the fight, while imploring her to leave for America with their young son Lai (Nguyen Thai Nguyen) and the grandmother Ba Noi (Keiu Chinh). I found the fathers narrative to be the most fascinating in the film. As the film moves forward, the viewer is witness to the infamous RE-EDUCATION camps that were so prominent with communist regimes. Those who fought in the former government are considered traitors, and as such, they MUST be re-educated along communist dogma---before they are allowed to fit into the new social order of the now reunified country.
The viewer sees the plight of the father as he endures years of imprisonment in the re-education camps, while at the same time, we see the emotional strain this is causing on the rest of the family. Grandmother is excellently cast in her role, as she recounts legendary tales to the young grandchild Lai. Amidst all of the emotional pain the family is going through now that the father is separated from them, is the ever present thought of escape to America. When the family decides the time is right for escape, they encounter a very perilous journey. The director did a very good job with the set designs in the open seas, as you can sense the claustrophobic feeling of the families who are attempting to escape Vietnam in a small fishing boat. Moreover, there is the ever present danger of pirates who prey on the open seas: And this is vividly portrayed in the film.
When the family eventually arrives in America, they encounter the usual hostility newcomers often face. Further, the director shows in both subtle, and not so subtle ways the discrimination that befalls the newcomers in their new home--especially those of the young boy Lai. However, there is more to the film than the families escape to America. We see the constant perils of those who are in the re-education camps and their hopes of finally gaining freedom. For while the director shows those who have finally found freedom, he also gives us a glimpse of many others who are still in the re-education camps who firmly believe and hope that they will one day be released, or will release themselves through bribery or escape from the camps. Will the father finally find freedom? I don't wish to divulge too much in this review, as there are some very important parts of the film I did not explore, which will only ruin the film for you. I recommend the film highly. For a more in-depth review, I recommend viewers take a look at the reviewer Woopak's review. He has given an outstanding review of the film. [Stars: 4.5]
Movie Review: A personal film
Summary: 5 Stars
When I was a 2nd Grader, around 1979 at Ruby Drive elementary school in Fullerton, CA, we had a sudden influx of Vietnamese refugees at my school. I was assigned a girl my own age, to help teach her English, play with her and generally make her life a little easier while transitioning to her new country. We were friends for about a year, until my family moved away and I never saw or heard from her again. I remember my mother telling me to be very nice to her and treat her well because she was a boat person, and that her boat had been attacked by pirates and she had been raped, but I was far too young to really understand what any of that meant. It wasn't until I saw "Journey from the Fall" that I really gained any sort of insight as to what she must have gone through.
Opening a window into someone else's experiences is one of the great gifts of film, and director Ham Tran has proven himself to be a virtuoso. The structure of "Journey from the Fall", including multiple time shifts and scene changes, leaves one appropriately disorientated as the characters themselves are. If people are still living or dead, if they have escaped or been captured...this information is put forth in a non-linear order so the confusion and "ah-ha" moments are well balanced. He demands concentration and investigation on the part of the viewer, rather than just feeding the story to a passive audience. One must think about this film, in order to get its full intent.
There is nothing of the beauty of Heaven & Earth, which made full use of the lush Vietnamese landscape. The camera is tight and controlled, and the pictures are realistic and dirty. This is a very human picture. The actors deliver stellar performances, including Long Nguyen, who was also in Heaven and Earth, playing the detained father, and Diem Lien, professionally a singer rather than an actress, as his suffering wife. The storytelling grandmother, Kieu Chinh (The Joy Luck Club), is also amazing, being the heart of a family that has had its soul torn out.
I really feel like I cannot praise this film enough, and I am only sorry that it took me so long to see it. It should almost be required viewing, especially for those of us who had some experience with this during the end of the Vietnam War. While watching, I couldn't help but wonder about what will happen to the people of Iraq when the US finally leaves, and if we will see another version of "Journey from the Fall" 30 years from now. I also wonder about my friend from 2nd grade. I can't even remember her name, but I hope she is doing well.
Movie Review: A rare and important film
Summary: 5 Stars
Movies can be many things. Some are funny and/or entertaining. But the more important ones are dramatic, educational, or historically significant and profoundly moving. Rarely, very rarely, are we gifted with a movie that combines all the characteristics of that second description into a marvelous whole, and provides an experience that is truly meaningful on several levels.
Journey From The Fall is such a film, combining acting, artistry, a neglected but important bit of history, and a portrayal of the human condition under the most brutal and tragic conditions into a magnificent work that leaves the viewer unsettled, sad, and yet inspired. Made by people who themselves lived that part of history, with painstaking attention to detail that will pull you into a world you have not known, like a walk through Dachau that sears heart and mind.
It reveals in part the cost of abandoning South Viet Nam to conquest by the forces of the communist North, and paints a terribly vivid picture of the heartless cruelty of the "re-education" camps, and the desperate and often traumatic flights of the Boat People. Many scenes in it are not for the fainthearted or delicate, but they are, sadly, only too historically accurate. It follows the often painful readjustment process of those who made it to US shores, and gives the Western viewer some idea of the truly heart-tearing dilemma of people forced to decide whether to stay in the oppressive land of their revered ancestors, or flee to freedom in an alien land.
This is a story which needed to be told, to shine a light on the agony and travail of those victims of the war's end, and the incredible courage of those who tried, sometimes more than once, to escape the awful existence imposed on them by the "liberators" of the South. It serves to honor those who suffered, and help their children growing up in freedom to understand what their parents experienced to bring them to a better life. And it serves to educate the rest of us, and allow us to both understand and respect their experiences, and be inspired by them, and grateful that they have come to add their energy and their spirit to this land.
Movie Review: Great story of the "Re-Education Camp" and "Boat People".
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one beautiful film and more of a tear-jerker per say. Reviewers Ernest and Woopak has already said it best by giving in an extraordinary in-depth review which left me to fem for myself. After watching this tonight I thought Ham Tran's "Journey From the Fall" ought to stand on its own two feet despite offhanded comparisons to Schindler's List . It is by turns a tough and tender survival story of Vietnamese boat people that's more intimate, less remorseful, and not in slightest bit self-righteous. It concerns the plight of the Nguyen family post-Vietnam war: husband Long is imprisoned in a series of grueling re-education camps, forced into hard labour and the regularly fatal practice of clearing landmines; meanwhile his wife, mother and son defect via an overcrowded vessel headed anywhere but `Nam. Initially harrowing and without hope, the film relocates at its mid-point to California in the 80's, where the family have immigrated successfully, albeit uneasily, with the undertow of those left behind a heavy burden to bear.
Crucially, Tran narrows the focus from the outset, allaying the broad chaos and resentment of a war-ravaged country in favour of the closeness of his four affected family members - the universality of their flight bound to resonate with most Vietnamese (9 out of 10 in the US, for instance, either were or knew boat people), as well as anyone who's sought refuge from their tarnished homeland. With a generous budget, this is impressively fielded in scale, yet maintains a modesty that's humbling.
Come to fine out this was financed by producers Stateside, but the American influence is otherwise non-existent: there are no marines or platoons; no embittered war veterans in wheelchairs; nor is there the overbearing presence of an Oliver Stone. He may not admit to it, but "Journey From the Fall" is also Tran's backlash against imperialism: just as Americans are compelled to impose themselves on conflicts overseas, so to are they insistent on making them into movies from their own perspective. A film about Vietnamese, by Vietnamese, this is an imprint of war that's 30 years overdue, yet fresh off the scenic boat.
Movie Review: Powerful film and very real for this viewer
Summary: 5 Stars
This was a very powerful and emotional movie for me due to personal experience. My mom sent me away one of of those boats when I was 14, while my dad was still in re-education camp (translation: hard labor concentration camp). My mom only had enough money for my "ticket" so she and my brothers and sisters all stayed behind. The escape and boat scenes are very similar to what I experienced. I can't say about the re-education camp scenes as I didn't have the privilege of staying in a camp, however I did visit my dad a few times and the depressive atmosphere I remember is very close to what we see in the movie.
The second half of the movie that depicts life in America is very moving for me as well. All boat persons went through those very same experiences: learning a new language, working menial jobs, adjusting to a totally different culture, having chance meetings with people you know from back home, etc.
These chance meetings are more likely than one would think, due to the fact that a large percentage of boat persons eventually migrated to a a few large population centers (Orange County, Houston, etc.). Also since older immigrants never really fit into the new country, they would continue to stay in the immigrant "community" and would always go to the same community events, grocery stores, restaurants, etc.
As powerful a film as it is, it could have greatly benefited from a bigger budget. This last note is more of an observation than a criticism.