The Beautiful Country (2005)
83%RT Audience Score: 79%
Awards & Nominations: 1 win & 5 nominations
The plight of Asian refugees is sensitively rendered, and the movie builds, with the help of Nolte, to a wrenchingly poignant conclusion
The Beautiful Country is a movie that tells the story of two cultures that are tragically entwined. While some critics found the film to be lacking in insight, others praised it for its compelling story and poignant portrayal of the war’s lingering consequences. Personally, I found the movie to be a bit like a manufactured Asian Chocolat, but with a lot more heart and soul. The characters are complex and well-developed, and the film’s exploration of thorny social issues is both thought-provoking and heartening. Overall, I would definitely recommend The Beautiful Country to anyone who is looking for a moving and thought-provoking drama.
Production Company(ies)
Twentieth Century Fox,
Distributor
Sony Pictures Classics
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
Vietnam
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for some language and a crude sexual reference
Year of Release
2004
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:2.35 : 1
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Runtime:2h 16m
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Language(s):Vietnamese, English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Malay
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Country of origin:United States, Norway
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): May 13, 2005 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 13, 2005
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Damien Nguyen, Nick Nolte, Tim Roth, Bai Ling, Temuera Morrison, Dang Quoc Thinh Tran, Thi Kim Xuan Chau, directed by Hans Petter Moland, written by Sabina Murray, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by J.R Jones, Marjorie Baumgarten, Jason Anderson, Peter Howell, Terry Lawson, Desson Thomson, Cole Smithey, Kam Williams, Rex Roberts, Camerin Courtney, Rob Thomas, produced by Tomas Backström, Petter J Borgli, Terrence Malick, Edward R Pressman, MPAA rating R, Vietnamese, mixed race, journey, United States, American father, refugee, war, tragedy, emotions, social issues, human connections, physical touch, unconditional acceptance, familial love, human heart, Vietnam conflict, suspense, unexpected twists, visually stunning, moving film, finding your own place in the world, convenience, dramatic logic, lacking in three dimensional characters, harrowing vein
Worldwide gross: $878,325
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $1,385,546
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,516
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 151,096
US/Canada gross: $442,813
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $698,531
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,259
US/Canada opening weekend: $25,900
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $40,857
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,267
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $6,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $9,464,918
Production budget ranking: 1,701
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $5,096,859
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$13,176,231
ROI to date (est.): -90%
ROI ranking: 1,963
Nick Nolte – Steve
Tim Roth – Captain Oh
Bai Ling – Ling
Temuera Morrison – Snakehead
Dang Quoc Thinh Tran – Tam
Director – Hans Petter Moland
Producers – Tomas Backström, Petter J. Borgli, Terrence Malick, Edward R. Pressman
Writer – Sabina Murray
Director(s)
Hans Petter Moland
Writer(s)
Sabina Murray
Producer(s)
Tomas Backström, Petter J. Borgli, Terrence Malick, Edward R. Pressman
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
1 win & 5 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (76) | Top Critics (28) | Fresh (59) | Rotten (17)
Its epic tale of two cultures tragically entwined is anchored by deep and elemental emotions.
April 12, 2010
J. R. Jones
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
The Beautiful Country provides a panorama without insight.
August 7, 2005 | Rating: 2.5/5
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
Conditions for the characters may be bleak, but their perseverance makes the story compelling.
August 5, 2005 | Rating: 2.5/4
Jason Anderson
Globe and Mail
TOP CRITIC
[A] graceful and yet harrowing drama.
August 5, 2005 | Rating: 3/4
Peter Howell
Toronto Star
TOP CRITIC
A poignant and affecting portrait of the war’s lingering consequences.
August 5, 2005 | Rating: 3/4
Terry Lawson
Detroit Free Press
TOP CRITIC
At times, the movie feels like a manufactured Asian Chocolat, which drives the label ‘art house movie’ even further into mainstream banality.
August 4, 2005
Desson Thomson
Washington Post
TOP CRITIC
This haunting film casts a wide swath that veers between obvious cliches and intensely visceral truths.
April 16, 2009 | Rating: B
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com
Worthwhile as an informative and touching reminder of the existence of a forgotten set of innocent victims of the Vietnam conflict.
May 7, 2007 | Rating: 3.5/4
Kam Williams
Upstage Magazine
An ambitious movie made on a modest budget, its intention is better than its execution.
February 22, 2007
Rex Roberts
Film Journal International
The most stunning beauty comes in human connections, physical touch, unconditional acceptance, familial love – in the treacherous and tender terrain of the human heart.
September 8, 2006 | Rating: 3/4
Camerin Courtney
Christianity Today
“The Beautiful Country” touches on many thorny social issues about the way the world works, but it’s ultimately Binh’s story, a truthful and heartening one.
November 10, 2005 | Rating: 3.5/4
Rob Thomas
Capital Times (Madison, WI)
Norwegian director Hans Petter Moland’s ambitious but bleak social problem film is compelling but never fully satisfies in its clumsy dramatics.
August 28, 2005 | Rating: B-
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews…
Plot
One of the consequences of the U.S.-Viet Nam war was the children of G.I.s by their Viet Namese wives and lovers. For years, women who were involved with U.S. soldiers were social outcasts, treated as collaborators while their children, even when living with grandparents, endured taunts and abuse. This is the story of one such child, Binh, being forced from his village at seventeen years, going to Saigon to find his mother, then trying to escape to the U.S. with his much younger half-brother, Tam, in 1990. The film lingers on the rigors of the voyage: the sampan, the Malaysian detention camps, the illegal refugee ship, and the underground economy with near-slavery in New York City. It then opens up when Binh leaves New York for Houston to find his father.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Nick Nolte stars in The Beautiful Country as Binh’s American father.
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