Cast: Patrick Swayze, Forest Whitaker, Don Duong, Hiep Thi Le, Trung Hieu Nguyen, Billinjer C. Tran
Director: Timothy Linh Bui
Producers: Tony Bui, Tajamika Paxton, Elie Samaha, Andrew Stevens
Screenplay: Timothy Linh Bui, based on a story by Timothy Linh Bui & Tony Bui
Cinematography: Kramer Morgenthau
Music: Mychael Danna, Jeff Danna
U.S. Distributor: Silver Nitrate Releasing
In English and Vietnamese with subtitles
These days, it seems that every other movie that arrives in the local multiplex carries with it the label "Based on a True Story". That's not the case with Green Dragon, although the film contains aspects and elements culled from events that actually happened. The feature debut of Timothy Linh Bui, Green Dragon is a conventional but heartwarming tale of life for Vietnam refugees in the U.S. camps erected to hold them during the mid-'70s. Although the basic narrative is fictional, Bui developed it after hearing the stories of many of those who entered the United States through those camps. Bui and his younger brother, Tony (who co-wrote the story and won accolades at the Sundance Film Festival in 1999 for his film, Three Seasons), were both residents of a camp for some time during their youth, but neither has clear memories of the situation. The recollections of Bui's mother are what prodded him to develop this project.
The story opens in April 1975 - the month the long war in Vietnam ended with the fall of Saigon. Thousands upon thousands of South Vietnamese had fled their country for the United States, where they were held in temporary camps until "sponsors" could be found that would allow them to integrate into American society. Green Dragon tells the tale of several refugees in California's Camp Pendleton. There's a young boy (Trung Hieu Nguyen) who's looking for his mother and the cook (Forest Whitaker) who befriends him, an English-speaking Vietnamese man (Don Duong) who is given the job of camp manager by the officer in charge (Patrick Swayze), and a married woman (Hiep Thi Le) who is reunited with her first, true love (Billinjer Tran) under less-than-ideal circumstances. These intertwined stories (as well as others) are played out as radio broadcasts announce the last gasps of the South Vietnamese army.
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Green Dragon is Bui's recreation of Camp Pendleton, circa 1975 (filming actually took place in Camp Pendleton). The film opens up a window into a portion of history that many Americans are not aware of. Ultimately, despite occasional, largely unnecessary melodramatic flourishes, Green Dragon works, and there is a sense of emotional catharsis at the end. And, although the screenplay has its awkward moments (the relationship between the cook and the little boy is played up for maximum tear-jerking ability), it avoids more pitfalls than it falls into. The cinematography is lush and the performances are universally good. (Including appearances by American actors Patrick Swayze as Sergeant Jim Lance, the camp commander, and Forrest Whitaker as Addie, the artistic cook.) As a debut and a calling card, Timothy Bui's Green Dragon may not be as strong as his brother's Three Seasons, but it's still a worthwhile effort.
© 2002 James Berardinelli