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Green Dragon
EMAILPRINTSilver Nitrate Releasing

Mixed or average reviews
Based on 12 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 3 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Drama
Written by:
Timothy Linh Bui (also story)
Tony Bui (story)
Directed by: Timothy Linh Bui
Release Date:
Theatrical: May 1, 2001
DVD: September 10, 2002
Running Time: 115 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Language(s): English / Vietnamese (with English subtitles)
Summary
RATING: PG-13 for some disturbing situations, nudity and language
Starring Patrick Swayze, Forest Whitaker, Don Duong, Hiep Thi Le, Trung Hieu Nguyen, Kathleen Luong, Kieu Chinh, and Billinjer C. Tran
Focusing on a young brother and sister, this is a story of the first wave of Vietnamese refugees who were housed in camps across the southwestern deserts of the United States in 1975.
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...
Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas
A gracious, eloquent film that by its end offers a ray of hope to the refugees able to look ahead and resist living in a past forever lost.
Read Full Review >Film Threat Ron Wells
This is a story about purgatory, though it goes by the name Camp Pendleton.
Read Full Review >ReelViews James Berardinelli
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Green Dragon is Bui's recreation of Camp Pendleton, circa 1975 (filming actually took place in Camp Pendleton).
Read Full Review >New York Post Megan Lehmann
Director Timothy Linh employs a delicate - but never sentimental - touch which, combined with strong performances from the principals and Kramer Morgenthau's vivid cinematography, makes for a transporting experience.
Read Full Review >Variety David Rooney
An ultimately moving drama about a displaced people. But its emotional kick is muffled by long-windedness, sentimental overkill and an overpopulated character gallery.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman
The Buis seem not to have complete confidence in their unique, imprecise style, which is too bad.
Village Voice Michael Atkinson
Green Dragon's portrait of refugee angst is decidedly glossy; the grief and lostness are glimpsed rather than explored.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Ken Fox
The downside is that many of these characters are hastily sketched and their stories unsatisfactorily developed.
Read Full Review >New Times (L.A.) Andy Klein
The film is often moving and explores the discomfort inherent in the contacts between the American "hosts" and their "guests," but its effect is diluted by slow pacing and lengthiness.
Read Full Review >Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
Takes a humane look at an episode in recent history that's received little attention.
Read Full Review >LA Weekly Ernest Hardy
The characters are put through worn-out cinematic paces, making both them and their tales tedious. Green Dragon plays as hollow catharsis, with lots of tears but very little in the way of insights.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Dave Kehr
Loses its way in rhetorical excess and blatant sentimentality.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 4.6 (out of 10) based on 3 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
V Y gave it an8:
Subtly is the key! Instead of beating us over the head with details enough is said to trigger the imagination and emotion in this lovely story about a period history that is often glossed over. A great way trigger discussion and empathy.
Cris W. gave it a 1:
I kept asking myself while watching this movie, "Why am I watching this?" At the end, I still couldn't answer this question. I felt like I was visiting someone else's dream. The movie was like a dream in that it jumped all over the place... many different songs being sung at the same time, but never in harmony. As a major film release, this movie fails. As a living room story sharing session, it survives; only because then you would have the story teller telling you what this movie does not.
Chad S. gave it a 5:
Perhaps something is lost in the translation because the subtitled dialogue is perfunctory and cliched. This artifice prevents us from feeling the daunting challenges these Vietnamese refugees must've faced. Our sympathy is inherent before the lights go down. The anguish of being uprooted goes largely uncaptured. "Green Dragon" disappoints because the likelihood of this story being mounted for the big screen again is highly unlikely. An adequate document would've been welcome.
