The Beautiful Country

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The Beautiful Country ★★½ 2004 (R)

In 1990, 20-year-old Binh (Nguyen) lives with poverty and discrimination in Vietnam because of his mixed ancestry: his father was an American solider. Binh's dying mother sends him on an illegal journey to the U.S. in hopes of tracking down his dad in Houston. There's an extended sequence involving a Malaysian refugee camp (with Ling as a friendly prostitute) and a trip on a freighter (captained by Roth) before the young man makes it to the States and finally meets his dad (Nolte). Earnest, gentle, and sometimes harrowing (and rather too long). 137m/C DVD . NO US Nick Nolte, Tim Roth, Bai Ling, Temuera Morrison, Damien Nguyen, Nguyen Thi Huong Dung, Chau Thi Kim Xuan, Anh Thu, Khong Duc Thuan, Chapman To, Vu Tang, Nguyen Than Kien, Bui Ti Hong, John Hussey; D: Hans Petter Moland; W: Larry Gross, Sabina Murray; C: Stuart Dryburgh; M: Zbigniew Preisner.

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