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Boat People

Original title: Tau ban no hoi
  • 1982
  • R
  • 1h 49m
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
1.5K
YOUR RATING
Boat People (1982)
A Japanese photojournalist revisits Vietnam after the Liberation and learns harsh truths about its regime and its "New Economic Zones".
Play trailer2:08
1 Video
67 Photos
Drama

A Japanese photojournalist revisits Vietnam after the Liberation and learns harsh truths about its regime and its "New Economic Zones".A Japanese photojournalist revisits Vietnam after the Liberation and learns harsh truths about its regime and its "New Economic Zones".A Japanese photojournalist revisits Vietnam after the Liberation and learns harsh truths about its regime and its "New Economic Zones".

  • Director
    • Ann Hui
  • Writers
    • Cheung Gam Hung
    • Kang-Chien Chiu
  • Stars
    • George Lam
    • Cora Miao
    • Season Ma
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    7.6/10
    1.5K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Ann Hui
    • Writers
      • Cheung Gam Hung
      • Kang-Chien Chiu
    • Stars
      • George Lam
      • Cora Miao
      • Season Ma
    • 7User reviews
    • 21Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 6 wins & 7 nominations

    Videos1

    Trailer [OV]
    Trailer 2:08
    Watch Trailer [OV]

    Photos67

    Boat People (1982)
    Boat People (1982)
    Boat People (1982)
    Boat People (1982)
    Boat People (1982)
    Boat People (1982)
    Boat People (1982)
    Boat People (1982)
    Boat People (1982)
    Boat People (1982)
    Boat People (1982)
    Boat People (1982)

    Top cast

    Edit
    George Lam
    George Lam
    • Shiomi Akutagawa
    • (as George Chi-Cheung Lam)
    Cora Miao
    Cora Miao
    • Nguyen's Mistress
    • (as Cora Chien-Jen Miao)
    Season Ma
    • Cam Nuong
    Andy Lau
    Andy Lau
    • To Minh
    • (as Andy Tak-Wah Lau)
    Meiying Jia
    • Le Van Quyen
    • (as Mei-Ying Jia)
    Mung-Sek Kei
    Junyi Guo
    • Van Lang
    • (as Jia-Ling Hao)
    Shujing Lin
    • Comrade Vu
    • (as Shu-Jin Lin)
    Jianzhou Cai
    • Monitor
    Tung-Sheng Chang
    • Doctor
    Gamhung Cheung
    • Ah Thanh
    Shui-Chiu Gan
    Hengbao Guo
    • Leader of Team 15
    Jialing Hao
    • Cam Nuong's Mother
    Tao Lin
    • Leader of Team 16
    Pingmei Meng
    • Mrs. Pham
    Mengshi Qi
    • Comrade Nguyen
    Huangwen Wang
    • To Minh's Father
    • Director
      • Ann Hui
    • Writers
      • Cheung Gam Hung
      • Kang-Chien Chiu
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The film's English title is misleading: Boat People does not tell the story of boat people, it instead tells the plight of Vietnamese people under communist rule, the reason causing them to become boat people. The Chinese title, literally meaning "Run Towards the Angry Sea", more accurately describes the film's content.
    • Goofs
      At the dinner a waiter pours a beer for the journalist with a head of 3-4 cm. After the cut to another angle, only 1 cm is left.
    • Quotes

      Comrade Nguyen: They're too young, Comrade Le and Comrade Vu. They're too eager. They lose proportion. When I see how determined they are... I think I must have been weak when I was young. It makes me feel old.

      Shiomi Akutagawa: You aren't old.

      Comrade Nguyen: Recently I've been thinking a lot about my youth... here and Paris, drinking French wine, eating French food... even longing for a French woman. I must be old! The Revolution claimed half of my life. And now I realized I'm old. My mind still lives in the colonial past. Vietnam has won her Revolution. But I've lost mine! I know where to get the best French food in Danang. I'll take you there sometime.

    • Connections
      Featured in Keep Rolling (2020)
    • Soundtracks
      La Vie en Rose
      Music by Louiguy

      Lyrics by Édith Piaf

      Performed by Édith Piaf

    User reviews7

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    6/10
    Feels authentic, but terribly hard to watch
    Boat People is a film that looks at the horrors that existed in Communist-controlled Vietnam after the war ended. I appreciate that they told the story through the eyes of a photojournalist from Japan so he starts off a bit naive. That allows us to gradually discover the truth with him. I also thought it was great that they utilized some young children to teach him, because that just enhances the horror of the things going on. They also did a nice job of showing how the government was trying to cover up the ugly truth. All that being said, while Boat People is effective film-making, it's hard to watch. I don't handle this kind of story all that well. I've seen my fair share of war movies (or post-war movies) and there's only so much you can take without a new or different perspective thrown in to make it more engaging. I was never bored by Boat People, but I'll pass on ever watching it again.
    helpful•7
    1
    • blott2319-1
    • Nov 2, 2021

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    Details

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    • Release date
      • October 13, 1982 (Hong Kong)
    • Country of origin
      • Hong Kong
    • Languages
      • Cantonese
      • Japanese
      • Vietnamese
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Thuyen nhan
    • Filming locations
      • Hainan, China
    • Production company
      • Bluebird Movie Enterprises Ltd.
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    • Gross worldwide
      • HK$15,475,087
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      1 hour 49 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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