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Three Seasons tells three tangentially linked stories. First is the tale of Kien An (Ngoc Hiep Nguyen), a lovely young woman who works picking lotus blossoms at a sanitarium. She becomes a scribe for its mysterious proprietor, Teacher Dao (Manh Cuong Tran), a leper who hides himself away in shame but whose soul is full of beautiful poetry. Then there is Hai (Don Duong), a gentle "cyclo" (bicycle ricksha) driver who falls in love with Lan (Zoe Bui), an alluring, feisty prostitute he sees coming and going from the big tourist hotels. Last, there is James Hager (Keitel), an ex-Marine who fought in the war and has returned to find the daughter he fathered many years before. There is also a charming plot about Woody (Huu Duoc Nguyen), a little street urchin who sells contraband out of a suitcase. The narrative involving Keitel's character is the least developed in the film, and seems to be almost an afterthought, but in any event, truly magnificent visuals and a delicate lyricism make Three Seasons a haunting, bittersweet film portrait of life in contemporary Vietnam. --Laura Mirsky
| CATEGORY: | Video |
| DIRECTOR: | Tony Bui |
| THEATRICAL RELEASE DATE: | 30 April, 1999 |
| MANUFACTURER: | Usa Films |
| MPAA RATING: | PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) |
| FEATURES: | Color, Closed-captioned, NTSC |
| TYPE: | Feature Film-drama |
| MEDIA: | VHS Tape |
| # OF MEDIA: | 1 |
| UPC: | 044006101330 |
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Customer Reviews of Three Seasons
Beautiful, stirring movie How fortunate I was tonight. The video clerk accidentally put Three Seasons in my bag instead of Blair Witch Project. I had never heard of Three Seasons & was surprised when I saw that it was about Vietnam. Cannot believe how beautiful the scenery and how authentic the depiction of Vietnamese life. I've written several books about Vietnam & believe it or not one of them includes the poem/song about the Lotus flower that the old woman was singing. Having visited South Vietnam this past March, I was especially touched by the scenes involving the cyclo drivers, children merchandise hawkers, and the American GI. The scenes are realistic and not overly romanticized like some of the other Vietnamese movies I've seen. I cried my eyes out in the final scenes, even though I knew what was going to happen. If you've ever wondered what became of Vietnam after the Americans left, this film will give you a good idea of the poverty, hardships, and eternal determination and spirit of the Vietnamese people. Highly recommend.
What an elegant piece of work!
This movie is extremily well made. It is so great at so many levels. First, it's an incredibly beautiful movie. From the lotus lake to the rainy, foggy, dark neighborhood, everything is so beautiful and colorful. The sceneries are as beautiful as previous movies about Vietnam; Indochine is another that comes to mind. This film is quite different from the others, as pointed out by many others, in that it's directed by a Vietnamese made intirely in Vietnam, spoken in Vietnamese. For the record, i'm constantly amused by movies that mysteriously assume Vietnamese or foreigners speak English in their free time.
What is startling to me is that none of the reviews I've read seems to ponder about the film's title: Three Seasons. The purpose of the film is to expose the culture, the country, the people, and the soul of Vietnam. With this in mind, I feel the film is very carefully and meaningfully titled. The personality of a place is not in its name; the personality is defined by the experience that you have. Spring, summer, fall, winter all become meaningless. Every place has them. They don't mean anything. Names do not evoke emotions; only experiences do.
Three Seasons depicts Vietnam in three different scenarios: the moderate and beautiful scene of the lotus lake, the scrotching hot summer that the cyclo driver has to endure, and the rainy, foggy, chilly evening that the young boy is familiar with. And it's not just what they are, but also what happen, what people do. These are the personality of the place. Personality defines what something is, not names. How many seasons are they in your hometown?
The beauty of the film is the ability to blend all these seasonally contradicting scenarios into one natural interaction. Never did I feel that it was improbable for the beautiful morning, followed by a burning afternoon, then a devastatingly rainy evening. Somehow, everything flows naturally. It hightlights so convincingly the diversity in personality of the country, and the graceful interaction among them.
Harvey Keitel, who sponsors the film, plays an American who tries to find peace and closure at a place with many old memories. Interestingly, his presense is awkwardly intrusive, as though it wasn't a place for him to be. Dejavu all over again!
There are so many great things about this film -- some explicit, others quite subtle, but all artistically and beautifully portrayed. Beside all that, you are in for a cultural treat. But don't just be amazed by the picture. Think about what they mean.
One of the best movies I've ever seen
Wow! Amazing! The reason I purchased this video (I only own 2-3 movies)and continue to rewatch it is because it captured my heart. Vietnam is a beautiful country, but that beauty is punctuated with its share of pain. Sometimes a movie, when not properly done, can overload a person with despair and tragedy. But Three Seasons does not, it reveals something that the American physche tries to avoid, that pain can be transformed into beauty. The music, the language and the true to life portrayal of the culture combine to form a wonderful story. There are few words spoken between characters, but there isn't a need for much dialogue, the characters communicate so much more through their silence. Their eyes speak what their mouths do not. And that gives the viewer time to connect with the characters, to feel what they are feeling. Then the words that are spoken are much more poignant.
In some parts, you almost feel that you are in Vietnam...with each character on their journey. This movie has a passionate heartbeat, not so noticeable on the surface, it takes placing an ear right on the pulse. To connect with another culture, to forget that there is not so much that seperates us as unites us, I would definitely recommend this movie. It doesn't lie about the conditions in Vietnam, but it also reminded me that another culture, though in desperate need, can still teach us so much! That there is a Power that can transform pain into beauty!