Three Seasons (1999)

An American in Ho Chi Minh City looks for a daughter he fathered during the war. He meets Woody, a child who's a street vendor, and when Woody's case of wares disappears, he thinks the ... See full summary »

Director:

Tony Bui

Writers:

Timothy Linh Bui (story), Tony Bui (story)

Stars:

Ngoc Hiep Nguyen, Ngoc Minh, Phat Trieu Hoang

7 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ngoc Hiep Nguyen	...	Kien An
Ngoc Minh	...	Truck Driver
Phat Trieu Hoang	...	Huy, Dao's Headman
Diem Kieu	...	Singing Lotus Woman
Hanh Kieu	...	Giang
Duong Don	...	Hai, Cyclo Driver
Huu Duoc Nguyen	...	Woody, Child Street Peddler
Hong Son Le	...	Binh, Cyclo Driver
Ba Quang Nguyen	...	Don, Cyclo Driver
Huu Su Tran	...	Ngon, Cyclo Driver
Duc Hung Luong	...	Minh, Cyclo Driver
Harvey Keitel	...	James Hager
Diep Bui	...	Lan the Hooker (as Zoe Bui)
Hoang Trieu	...	Man Who Chases Lan #1
Tran Long	...	Man Who Chases Lan #2

Storyline

An American in Ho Chi Minh City looks for a daughter he fathered during the war. He meets Woody, a child who's a street vendor, and when Woody's case of wares disappears, he thinks the soldier took it. Woody hunts for him. A cyclo driver, Hai, gives a ride to Lan, a hotel call girl, and starts waiting for her daily; he falls in love with her and tries to break through her tough veneer. Kien An, a young woman, takes a job harvesting lotuses in the ponds of Teacher Dao, a reclusive man who has leprosy. Her singing awakens him from depression, and he asks her to write down poetry he has composed. The characters' paths cross in small ways, around flowers and kindnesses.

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Plot Keywords:

leprosy | poetry | post war | song | saigon | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements

Details

Country:

Vietnam USA

Language:

English Vietnamese

Release Date:

30 April 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Tres estaciones

Filming Locations:

Vietnam

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$47,542, 2 May 1999, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$2,019,237, 22 August 1999

Company Credits

Production Co:

Giai Phong Film Studio, October Films, Open City Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min 105 min (German)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Harvey Keitel was cast as Captain Benjamin L. Willard in Apocalypse Now (1979), but was replaced by Martin Sheen after the first week of filming. In this movie, he sits in a bar called "Apocalypse Now" (written in the same font as the film).

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Quotes

James Hager: I made many mistakes in my life. That was a long time ago. Have I met the same man I was then? A lot of times past. When a chance comes around to make a wrong a right it's a special thing. But I hoped to make one thing right.

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Connections

Referenced in (500) Days of Summer (2009)

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Soundtracks

Temple Breath
Performed by Jaron Lanier
Composed by Richard Horowitz
© BMI/Sacem 1998
Published by October Cues (BMI).

User Reviews

An unusual marriage of the visual supporting the emotional elements in this very moving exploration of love and a country grappling with the integration of old and new cultures.

The maturity of this young film maker was startling to me. The obviously gorgeous and varied visual feast for one's eyes combined with small subtlteties such as the nipple of the whore's breast showing through the pink nightgown that the cyclo driver gave her.. just a second.. but a revealing moment since all the clothes she dressed in as a whore never revealed her as much. Another example was in the story of the lotus flower girl and the leper.. the more she wrote his poetry the more his face appeared out of the shadows and became lit. The marriage of the visual and lighting movement reflecting the feelings of the characters is rare to see and something to be studied again in this film. And a moving performance by Keitel clearly searching for his humanity. And a perfect bit of casting with the woman who played his grown daughter. The director's sense of timing- not rushed, letting each story unfold, carrying one on the precarious wave of the confused mix of the country's old and the new, the thought provoking issues of the various different kinds of love portrayed..parental love,romantic love, poetic love, the love of beaty where it realy lies....all rare in film making today. Profoundly disturbing scenes of the street children. Nothing like this from a young American film makers that I've seen. And as a worldwide distributor of film, TV and video who tries to support new filmmakers I've seen a fair amount. I would like to know where the poetry came from and how to find it for myself to read and savor it even more.Bravo Tony Bui. Bravo Timothy Bui.