First I must add that I am an Vietnamese (American Born) growing up without the strong Vietnamese community ties and a little of the isolation and cruelty depicted in the movie. This movie gave me a visual of some of the stories that my father could not talk too much about and others that I could have never have known about if it weren't for talking to people that I met over the years, who spoke of refugee camps and such. I could identity with at most half of the movie personally... So there is still some objectivity in terms of how I view the quality of the movie. The cinematography was dramatic and you could see the camera work reflected the different times and places vividly. I can only say that you should watch it... as much as you are moved to watch Schindler's list and movies similar (as this movie is commonly compared to for the Vietnamese Diaspora)... this movie takes a single POV of a family and the interactions between people that intertwine. It is a dynamic movie and every actor, how big or small a role, even those of the officer in the camp, are so strong. A conversation between two minor older actors was so touching and helped established the heart of the story. The time line jumps are disorienting, you are caught off guard why some events happen much like a season of Lost, but by now... you know the broad story of the Boat People and the Vietnam War. The movie depicts the time in between that the news doesn't carry and the time jumps help carry the POV of each actors view.

If you go... bring tissues and be prepared to be changed when you leave the theater.

If you really want to see a movie about the aftermath of the Vietnam War, this is truly the only one that exists. No one has seen what happened to the Vietnamese who remained after the fall of Saigon. This movie shows it. Excellently acted and shot, it is a masterpiece that needs to be seen by everyone because you truly don't know what war is about until you see how it affects everyone involved during and after the war.

Kieu Chinh once again gives a fantastic performance. This veteran actor has only improved with age and I am happy to see that her talents are still in high demand. Long Nguyen gives an amazing performance as the prisoner of war who is placed in a re-education camp. First-time actor Diem Lien is excellent in the role of Mai. I hope to see her in more films in the future.

There is no objectionable language or nudity. Images of war and violence do occur (obviously) in the film.

This is an admirable attempt from first time filmmaker Ham Tran, offering little-glanced perspective dealing with Vietnam war victims struggling for liberation, but plays out as a glorified history special. With clunky, self-consciously informative dialog and sub-par acting, even a relatively impressive budget with attention to detail will not spring to life this sagging, albeit historically worthy, melodrama. Paying no mind to the often distracting disconnect with the actors to the reality of situations on screen, and you should be left with an informative, if somewhat impersonal educational lesson in Vietnamese post-war history.