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THREE SEASONS Send This Review to a Friend
Given the importance of Vietnam to our history, it's a wonder that there haven't been more films by now dealing with personal dramas in the wake of the war. Writer-director Tony Bui's "Three Seasons," with glorious cinematography by Lisa Rinzler, juggles compelling stories involving various main characters in contemporary Saigon. Bui was only two when his parents escaped from Vietnam with him, and although he grew up in California, the film reflects his passionate interest in his country of origin.
One story involves a young woman (Ngoc Hiep), who takes a job picking white lotuses for a reclusive teacher with unexpected results. This portion is especially poetic and beautifully told. Another dramatic involvement concerns a man (Don Duong) who drives a "cyclo," a bicycle taxi, and his love for a prostitute (Zoe Bui), an angry young woman with a lack of self worth but a determination to land a rich man. Another episode brings an American (Harvey Keitel), who is in Saigon searching for a daughter he fathered during the war, in contact with a boy (Nguyen Huu Duoc) who is struggling to survive on Saigon's mean streets.
There is much beauty in Bui's film, which attempts to show the changed society and the effect on very different characters. Some of the story-telling is a bit mannered, but Bui succeeds in transporting us into the world he wants to reveal. "Three Seasons" is an unusual work filled with the riches of acute character observation and the sensitivity of a dedicated filmmaker. An October Films release.
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