One of the great consequences that manifested from the war in Vietnam is the staggering amount of lost children that were fathered by American GI’s. These “amerasian” children are coined by the derogatory term “Bui Doi” which translates to something below dirt. Out of the 12-18, 000 children conceived during the crux of the war from 1964-75, the United States still did not succeed to find all of these children. Of course there were the lucky ones, people brought state and naturalized by government programs in the 1980’s, such as the Amarasian Immigration Act, but many of these people came by boat, and survived treacherous conditions.
The Beautiful Country focuses on a particularly hard journey of a young man named Bhin. His unusual height and mixed facial features make him a target for abuse in his home country. The plot is centered on his struggle to find his father Steve (Nick Nolte), an American GI. Upon his arrival in the big city Saigon to find his mother Mai he contemplates what his life could be like. He discovers even his mother has a horrible life working as a servant to a wealthy family. He meets a smaller half brother of his Tam, and his mother leaves him a small sum of money and some info. Several touching relationships develop in the film. Bhin’s love interest is a hooker he befriends from china named Ling (Bai Ling) whom he meets in a refugee camp in Malaysia. She takes on the role of mothering his young brother thought the journey. Together they get caught in a web of exploitation by human traffickers and pimps. You cannot help but root for Bhin, and wonder what adversity he will face next. Some of the most powerful scenes in the movie come from Bhin’s reflections about his life and choices.
The story unfolds very slowly, focusing on details that bring out how arduous the journey is. Oslo native and director Hans Petter Moland creates a film in which the action is conveyed so well that you feel the pangs of hunger, and muscle aches from hard days of long hours working in the refugee camp. At a certain point you wonder what fuels Bhin. It may be his desire to find his identity, or perhaps a place where he will find acceptance. Tim Roth plays Captain Oh, the operator of a shady human trafficking organization. Although finding a soft spot for Bhin, he harshly accuses Bhin of chasing an “old dream” and reminds Bhin that he will never fit in
