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.
Rating:
Summary: Lyrical, touching, tragic and funny - A must-see
Review: This is one of the most meaningful films I've seen in a while, probably because my partner is Vietnamese and this is a slice of his life. What's most interesting, though, is that I liked it a lot more than he did. What he found cloying and sappy, I found touching and sincere. He admits that this is a pretty accurate reflection of "how it was," though.This is the same director that filmed "Three Seasons," and the difference between the two is in the star of the show. In "Three Seasons" the star is the breath-taking Vietnamese landscape - so beautiful! In "Green Dragon" the star(s) are the actors. Patrick Swayze is sort of blah, clearly trying to branch into something un-hollywood. You won't recognize him. Much more interesting was Forest Whitaker, whom I've never liked, (never read as sincere). His part was believable and endearing. Breathtaking was Trung Hieu Nguyen as Minh. He steals the show. Every thought he has appears on his face. You should see this film for him alone. Take Kleenex.
Rating:
Summary: Green Dragon - The Movie to See and Own
Review: This Movie held my interest for the duration. It made me laugh, it made me cringe and jerked some tears. My wife is Vietnamese and I saw the tears rolling down her cheeks. A testimonial to the emotional intensity of this movie. I have seen many Movies of Vietnam, Scent of Green Papaya, Heaven and Earth and countless others, but I think that this one made a permanent home in my heart...
Rating: 
Summary: Marginally good (would fare better as HBO or TV movie)
Review: This movie is a very accurate account of the life at the Vietnamese refugee camps in 1975. The stories and the characters are quite real, but the screen writing could use some improvements. Except for the little boy, I don't really care about the rest of the main characters. They all seem to be so emotional, so detached and often overreacting. The movie should go a little deeper into developing the characters and make the audience understand their state of mind. Most of these Vietnamese refugees are the upper crust of the Vietnamese society and did not seek assylum in the U.S.A. for economic reason. They left behind quite a comfortable life and probably most of their fortune to come to the U.S. They get thrown into this life of uncertainty with little job skill on top of the language barrier. The movie fails to bring out the trauma that these people just experienced before they come to the refugee camp. It seems to have no central theme, just a whole bunch of little stories about different people who happens to be in the same place at the same time. Well, I do like the movie, but mostly for sentimental reason. I wish it could be much more...
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