Three Seasons
Tod Nguyen, site manager
May 16, 1999

“Three Seasons” made numerous headlines in the entertainment industry by winning the Grand Jury and Audience awards at the Sundance Film Festival this year. A film made by 26-year-old Vietnamese director, Tony Bui, it will begin showing in Denver at the Mayan theatres May 16 until the end of the month.

from left to right: Nguyen Ngoc Hiep and Don Duong in "Three Seasons"

I was very interested in this movie because I've heard so much about it, and the fact that I'm Vietnamese even makes it that much more appealing. Although this movie peaked my interest, I've seen too many bad Vietnamese-related movies over the years that poorly portray Vietnamese people that I think I might be a bit too critical. With that in mind, here's my perspective of the movie. This review is actually my second try at this (thanks to the feedback of an earlier reader, 'VH').

You may be annoyed by the pace of the movie at the beginning, but if you can relax and let the story unfold, you'll realized that the tempo of story is set to match the pace of life in Vietnam. This is a foreign film you know... time is not what drive life there. After the stage has been set and you have left the fast-paced American state of mind behind, the story begins.

Director Tony Bui on the set of "Three Seasons"

“Three Seasons” weaves four separate storylines that briefly cross paths in the modern city of Saigon. The first thread was of an orphan kid trying to survive in the modern ghetto of Saigon. The second thread concerns an American GI trying to make right a relationship he ignored from his war-related past (a child he had with a Vietnamese girl). The third is a love story between a cyclo driver and a prostitute and the challenges that the cyclo driver has to endure to win the trust of the prostitute. The final storyline was about how a great poet retreated into seclusion after he had contracted leprosy and how a young hired worker restored faith in the poet again.

“Three Seasons” could be seen as representing the stages of life we all go through. The first stage is the orphan boy who simply tries to survive the world around him. The second stage of life is the cyclo driver and prostitute trying to realize their dreams. Finally, the time before death is where the poet accepts his condition and appreciates the accomplishments he had done before his disease and realizes that it's never too late to start over. But this story has four storylines. The last one is with Harvey Kietel, because he's American where there's four seasons; he's an exception. His story seems to fall somewhere between realizing dreams and reconciling with the past.

Harvey Keitel in "Three Seasons"

Like the movie title suggest, Bui made use of the weather to represent the seasons as it adds mood elements to the story. In the case of Huu Duoc Nguyen, who plays Woody, an orphaned boy who survives life by peddling trinkets, the poor kid had to endure the rain in every scene he was in! The rain acted as a companion to the boy. It was the hardship he had to endure and it seemed it never stop raining on him. Bui also used vivid colors to represent spring time and wisely added vividness at the height of the story and splendid scenery to make you feel like you are there.

What makes this film so interesting is that Bui used natives of Saigon for many of the roles. Most of the extra casts, minor roles, and Woody, a major role, really lived in Saigon. These actors and actresses didn't just act these roles, they actually lived it on a day-to-day basis. Harvey Keitel, who was also the executive producer, played a major role as a Vietnam vet trying to make peace with a past he had not completely left behind.

Huu Duoc Nguyen as Woody in "Three Seasons"

I was very impress with the translation portions of the movie which was very accurate. Not every phrase used in the translation was word for word, but some common English phrases were used to represent the gist of what was said in Vietnamese.

The people depicted in this movie seemed very genuine to me. This is one of the best movies I've seen this year. If you like to be transported to another climate, see people in another part of the world and how they go through life, catch this movie before the season changes. Summer is coming so catch it soon!

Tod gives "Three Seasons":

Tod Nguyen is the site manager for asiaXpress.com. You can reach Tod at tod@asiaxpress.com.

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