The Beautiful Country (2004)

Director:

Hans Petter Moland

Writers (WGA):

Sabina Murray (story) and
Lingard Jervey (story) ...
(more)

Release Date:

13 March 2004 (Norway)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

An epic story of hope.

Plot:

After reuniting with his mother in Ho Chi Minh City, a family tragedy causes Binh to flee from Viet Nam to America. Landing in New York, Binh begins a road trip to Texas, where his American father is said to live.

Plot Keywords:

Saigon | Texas | China | Vietnam War | Vietnam

Awards:

4 nominations

Cast

Damien Nguyen	...	Binh
Bai Ling	...	Ling
Thi Hoa Mai	...	Wa
Nick Nolte	...	Steve
Tim Roth	...	Captain Oh
Chapman To	...	Chingmy
Temuera Morrison	...	Snakehead
Xuan Phuc Dins	...	Pham
Thu An Nguyen	...	Old Woman
Ka Duy Pham	...	Cousin 15 years old
Minh Trang Ngo	...	Cousin 14 years old
Dang Quoc Thinh Tran	...	Tam
Thi Kim Xuan Chau	...	Mai
Tang Vu	...	Head Servant
Thu Anh	...	Mrs. Hoa
Duc Thuan Khuong	...	Mrs. Hoa's son
Than Kien Nguyen	...	Riley
Be He	...	Grandfather
Phat Trieu Hoang	...	Captain on Junk
Eric Jimenez	...	Refugee
Mersing Le Guen	...	Refugee (as Mersing Nguyen)
Thi Linh Phoung Nguyen	...	Exquisite
Viet Trang Ha	...	Friend at Tavern
Thi Huong Dung Nguyen	...	Lady Barber
Thi Hong Bui	...	Crippled Woman
Danh Thau Nguyen	...	Passenger
Thi Xuan Thuc Nguyen	...	Begging Woman
Wee Suu Loke	...	Official
Ganrasha Moorthy	...	Officer
Donh Thi Nguyen	...	Interpreter
Minh Quoc Pham	...	Guard #1
Xuan Minh Nguyen	...	Sick Old Man
Damien Hung	...	Eng
Van Hai Nguyen	...	Git Wo
Anh Tan Bui	...	Mother
Vien Toan Le	...	Old Man #1
Chuy Choi Le	...	Middle Aged Man
Ngoc Hanh Tran	...	Thin Man
Phong Ka	...	Angry Young Man
Lam Hoe Nguyen	...	Old Man #2
Ka Ah	...	Plump Man
Yi Long Phan	...	King Man
Ku	...	Soldier
Thi Noh Thu Nguyen	...	Mother #2
Thi Thanh Hsien Nguyen	...	Wife
Hsien Chi Do	...	Hirl in party dress
Thi Hoan Tran	...	Vhi's Mother
Carl Savering	...	Truck driver
Glen Bradford	...	Wayne
Bobby Chinn	...	Bunk Mate
Dong Hoang	...	Player
Jon Katz	...	Man in window
Rafael Foncillas	...	Child in windo #1
Santiago Foncillas	...	Child in window #2
Arthur J. Nascarella	...	Griff
Richard Levi	...	Postal Clerk
Phyllis Cicero	...	Receptionist
John Hussey	...	Jerry
Dora Chu	...	Bartender
Victor Macias	...	Mexican man
Libby Villari	...	Steve's ex-wife
Don McCoy	...	Police officer
Kirk Griffith	...	Ranch owner
Stella	...	Steve's dog
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Nengshia Ly	...	Bar Patron
Rebecca Beazley	...	Waitress (uncredited)
Devin Carbaugh	...	Yuppie (uncredited)
Genese Davis	...	Bar Patron (uncredited)
Michael Douglas	...	Man on TV - 'Wall Street' (archive footage) (uncredited)
Terry Boyd Gamble	...	NYC Yuppie (uncredited)

Directed by
Hans Petter Moland

Writing credits (WGA)
Sabina Murray		(story) and
Lingard Jervey		(story)
Sabina Murray		(screenplay)

Produced by
Tomas Backström	....	producer
Petter J. Borgli	....	producer
Kim Davis	....	line producer: Texas
Callum Greene	....	line producer: New York
Jon Katz	....	co-producer
Terrence Malick	....	producer
Sam Nazarian	....	executive producer
Edward R. Pressman	....	producer
Nicholas Simon	....	line producer: Vietnam
Gregory G. Woertz	....	executive producer (as Gregory Woertz)
Jan Økern	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Zbigniew Preisner

Cinematography by
Stuart Dryburgh

Film Editing by
Wibecke Rønseth

Casting by
Avy Kaufman
Hoa Anh Tran

Production Design by
Karl Júlíusson

Set Decoration by
William A. Cimino

Costume Design by
Anne Pedersen

Makeup Department
Brian Abbott	....	assistant hair stylist: New York
Brian Abbott	....	makeup artist: New York
Kalen Hoyle	....	makeup artist: Texas
Eva Rygh	....	makeup designer
Leo Won	....	key hair stylist: New York
Leo Won	....	key makeup artist: New York

Production Management
Marina Grana	....	production manager: Vietnam (as Marina Vivian Smith)
Anthony Katagas	....	production manager: New York
Tove Kløvvik	....	unit production manager
Jennifer Wyatt-Beasley	....	unit production manager: Dallas (as Jennifer Beasley)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Dominique Delany	....	first assistant director
Helga Høegh-Krohn	....	assistant director
Vince P. Maggio	....	first assistant director: New York
Doug Silver	....	second second assistant director: Texas

Art Department
Eric Dean	....	art department coordinator: New York
Gretchen Goetz	....	set decorator: Texas
Jason Hammond	....	property master
Lynne Moon	....	art director: Texas
Michael Wilks	....	lead man: Dallas

Sound Department
Kim Dalum	....	production sound mixer
Sturla Einarson	....	sound designer
Petter Fladeby	....	sound designer
Petter Fladeby	....	sound re-recording mixer
Per Christian Grimsgaard	....	sound editor
Richard Hocks	....	sound stage engineer
Svenn Jakobsen	....	supervising sound editor (as Svenn Jakobsen Dahle)
Toby Price	....	sound editor
Anna Rieke	....	sound mixer: New York
Espen Rønning	....	sound editor
Richard Sveen	....	foley artist
Richard Sveen	....	sound editor
Erik S. Watland	....	dialogue editor
Chris Sturmer	....	consultant: Dolby film sound (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Gudmundur Gunnarsson	....	visual effects supervisor
Stian Kjørsvik	....	visual effects
Jan Martin Vågen	....	visual effects
Chris Wallace	....	HD colourist

Camera and Electrical Department
Philip J. Borgli	....	assistant camera: Vietnam
Cheryl Clarson	....	best boy electric
Peter Clarson	....	gaffer: Texas
Patrick R. Heffernan	....	local key grip
Brenden Holster	....	first assistant camera: Vietnam
John Johns	....	24 frame video operator
Mike Lougheed	....	best boy: Vietnam
Rittikorn Manonom	....	second assistant camera
Roland Neveu	....	still photographer
Sean O'Neill	....	gaffer: Vietnam
Andrew Redd	....	grip
Tony Slack	....	electrician: Vietnam
Angelo Louis Suasnovar Jr.	....	key grip: Texas
D. Van Gramberg	....	key grip: Vietnam
Jason Vigue	....	video assist operator
Mark Waggy	....	still photographer: Texas

Casting Department
Toni Cobb Brock	....	local extras casting
Byron Crystal	....	background casting: New York
Kevin Howard	....	location casting
Annie Hedgpeth	....	local extras casting (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Diane Kearney	....	set costumer
Eden Miller	....	assistant costume designer: New York
Luca Mosca	....	costume designer: New York

Editorial Department
Kristoffer Archetti	....	assistant editor
Vidar Flataukan	....	assistant editor
Motassem Younes	....	on-line editor

Music Department
Beth Rosenblatt	....	music consultant

Transportation Department
David Beard	....	transportation captain

Other crew
Sing Allan	....	medical doctor
Lylie Almedia	....	accountant
Michael Barnes	....	financial legal services
Laura Compston	....	accountant
Richard Connors	....	location advisor
Larry Gross	....	screenplay by
Gary Kauffman	....	legal counsel
Amber Kelley	....	assistant production coordinator: Texas
Suzanne Koneful	....	assistant location manager
Aslaug Konradsdottir	....	script supervisor
Justin Leger	....	technical consultant
Brendan MacDevette	....	production assistant
Terrence Malick	....	idea
Francis McIntyre	....	location manager: Texas
Phillip Montgomery	....	assistant: Mr. Pressman
Noreen Perez	....	production assistant
Salma Reiermark	....	production coordinator
Mark Robinson	....	key set production assistant: Texas
Mira Shin	....	assistant: Mr. Pressman
Bo Svensson	....	assistant location manager
Kelli Grace Taylor	....	production coordinator: Texas
Matt Tromans	....	assistant: Nick Nolte
Daniel Wagner	....	post delivery supervisor

Production Companies

• Dinamo Story
• Sunflower Productions
• Nordic Film och TV Fund (supported by)
• Norsk Filmfond (supported by)
• SF Norge Filmparken (in association with)
• Samy Boy Entertainment (in association with)
• Sud-Est Productions

Distributors

• A-Film Distribution (2005) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Mongrel Media (2005) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Classics (2005) (USA) (theatrical)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD) (retail)
• Cecchi Gori Home Video (2006) (Italy) (DVD)
• ContentFilm International (2004) (worldwide) (all media) (sales agency)
• LK-TEL (2006) (Argentina) (DVD)
• LK-TEL (2006) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Movie Bank (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD) (rental)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2007) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2005) (Canada) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Svensk Filmindustri (SF) (Scandinavia)
• TF1 International

Other Companies

• Film Finances  completion guarantor

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for some language and a crude sexual reference

Runtime:

Norway:137 min | USA:125 min | Argentina:128 min

Country:

Norway | USA

Language:

Vietnamese | English | Mandarin | Cantonese | Malay

Color:

Color (Cinecolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:M | Finland:K-11 | UK:12 | Argentina:16 | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Netherlands:MG6 | Norway:11 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

USA

Company:

Dinamo Story

Goofs:

Errors in geography: When Binh gets to Texas, the family giving him a ride drops him off outside a city and refers to it as Houston. The skyline of the city is very clearly that of Dallas, not Houston.

Quotes:

Binh:My mother is very beautiful. Like cranes flying at sunset.
Steve:Binh, why are you here?
Binh:This place?
Steve:No, America.
Binh:America beautiful.
Steve:How's that?
Binh:[no response]
Steve:Did you come by boat?
Binh:Yes.
Steve:Hard?
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Rx (2005)

Great movie, yet underrated

Classic tale of redemption, brimming with drama and a lead character that says little, but who you quickly relate to and associate yourself with. Starts of kind of slow, but after 15-20 minutes, the movie picks up and never slows down, with high drama and classic storytelling. A must-see. The movie is set to the backdrop of the aftermath of the Vietnam war in Vietnam, and portrays the poverty-stricken environment they are forced to live in. It then moves on to show the desperation of would-be American immigrants fleeing from one land that doesn't want them to sneak into another. After watching this movie, you will definitely have a greater appreciation for what some immigrants have to go through.