A loosely edited documentary about a Vietnamese man, Vaan Nguyen, who escaped the communist regime after the end of the war. Part of the boat people who escaped by being rescued at sea. Vaan is accepted into Israel as an humanitarian gesture. He, his wife and three daughters live modestly. He works in a restaurant (?).
Vaan takes advantage of a more open Vietnam to visit is home country. He also wants to explore the possibility of returning permanently. His parents owned lands but those are now in the hands of others. It looks uncertain that he can claim them back. More importantly the issue of bringing his family with him back to Vietnam faces a major hurdle. The daughters, born in Israel, are clearly culturally part of the Israeli society despite not being Jewish and despite their exotic appearance vis a vis the predominant phenotype in that corner of the world. In Vietnam they look like everyone else, but they think differently. The daughters are from the getgo nonparticipants in the father's plans. It is in showing this kind of cultural/ethnic clash that the documentary is at its best.
Vaan takes advantage of a more open Vietnam to visit is home country. He also wants to explore the possibility of returning permanently. His parents owned lands but those are now in the hands of others. It looks uncertain that he can claim them back. More importantly the issue of bringing his family with him back to Vietnam faces a major hurdle. The daughters, born in Israel, are clearly culturally part of the Israeli society despite not being Jewish and despite their exotic appearance vis a vis the predominant phenotype in that corner of the world. In Vietnam they look like everyone else, but they think differently. The daughters are from the getgo nonparticipants in the father's plans. It is in showing this kind of cultural/ethnic clash that the documentary is at its best.
