Journey From The Fall (aka Vuot
Song/2006/TV Mini-Series/Genius)
Picture:
B- Sound: B- Extras: B- Episodes: B
In most
films (and other productions) on the Vietnam War, when Saigon falls, the story
ends or switches to “back in the U.S.” where we never see the devastation the
communist takeover caused. We hear about
the genocide of the Khmer Rouge, but the story is never told except that it is
bad and no one wants to talk about it. That
is why Ham Tran’s Journey From The Fall
(aka Vuot Song/2006) is so
interesting and sometimes remarkable in its 2+ hours.
The
somewhat epic tale deals with a man (Long Nguyen) who wants to stay in Vietnam
when it is all over and make things right for him and his family, but things
are a nightmare and a mess. Can he make
things work or is he in deep denial?
Well, he cannot just ignore history or the changes happening
swiftly. Even without knowing the
history, the struggle will be if he can dodge the changes or succumb to
them. The lesson is ugly, but the script
(by Tran) is rich, full and production backing it makes it more than just an
obvious story. We see the lives lived,
the reasons why someone would delay leaving and what a far worse situation it
was than has been addressed. As a
result, it is always compelling viewing and one of the year’s most interesting
surprises.
That is
why it is highly recommended.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 image has some minor flaws, plus inserts of
older still and footage, but looks decent otherwise. Compositions can be interesting and locations
are the kind we do not see enough. The
Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is better than the 2.0 with some Pro Logic surrounds, but
the 5.1 is a bit better. Dialogue is
recorded nicely, though it has some flaws.
Extras include a 135 minutes long (!!!) roundtable discussion with the
crew, text cast/crew bios, deleted/alternate scenes, trailers/TV spots and a
making of featurette (38 minutes) that all show what a rich and interesting
production this is.
- Nicholas Sheffo
