The Beautiful Country

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Albus L Apr 21, 2019 A devastating journey full of determination.

Albus L Apr 10, 2019 As Hans Petter Moland finally won his Silver Berlin Bear for "Out Stealing Horses" I decided to celebrate with a film of his that remained unknown for me for a long time. It's no apperent reason for it, this film even has the mighty Terrence Malick listed as one of the producers. "The Beautiful Country" is mainly about "Binh". He get's out of a city in Vietnam to find his mother in Saigon. From there he flees again, leaving his mother but bringing his much younger brother. They ends up in Malaysia, in a detention camp. Here he meets the lovely "Ling" and together they get out for the true destination - the USA. Here a new life starts, but "Binh" is not at the end of his mission just yet. He is looking for his father, that left him and his mom after the war and now he wants answers. This is a very enjoyable ride. It's never boring and the characters never stay for too long at the same place - it's constantly moving. The pace is excellent and the cast is really good. Nick Nolte is the biggest name, but he does not get much time on screen. Bai Ling looks like she is twenty - and still does really, and is probably doing one of her best parts here. I'm just guessing since I haven't seen much of her other work, but she usually does roles in pretty weak films. The best actor here is still the lead, portrayed by the very unknown Damien Nguyen, that only did two movies in total. This is a pretty gentle film, I believe it's rated for audiences above twelve years old. It works just fine, even if it won't suit most of the younger audiences tastes. I feared this would be a somewhat flat film but it certainly weren't. It's a drama, an exciting one. It builds up so greatly and the ending is also the great and very rewarding climax. An underrated film, from one of the best Norwegian directors. Now he's finally getting some shine outside the country and that is well deserved. 7.5 out of 10 cans of green paint. See more

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The Beautiful Country

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