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Beautiful Country, The
EMAILPRINTSony Pictures Classics

Generally favorable reviews
Based on 23 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 11 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Drama | Foreign
Written by:
Sabina Murray (also story)
Lingard Jervey (story)
Directed by: Hans Petter Moland
Release Date:
Theatrical: July 8, 2005
DVD: December 13, 2005
Running Time: 137 minutes, Color
Origin: USA / Norway
Summary
RATING: R for some language and a crude sexual reference
Starring Bai Ling, Nick Nolte, Tim Roth, John Hussey, Temuera Morrison, Arthur J. Nascarella, and Damien Nguyen
Bui doi - "less than dust" - is a slur aimed at Vietnamese children with American fathers. This film, set in 1990, relates the odyssey of a young "bui doi" as he escapes Vietnam, endures refugee camp, and survives a brutal ocean crossing and indentured servitude with a human-trafficking ring. Nevertheless, he manages to keep hope, humanity, and a generous spirit alive as he searches for connection with his long-lost family. (Sony Pictures Classics)
Also On Metacritic
FILM: Aberdeen
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt
The film achieves its power through a careful gathering of crucial details, in wordless glances, cruelties of nature and of man and the relentless determination to gain the promised land.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas
It is a straightforward, conventional narrative, charting seemingly endless cruelty and hardship, but rewards the patient with an eloquent climactic sequence that is impossible to predict.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Ken Fox
Versatile, highly skilled Norwegian director Hans Petter Moland's poignant drama examines the lingering effects of U.S. intervention in Southeast Asia.
Read Full Review >Dallas Observer Bill Gallo
Generous in spirit and fearlessly observant, this tale of an outcast Vietnamese man's journey to freedom deserves a place of honor among the great films portraying emigrant tenacity.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader J.R. Jones
The script, by newcomer Sabina Murray, is occasionally cloying as the naive hero falls for a bitter prostitute (Bai Ling), but its epic tale of two cultures tragically entwined is anchored by deep and elemental emotions.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington
In the end, it's a heartening, rewarding experience to watch this journey--and, especially, its end.
Read Full Review >New York Post Kyle Smith
The movie grows steadily more arresting as it goes on and saves its best parts for last.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Ty Burr
The filmmakers bank against their impulse toward melodrama and deliver a reconciliation that is heartbreakingly understated.
Read Full Review >USA Today Claudia Puig
The Beautiful Country might be too slow-moving for some, but it has powerful performances and a multi-layered quality. It is an epic journey worth taking.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
Inside the Norwegian director's glove of empathy is a fist of unappeasable anger.
Read Full Review >Portland Oregonian M. E. Russell
One of those hard-to-pin-down movies where you're not quite sure which sort of story the filmmakers wanted to tell.
Read Full Review >Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach
The Beautiful Country is not a happy film by any means, but it does offer a fragile hope, that beauty exists at the end of every journey, if only one has the strength to finish the trip.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Dana Stevens
It is hard not to admire the independence and ambition of The Beautiful Country, even if the film does fall short of its epic intentions.
Read Full Review >Variety Derek Elley
Standout performance is by Nolte who, in the final 20 minutes, draws on a deep reservoir of playing broken romantic heroes to portray Binh's father. The subtle, resonant scenes between the two men are worth the price of admission.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Jami Bernard
Bai Ling plays a resourceful prostitute from a Malaysian refugee camp who grows harder and more alienated by the day. Nick Nolte, Tim Roth and Temuera Morrison offer strong supporting performances.
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea
Loses itself in melodrama, caricature and narrative missteps.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Jason Anderson
With its visual splendour, The Beautiful Country is indeed lovely to behold, but its story of human misery and survival doesn't always benefit from the painstaking art direction, picturesque vistas and surges of dramatic music.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Tasha Robinson
A gorgeous film, framed with an eye that makes every country seem beautiful in one way or another. It's probably fitting that the human element seems fragile and flat by comparison, but the contrast leaves Beautiful Country fairly bland.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer Bill White
The Beautiful Country has an epic bearing, but a trite and troubled script makes it more a visual tirade than an engaging odyssey.
Read Full Review >Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
The subject is compelling but the story is very, very slow.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Desson Thomson
Feels like a manufactured Asian "Chocolat," which drives the label 'art house movie' even further into mainstream banality.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 8.3 (out of 10) based on 11 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Robert gave it a7:
Lovely, surprising film that carries emotional weight through a young man's wide-ranging search for his father. underrated by many, worth watching.
Bob gave it a10:
Within 5 minutes you could tell this was not an American made movie - too subtle and too intelligent for the mass audiences. I was surprised to find it was of Norwegian origin, though.
Ray S. gave it a10:
The cadence of the film is deliberately slow, but it works to draw the viewer into the story, and to the ending, which is poignant and understated--and rings true emotionally.
Barbara C. gave it a10:
THIS IS an awesome movie. If you are interested in Vietnam or not..it is about hope ...go see it! The characters were gripping and the story so moving. I wish more movies like this were being made!
Doug gave it a9:
A very memorable film. Great cinematography, fascinating, well told story. Even though it's a long film, it holds your interest throughout.
Gal gave it a10:
Great cinematography...excellent script...very realistic story about the tragedy of Vietnam..incredibly sensitive portrait.
