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

The first American film to be made in Vietnam after Bill Clinton lifted the embargo. The filmmakers were followed by Vietnamese inspectors throughout filming.

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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

Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Entrapment/Three Seasons/The Winslow Boy/Idle Hands/Get Real (1999)

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Soundtracks

Good Ol' Rock-N-Roll
Written & Performed by Eugene Chrysler

User Reviews

Three Bitter and Beautiful Metaphoric Tales in the Contemporary Ho Chi Minh

In the contemporary Ho Chi Minh, former Saigon, Kien An (Ngoc Hiep Nguyen) is a worker hired to gather and sell lotus for her master, Professor Dao (Manh Cuong Tran). Dao was a handsome poet, who is dying of leprosy. He lost his fingers, and Kien offers herself to write his poetries for him. Hai (Don Duong) is a tricycle-taxi driver, who falls in love for the expensive hooker Lan (Diep Bui). Woody is a homeless little child, working as street peddler of watches, cigarette lighters and other minor goods, who has his wallet stolen. He believes that the thief is James Hager (Harvey Keitel), a former marine who is looking for his daughter with a Vietnamese woman during the war. These three parallel bitter and beautiful stories present in a metaphoric view, the transition of the political and economical system of Vietnam. Professor Dao represents the traditional system, the communism, rotten and dying. Lan is a metaphoric view of the transition to the capitalism, corrupted, aimed and unattainable for most of the poor population. Woody and the little girl represent the next generations of excluded of the new wild system, fighting for the survival and having no perspective in life. James Hager would be the return of the American interests in Vietnam. I am intrigued with the title of this film: "Three Seasons". The lotus means the spring, the hard rain means the winter; the fallen leaves, the autumn. Where is the summer and why is it missing? "Three Seasons" is a highly recommended movie, open to the most different interpretations by the viewers. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Três Estações" ("Three Seasons")