Green Dragon

Rating:
Summary: 2 THUMBS UP....ABSOLUTE MUST-SEE!!!!
Review: As the first story ever told on big screen of the antecedent Vietnamese refugees to arrive in the U.S right before the official fall of Saigon, director and script writer, Timothy Linh Bui, depicts the utmost astonishing insights from these refugees' perspective of the aftermath of the Vietnam war: innumerable lives lost, both American and Vietnamese, and families' grievances; the refugees' uncertainty and fear of separation from each other in foreign land, of what the dim future could hold; the struggle with humility as even former doctors and lawyers need to adjust and start all over with lowly manual labor jobs; with hope and determination and family as the only remaining possessions they had to rebuild everything in this new, foreign land.....A movie with different insights that almost any generation or age group can relate to.

Rating:
Summary: *your title here*
Review: Green Dragon, the first movie from Forest Whitaker's new production company, is one of the best wartime movies of the last couple of years. Perhaps a lot of that is due to the fact it stays far away from the war it takes places during (Vietnam). Instead, it takes you to the Camp Pendleton refugee camp set up after the United States pulled out of the war. It deals with the difficulty on both the side of the refugees and the Sergeant responsible for them (played by Patrick Swayze). The refugees want to get on with their lives, but they aren't quite sure how to do that. They know returning to their country would be a pointless deathtrap, but they are afraid of what life in America will be like for them. Introduces Trung Hieu Nguyen as the little boy Minh who develops a friendship with Forest Whitaker's doomed cook/artist Addie. If you are interested in the more emotional side of the effects of war and not just the explosions, put it on your "to rent" list. Final Grade: A-

Rating:
Summary: Marginally good (would fare better as HBO or TV movie)
Review: I passed up this movie several times at the video store. Something about the generic title and Patrick Swayze's big mug gracing the cover. I had no idea what I was missing. "Green Dragon" brings to light a piece of lost history--the internment camps of Vietnamese refugees following the Vietnam war. Through the film we meet a variety of characters and their developing relationships with one another. 3 things really make this picture work: the wonderful perfomances, the stunning photography, and the direction from the Bui brothers. Tony and Timothy Bui previously made another wonderful picture called "Three Seasons." "Green Dragon" is as good, if not better. They love these characters, and that's what makes the movie so fulfilling. Extra features on the DVD include an audio commentary, Documentary, 3 trailers (Crouching Tiger, Beijing Bicycle, and Vertical Ray of the Sun), and an essay on the cinematography. If not to own, "Green Dragon" is an absolute must-see for great drama.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant and Moving
Review: I passed up this movie several times at the video store. Something about the generic title and Patrick Swayze's big mug gracing the cover. I had no idea what I was missing. "Green Dragon" brings to light a piece of lost history--the internment camps of Vietnamese refugees following the Vietnam war. Through the film we meet a variety of characters and their developing relationships with one another. 3 things really make this picture work: the wonderful perfomances, the stunning photography, and the direction from the Bui brothers. Tony and Timothy Bui previously made another wonderful picture called "Three Seasons." "Green Dragon" is as good, if not better. They love these characters, and that's what makes the movie so fulfilling. Extra features on the DVD include an audio commentary, Documentary, 3 trailers (Crouching Tiger, Beijing Bicycle, and Vertical Ray of the Sun), and an essay on the cinematography. If not to own, "Green Dragon" is an absolute must-see for great drama.

Rating:
Summary: boring i fell asleep watching
Review: Patrick Swayze worst movie ever you hardly ever seen him in the movie pluse you had to read the whole thing, Forest Whitaker scene's was probobly the best thing about the movie maybe This movie would of been much better without the Letter box Verson and that's a big maybe

Rating:
Summary: Boring a good sleeper
Review: Patrick Swayze worst movie ever you hardly ever seen him in the movie, Forest Whitaker scene's may been the the best thing about the movie pluse you had to read the whole movie it may been better if it wasn't in a letterbox verson i gave it a 2 star instead of one just because it was base on a real war

Rating:
Summary: Authentic, real....happy and sad
Review: The movie told the little understood story of the first Vietnamese to arrive here before the actual fall of Saigon. This film portrayed the fear, the anger, the confusion and the cultural angst in a real and accurate way. My Vietnamese adopted daughter loved the movie even tho she was only a small child at the end of the war and really knows nothing about it. A great movie and worth seeing and owning.

Rating:
Summary: Authentic, real....happy and sad
Review: The movie told the little understood story of the first Vietnamese to arrive here before the actual fall of Saigon. This film portrayed the fear, the anger, the confusion and the cultural angst in a real and accurate way. My Vietnamese adopted daughter loved the movie even tho she was only a small child at the end of the war and really knows nothing about it. A great movie and worth seeing and owning.

Rating:
Summary: I applaud the authenticity of this Vietnamese refugee story
Review: This 2001 film is set in 1975, at Camp Pendleton in California. This is where Vietnamese refugees were processed after fleeing the aftermath of the American pullout in Vietnam. The place is crowded, emotions are high, and there are multiple individual stories. Written and directed by the Bui brothers, who came to America as babies in the 1970s and there's an authenticity to the film that goes deeper than the surface tales. 1975 seems a long time gone now, but this film brings it all to life as the refuges live in this shadow world between Vietnam and America for several weeks or months. As background, we hear frequent news broadcasts about the situation in Vietnam and the fall of Saigon. It gave me the shivers.

The basic storyline casts Don Duong as an uncle who has escaped with his small niece and nephew. The children believe that their mother will join them soon but it is likely she has not escaped. Trung Hieu Nguyan is cast as the small boy with big wide eyes who discovers Mighty Mouse comic books. He is befriended by Forest Whitaker, cast as a volunteer cook at the camp and who teaches the youngster some valuable lessons in life. Patrick Swayze is the camp commander whose job seems impossible at times. To some, he represents the ugly Americans who caused all the trouble in the first place.

Most of the stories play like a soap opera and the entire film moved much too slowly for my taste. However, it really didn't matter that this film will never win any academy awards. I applaud it for bringing a long-gone time and a place to life. And for raising my own consciousness about the Vietnamese people who made the long journey to America. This is a sad movie and I found myself depressed afterwards. But I know I'll never forget it.

Rating:
Summary: A Beautiful Film
Review: This is a wonderful and often overlooked film that deserves more attention than it received. It explores an entirely different side of the Vietnam war and uses a moving story and terrific characters to do so. The film follows several Vietnamese refugees in Camp Pendleton in California who have fled from Saigon in the closing days of the war and their struggles in adapting to a new life in a foreign land. Performances are great all around and you will barely recognize Patrick Swayze as the overseer of the refugee camp. The story following a young boy in the camp and his friendship with Forest Whitaker's characters was especially moving. If you like good stories and are tired of mindless action and explosions, this is a great film to check out.