Mua len trau (2004)

Director:

Minh Nguyen-Vo

Writers:

Minh Nguyen-Vo (writer)
Nam Son (short stories)

Release Date:

23 March 2005 (France)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Set along the southern coast of Vietnam during the French occupation in the 1940s, water is everywhere...

Plot Keywords:

Vietnam | Water | Farmer | Struggle | Peasant

Awards:

5 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

The Lu Le	...	Kim
Thi Kieu Trinh Nguyen	...	Ban
Huu Thanh Nguyen	...	Dinh, Kim's Father
Zan Sram Kra	...	Det
Van Be Truong	...	Hai Tich
Anh Hoa Nguyen	...	Ba Hai
Thi Tham Nguyen	...	Ba Tu
Hoang Nhan Vo	...	Lap
Quang Thinh Truong	...	Quang
Van Day Nguyen	...	Xuyen
Kim Long Thach	...	Thanh
Thi Thu Tam Cao	...	Lam
Huu Phuoc Nguyen	...	Thieu
Chau Nguyen	...	Cha Ban
Trung Truc Thach	...	Kim, Age 5

Also Known As:

Gardien de buffles (France)
The Buffalo Boy (International: English title)

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

Vietnam | Belgium | France

Language:

Vietnamese

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Vietnam

Company:

3B Productions

Trivia:

Vietnam's official submission to the 2006 Academy Awards.

You Wouldn't Want To Live Here!

Frankly, I am surprised I hung with this movie because it's pretty slow. It's not a real "entertainer," except for two things: 1 - the camera-work is nice at times; 2 - the story is quite different from anything we are accustomed to in the West. But after two-thirds of this story had elapsed, it was tough going the rest of the way. It's not an uplifting story, either. It left me feeling depressed. Yet, it IS a memorable film and I'm glad I watched it.

I mean, as one reviewer says here "Vietnamese dude leads a bunch of buffaloes in search of grass. That's it."

Yes, in one sense he's right, but obviously there is more to it than that. We get glimpses of this guy's father and mother, friends, enemies, thieves, sex, loyalty and abandonment and generally what life must be like for those in this story of people who live in this odd environment. With all the water around them, they couldn't bury their loved ones until the dry season came. They wrapped them up and put them on poles, and hopes the crows didn't peck away at the bodies.

Yes, you wouldn't want to live here, at the southern tip of Vietnam with these rainy, long flood season. Lugging a couple of Water Buffaloes through waist-deep muddy water for miles can't be a great existence, either.

I agree with another critic here who labels this story as "lyrical." For the most part, I liked watching and listening to "Kim" (The Lu Le) give his outlook on various topics and the dialog between he and his father often was humorous. Hey, how many times have you/did you sit around and smoke "weed" and play the flute with your dad?

This is a culture far removed from mine, which is one reason why I stayed with this film - to learn something while witnessing some very foreign sights and sounds to me. I would recommend this only to people who know what they are getting into (something slow, and very different) or who just plain love most Asian films.