Finding the perfect movie to watch during an evening at home can be a challenge, as there are so many options on various streaming services.
One of the best ways to choose a new film is to go through the filmographies of your favorite actors or actresses.
Chinese-American actress Bai Ling, who won the Hong Kong Film Awards Best Supporting Actress gong in 2004, has been in some outstanding flicks over the past couple of decades.
If you recently saw a movie with Ling and were very impressed with her performance, you may want to check out some of her other roles.
Below are the top five movies featuring Bai Ling.
1. Everlasting
Everlasting is one of the more recent Hollywood roles for Bai Ling, with the film released in 2016 to critical and audience acclaim. The story, directed and written by Anthony Stabley, takes place in Los Angeles.
The film focuses on...
One of the best ways to choose a new film is to go through the filmographies of your favorite actors or actresses.
Chinese-American actress Bai Ling, who won the Hong Kong Film Awards Best Supporting Actress gong in 2004, has been in some outstanding flicks over the past couple of decades.
If you recently saw a movie with Ling and were very impressed with her performance, you may want to check out some of her other roles.
Below are the top five movies featuring Bai Ling.
1. Everlasting
Everlasting is one of the more recent Hollywood roles for Bai Ling, with the film released in 2016 to critical and audience acclaim. The story, directed and written by Anthony Stabley, takes place in Los Angeles.
The film focuses on...
- 11/9/2021
- by Peter Adams
- AsianMoviePulse
New films by Agnieszka Holland, Agnes Varda and Isabel Coixet have been added to the official lineup of the upcoming Berlin Film Festival, along with special screenings of directorial debuts by British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor and “Narcos” star Wagner Moura of Brazil.
The Berlinale added 11 titles to its competition slate Thursday, representing countries such as China, Norway, Mongolia and Israel. Of the 18 competition titles selected so far, eight are directed by women, including festival opener “The Kindness of Strangers,” by Danish director Lone Scherfig.
Holland’s eagerly anticipated “Mr. Jones,” starring James Norton and Vanessa Kirby, will have its world premiere in Potsdamer Platz. The politically charged film centers on the real-life Welsh journalist Gareth Jones (Norton), whose reporting uncovered a deadly famine in Ukraine in the 1930s.
Another famine-themed film heading to Berlin is Ejiofor’s “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind,” which was recently acquired by Netflix and...
The Berlinale added 11 titles to its competition slate Thursday, representing countries such as China, Norway, Mongolia and Israel. Of the 18 competition titles selected so far, eight are directed by women, including festival opener “The Kindness of Strangers,” by Danish director Lone Scherfig.
Holland’s eagerly anticipated “Mr. Jones,” starring James Norton and Vanessa Kirby, will have its world premiere in Potsdamer Platz. The politically charged film centers on the real-life Welsh journalist Gareth Jones (Norton), whose reporting uncovered a deadly famine in Ukraine in the 1930s.
Another famine-themed film heading to Berlin is Ejiofor’s “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind,” which was recently acquired by Netflix and...
- 1/10/2019
- by Henry Chu
- Variety Film + TV
The Berlin Film Festival has added movies by Agnès Varda, Agnieszka Holland, Hans Petter Moland, Isabel Coixet and Wang Quan’an to its competition programme. Chiwetel Ejiofor’s directorial debut The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind will play in the Berlinale Special strand. Scroll down for the full list of additions to the batch of films already announced for the competition.
Coixet’s (The Bookshop) black-and-white feature Elisa & Marcela, the true-story of two women who got married in Spain in 1901 after one adopted a male identity, will likely receive an extra dose of media attention given that it is a Netflix acquisition, marking the streaming giant’s first film to screen in competition in Berlin. Festival director Dieter Kosslick has previously said that competition films must have a theatrical release.
Among other highlights announced today are James Norton and Vanessa Kirby starrer Mr. Jones from Polish director Agnieszka Holland and Italian mafia pic Piranhas,...
Coixet’s (The Bookshop) black-and-white feature Elisa & Marcela, the true-story of two women who got married in Spain in 1901 after one adopted a male identity, will likely receive an extra dose of media attention given that it is a Netflix acquisition, marking the streaming giant’s first film to screen in competition in Berlin. Festival director Dieter Kosslick has previously said that competition films must have a theatrical release.
Among other highlights announced today are James Norton and Vanessa Kirby starrer Mr. Jones from Polish director Agnieszka Holland and Italian mafia pic Piranhas,...
- 1/10/2019
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Skarsgård reunites with Hans Petter Moland for adaptation of Per Petterson novel.
TrustNordisk have acquired sales rights to Out Stealing Horses from writer/director Hans Petter Moland, with Stellan Skarsgård taking the lead role.
Bjørn Floberg (Insomnia, Kingsman: The Secret Service) and Anders Baasmo (Kon-Tiki, The King’s Choice) have also been cast.
Moland’s previous films include Berlin competition titles The Beautiful Country (2004), A Somewhat Gentle Man (2010), and In Order Of Disappearance (2014).
Based on Per Petterson’s novel of the same name, Out Stealing sees Skarsgård play 67-year-old Trond, who must recall difficult experiences affter meeting a face from the past. Petterson’s book was named one of the New York Times’ ‘5 Best Fiction Books 2007.’
Out Stealing Horses is produced by Turid Øversveen and Karin Julsrud for 4 ½ Fiksjon in co-production with Zentropa Entertainments5, Zentropa Sweden, Helgeland Film, Film i Väst and Nordisk Film. Shooting begins on February 19th, with the final shooting phase in June or July...
TrustNordisk have acquired sales rights to Out Stealing Horses from writer/director Hans Petter Moland, with Stellan Skarsgård taking the lead role.
Bjørn Floberg (Insomnia, Kingsman: The Secret Service) and Anders Baasmo (Kon-Tiki, The King’s Choice) have also been cast.
Moland’s previous films include Berlin competition titles The Beautiful Country (2004), A Somewhat Gentle Man (2010), and In Order Of Disappearance (2014).
Based on Per Petterson’s novel of the same name, Out Stealing sees Skarsgård play 67-year-old Trond, who must recall difficult experiences affter meeting a face from the past. Petterson’s book was named one of the New York Times’ ‘5 Best Fiction Books 2007.’
Out Stealing Horses is produced by Turid Øversveen and Karin Julsrud for 4 ½ Fiksjon in co-production with Zentropa Entertainments5, Zentropa Sweden, Helgeland Film, Film i Väst and Nordisk Film. Shooting begins on February 19th, with the final shooting phase in June or July...
- 2/16/2018
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Though it might seem like Liam Neeson has all claim to avenging a child in the “Taken” series, the Norwegian action black comedy “In Order of Disappearance” proves that there’s plenty more to be mined from such a premise. Described as a cross between “Fargo” and “Taken,” “In Order of Disappearance” follows snow plow diver Nils (Stellan Skarsgård) who discovers his son has died of a supposed heroin overdose. Knowing his son was not a drug addict, Nils starts his own investigation and discovers a local drug gang is behind the crime. Soon, Nils finds the killers and the gang’s leader, but not before being caught in the crossfire between the local and Serbian gangs. The film also stars Bruno Ganz (“The Wings of Desire”), Birgitte Hjort Sørensen (“Borgen”), Kristofer Hivju (“Game of Thrones”), and more. Watch an exclusive clip from the film below.
Read More: Berlin Review:...
Read More: Berlin Review:...
- 8/16/2016
- by Vikram Murthi
- Indiewire
A Conspiracy of Faith shoot begins today and follows Danish box office hits The Keeper of Lost Causes and The Absent One.
French distributor Wild Bunch and Spain’s Vertigo have picked up rights to the Department Q crime thrillers The Keeper of Lost Causes and The Absent One as well new instalment A Conspiracy of Faith, which begins shooting today (May 5).
Shooting on A Conspiracy of Faith will continue over the next eight weeks on location in Denmark and Germany.
The dark crime thriller, based on the book by Jussi Adler-Olsen, has already been sold by TrustNordisk to more than 15 countries including North America (IFC Films), Benelux (Lumiere), Turkey (Medyavizyon), Poland (Kino Swiat) and Russia (Silverbox).
The two previous films in the series, The Keeper of Lost Causes and The Absent One, were released in 2013 and 2014 respectively and have become the biggest local box office hits in Danish history.
In the third...
French distributor Wild Bunch and Spain’s Vertigo have picked up rights to the Department Q crime thrillers The Keeper of Lost Causes and The Absent One as well new instalment A Conspiracy of Faith, which begins shooting today (May 5).
Shooting on A Conspiracy of Faith will continue over the next eight weeks on location in Denmark and Germany.
The dark crime thriller, based on the book by Jussi Adler-Olsen, has already been sold by TrustNordisk to more than 15 countries including North America (IFC Films), Benelux (Lumiere), Turkey (Medyavizyon), Poland (Kino Swiat) and Russia (Silverbox).
The two previous films in the series, The Keeper of Lost Causes and The Absent One, were released in 2013 and 2014 respectively and have become the biggest local box office hits in Danish history.
In the third...
- 5/5/2015
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Joining the titles already announced—including films by Alain Resnais and Dominik Graf—the following films complete the lineup for the 2014 Berlin International Film Festival's Competition section.
Bai Ri Yan Huo (Black Coal, Thin Ice)
People’s Republic of China
By Yinan Diao (Night Train, Uniform)
With Fan Liao, Lun Mei Gwei, Xuebing Wang
World premiere
Boyhood
USA
By Richard Linklater (Before Midnight, Me & Orson Welles)
With Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke, Ellar Coltrane, Lorelei Linklater
International premiere
Chiisai Ouchi (The Little House)
Japan
By Yoji Yamada (Tokyo Family, About Her Brother)
With Takako Matsu, Haru Kuroki, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Satoshi Tsumabuki, Chieko Baisho
International premiere
Historia del miedo (History of Fear)
Argentina / Uruguay / Germany / France
By Benjamin Naishtat - feature debut
With Jonathan Da Rosa, Claudia Cantero, Mirella Pascual, Cesar Bordon, Tatiana Gimenez
World premiere
Jack
Germany
By Edward Berger
With Ivo Pietzcker, Georg Arms, Luise Heyer, Vincent Redetzki, Jacob Matschenz,...
Bai Ri Yan Huo (Black Coal, Thin Ice)
People’s Republic of China
By Yinan Diao (Night Train, Uniform)
With Fan Liao, Lun Mei Gwei, Xuebing Wang
World premiere
Boyhood
USA
By Richard Linklater (Before Midnight, Me & Orson Welles)
With Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke, Ellar Coltrane, Lorelei Linklater
International premiere
Chiisai Ouchi (The Little House)
Japan
By Yoji Yamada (Tokyo Family, About Her Brother)
With Takako Matsu, Haru Kuroki, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Satoshi Tsumabuki, Chieko Baisho
International premiere
Historia del miedo (History of Fear)
Argentina / Uruguay / Germany / France
By Benjamin Naishtat - feature debut
With Jonathan Da Rosa, Claudia Cantero, Mirella Pascual, Cesar Bordon, Tatiana Gimenez
World premiere
Jack
Germany
By Edward Berger
With Ivo Pietzcker, Georg Arms, Luise Heyer, Vincent Redetzki, Jacob Matschenz,...
- 1/15/2014
- by Notebook
- MUBI
Enjoying some time across the pond, Taylor Swift showed up at the Winter Whites Gala dinner at Kensington Palace in London, England on Tuesday (November 26).
The beautiful country songstress showed off her flawless figure in a plunging neckline gown with a prom-style up-do as she posed for the paparazzi outside the event.
Speaking of England, Taylor hung out with Englishman/tourmate Ed Sheeran over the weekend, hiking through the Hollywood Hills and making the most of the mild weather.
And on Sunday, Swift scored the Artist of the Year trophy and Favorite Female Artist Pop Rock honors at the American Music Awards.
Afterwards, Taylor tweeted her fans, "You guys are the strongest, most powerful bond in my life. I really appreciate the AMAs you won us tonight. Thank you so much."...
The beautiful country songstress showed off her flawless figure in a plunging neckline gown with a prom-style up-do as she posed for the paparazzi outside the event.
Speaking of England, Taylor hung out with Englishman/tourmate Ed Sheeran over the weekend, hiking through the Hollywood Hills and making the most of the mild weather.
And on Sunday, Swift scored the Artist of the Year trophy and Favorite Female Artist Pop Rock honors at the American Music Awards.
Afterwards, Taylor tweeted her fans, "You guys are the strongest, most powerful bond in my life. I really appreciate the AMAs you won us tonight. Thank you so much."...
- 11/26/2013
- GossipCenter
The Cmt Music Awards on June 5 really kicked summer into gear with an amazing show. There were so many great moments during country’s big night — browse through our gallery and see our favorites!
Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena was on fire on June 5 for the 2013 Cmt Music Awards as the country world proved they’re the blondes of the music industry — they have more fun! From Taylor Swift’s sexy performance to Jason Aldean and Kristen Bell’s awesome job hosting, it was definitely a night to remember.
Cmt Music Awards Best Moments
The Best Performances
Umm, obviously we loved Taylor Swift’s performance. After great performances by Hunter Hayes and Luke Bryan, it was Taylor’s turn to rock. She was back in her native genre, and seemed right at home singing “Red.” She was definitely dressed for the occasion in a sexy red and black corset/dress outfit with black short shorts.
Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena was on fire on June 5 for the 2013 Cmt Music Awards as the country world proved they’re the blondes of the music industry — they have more fun! From Taylor Swift’s sexy performance to Jason Aldean and Kristen Bell’s awesome job hosting, it was definitely a night to remember.
Cmt Music Awards Best Moments
The Best Performances
Umm, obviously we loved Taylor Swift’s performance. After great performances by Hunter Hayes and Luke Bryan, it was Taylor’s turn to rock. She was back in her native genre, and seemed right at home singing “Red.” She was definitely dressed for the occasion in a sexy red and black corset/dress outfit with black short shorts.
- 6/6/2013
- by Andrew Gruttadaro
- HollywoodLife
The story of Norse god Thor may be headed back to the area of its origination, according to Icelandic site Svarthofdi, who reports that Thor: The Dark World will film partially on the Nordic European island.
This is the second location revealed for the film, as it was recently leaked that part of the film would shoot in the UK too, towards the end of summer.
The location seems fitting, as much of the written record of Norse mythology comes to us from Iceland. The beautiful country has recently played home to some blockbuster films in the past including Batman Begins and Prometheus, and will be the home of upcoming films like Oblivion and Noah.
Furthermore, this wouldn’t be director Alan Taylor’s first trip to Iceland, as he has previously worked there while filming Game Of Thrones. Star Chris Hemsworth has said Taylor’s approach to the sequel...
This is the second location revealed for the film, as it was recently leaked that part of the film would shoot in the UK too, towards the end of summer.
The location seems fitting, as much of the written record of Norse mythology comes to us from Iceland. The beautiful country has recently played home to some blockbuster films in the past including Batman Begins and Prometheus, and will be the home of upcoming films like Oblivion and Noah.
Furthermore, this wouldn’t be director Alan Taylor’s first trip to Iceland, as he has previously worked there while filming Game Of Thrones. Star Chris Hemsworth has said Taylor’s approach to the sequel...
- 8/3/2012
- by Alex Lowe
- We Got This Covered
Taylor Swift Vogue Photoshoot from Taylor Swift Web on Vimeo. The beautiful country crooner talks about love and music, behind the scenes of her breath-taking photo shoot for 'Vogue!' Taylor Swift has never played coy with her emotions, and is notorious for turning break-ups into chart topping singles. During the February cover shoot for Vogue, Taylor donned a new 'do and opened up about why she sings about love. "I write a lot of my songs about love, and breakups, and relationships, and feelings, and the whole process of it because it's the most maddening, beautiful, magical, horrible, painful, wonderful, joyous thing in the world," she explains. Taylor looked mature and sexy in flirty florals and a floppy hat. She worked the camera like a professional model, but still kept her classic girl-next-door charm when she admitted to crying in her car after a tough breakup. Taylor took a...
- 1/20/2012
- by HL Staff
- HollywoodLife
In Hans Peter Moland’s glumly humorous, sneakily moving Norwegian dramedy A Somewhat Gentle Man, a graying, ponytailed ex-con named Ulrik, played with droll aplomb by the always reliable Stellan Skarsgard, fumbles his way back into civilian life after 12 years in prison for manslaughter. He finds a job as a mechanic for a body shop owner (Bjorn Sundquist), who insists he be on time and stay away from oddly alluring office secretary Merete (Jannike Kruse). After finding a room in the basement of an aging, horny matron (a terrific Jorun Kjellsby), the sister of Ulrik’s former boss and petty crime running mate Jensen (Bjorn Floberg), Ulrik is given a pistol by Jensen in order to seek revenge against the man who testified against him more than a decade ago. The film’s tension hinges on whether he’ll return to a life of violence or be able to reestablish...
- 1/13/2011
- by Brandon Harris
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Alexander Skarsgard ("True Blood") is attached to star in the action thriller "The Elephant" for Studio Babelsberg, Monster Film and Northern Alliance Group reports The Wrap.
Based on Magnar Jonsgaard's novel "Black Rain", the blond hunk will play a Norwegian roustabout who tangles and then bonds with a redneck American driller as they attempt to stop a building oil rig explosion in the frigid North Sea.
Hans Petter Moland ("The Beautiful Country") directs from a script by Petter Skavlan. The title itself is slang for an oil field of immense size.
Casting is currently under way for three American stars. Shooting will kick off either in late Fall or early 2011.
Based on Magnar Jonsgaard's novel "Black Rain", the blond hunk will play a Norwegian roustabout who tangles and then bonds with a redneck American driller as they attempt to stop a building oil rig explosion in the frigid North Sea.
Hans Petter Moland ("The Beautiful Country") directs from a script by Petter Skavlan. The title itself is slang for an oil field of immense size.
Casting is currently under way for three American stars. Shooting will kick off either in late Fall or early 2011.
- 6/29/2010
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
There Will Be Blood examined our greed for oil. The doc expose Gasland wowed audiences at Laff and on HBO. And now comes a new movie that looks at oil. Norway's Monster Film and Northern Alliance Group are co-producing an oil thriller, The Elephant, to be directed by Hans Peter Moland (The Beautiful Country). The Little Film Company will sell rights to the film, which was written by Petter Skavlan, inspired by Magnar Jonsgaard’s novel Black Rain about American drillers' search for oil in the frigid and often lethal North Sea, where Jonsgaard worked on several oil platforms during the 70’s. "Elephant" is slang for an oil field that produces at least 500 million barrels. "This story changed an entire society,” states Moland, who recently won ...
- 6/24/2010
- Thompson on Hollywood
Berlin -- The Berlin International Film Festival is going indie for its 60th anniversary with new films from Michael Winterbottom, Noah Baumbach, Thomas Vinterberg and other independent filmmakers among this year's competition lineup.
Baumbach's comedy "Greenberg" starring Ben Stiller as a New Yorker house sitting for his brother in Los Angeles, will have its world premiere in Berlin as will Vinterberg's latest, "Submario," a Danish drama that sees the director of "The Celebration" returning to the treacherous landscape of familial relationships.
Winterbottom's Western thriller "The Killer Inside Me" starring Casey Affleck will head to Berlin after its world premiere in Sundance, one of several titles catching the Park City-Berlin express this year. These include "Howl," a drama from famed documentarians Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman centered on poet Allen Ginsberg's 1957 obscenity trial; Nicole Holofcener's comedy "Please Give" starring Catherine Keener and Amanda Peet and Lisa Cholodenko's "The Kids Are Alright.
Baumbach's comedy "Greenberg" starring Ben Stiller as a New Yorker house sitting for his brother in Los Angeles, will have its world premiere in Berlin as will Vinterberg's latest, "Submario," a Danish drama that sees the director of "The Celebration" returning to the treacherous landscape of familial relationships.
Winterbottom's Western thriller "The Killer Inside Me" starring Casey Affleck will head to Berlin after its world premiere in Sundance, one of several titles catching the Park City-Berlin express this year. These include "Howl," a drama from famed documentarians Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman centered on poet Allen Ginsberg's 1957 obscenity trial; Nicole Holofcener's comedy "Please Give" starring Catherine Keener and Amanda Peet and Lisa Cholodenko's "The Kids Are Alright.
- 1/20/2010
- by By Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The 2005 Newport International Film Festival, set to run June 7-12 in Newport, R.I., will honor writer-director-actor Michael McKean with its annual Claiborne Pell Award for Lifetime Achievement. Douglas Keeve's Seamless, a documentary about the fashion industry, will serve as opening-night film at the fest, run by executive director Laurie Kirby. Hans Petter Moland's The Beautiful Country, about the Vietnamese children of American GIs, has been selected as closing-night film.
- 5/23/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Screened
Berlin International Film Festival
BERLIN -- Beautiful Country is the latest rendition of the American immigrant story -- at least one seems to arrive with each film festival -- and this certainly is one of the more compelling examples of such tales. 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, even if that land is incapable of living up to those promises.
Producers Edward R. Pressman and Terrence Malick (who conceived the story) took a gamble in hiring a Norwegian, Hans Petter Moland, to direct the saga of a young Vietnamese man who embarks on an arduous journey from his homeland to Texas in search of his American father. Then again, who better to make such an immigrant story than an outsider to both cultures?
With careful handling, Sony Pictures Classics could turn Beautiful Country into an art house hit after building momentum on the festival circuit. Name actors such as Nick Nolte -- in a small role as the father -- Bai Ling and Tim Roth can only help.
Born to a Vietnamese mother and an American GI dad, Binh (an accomplished debut by Damien Nguyen) wears the face of the country's enemy. Such half-castes are known by a pejorative expression meaning "less than dust." Simple yet poignant scenes at the outset establish his ostracized status. Even aboard a rusty tanker ferrying human cargo to the New World, the captain (Roth) tells him he will be an outcast wherever he goes.
As Vietnam aggressively celebrates the Vietcong victory, Binh heads for Ho Chi Minh City to locate his mother (Chau Thi Kim Xuan). All he has to go by is an old photo showing a happy couple holding a baby in front of a corner building. He locates that building and soon his mom. He meets a very young half-brother (Tran Dang Quoc Thinh) and then gets a job alongside his mother in the household of a rich though nasty old woman.
(A weakness in the story is that we never learn why Binh's mother more or less abandoned him or why she now greets him with such joy.)
When a household tragedy is blamed on Binh, his mother gives him enough money for him and his brother to flee the country in an open boat. In a Malaysian refugee camp, he meets Ling Bai Ling), a Chinese prostitute with whom he develops a gentle, supportive friendship. During a riot, the three escape and essentially barter their souls for passage to New York on a tanker.
Many die en route, including Binh's little brother. After suffering a period of virtual slavery in New York's Chinatown, he parts company with Ling to hitchhike his way to Texas in search of his dad.
Pretty familiar stuff all along the way. Yet the details are surprisingly fresh, and the characters are vividly drawn. The script by Sabina Murray and Larry Gross eschews melodrama whenever possible for a realistic portrait of the hardships of the illegal immigrant experience. People ruthlessly focus on their own self interest, but the film avoids picking out heroes or villains. This is just the way people behave on the immigrant trail.
Moland gets wonderful performances from his cast. Nguyen must be the narrative's driving force and yet perform an often-reactive role, a seeming contradiction he smoothly handles. Nolte and Roth show restraint in playing highly flawed individuals. Ling lets no sentimentality encroach on the prostitute, who is lively on the outside and dead within.
Cinematographer Stuart Dreyburgh catches the grit and beauty of the lands and seas Binh transverses. Zbigniew Preisner's music never intrudes, rather gently accompanying the perilous journey with an evocative score that pulls in themes from cultures encountered.
BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY
Sony Pictures Classics
Dinamo Story AS/Sunflower Prods.
Credits: Director: Hans Petter Moland; Writers: Sabina Murray, Larry Gross; Story: Terrence Malick; Producers: Edward R. Pressman, Terrence Malick, Petter J. Borgli, Tomas Backstrom; Director of photography: Stuart Dreyburgh; Production designer: Kalli Juliusson; Music: Zbigniew Preisner; Costume designer: Anne Petersen; Editor: Wibecke Ronseth. Cast: Binh: Damien Nguyen; Ling: Bai Ling; Tam: Tran Dang Quoc Thinh; Captain Oh: Tim Roth; Snakehead: Temuera Derek Morrison; Steve: Nick Nolte. No MPAA rating, running time 137 minutes.
Berlin International Film Festival
BERLIN -- Beautiful Country is the latest rendition of the American immigrant story -- at least one seems to arrive with each film festival -- and this certainly is one of the more compelling examples of such tales. 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, even if that land is incapable of living up to those promises.
Producers Edward R. Pressman and Terrence Malick (who conceived the story) took a gamble in hiring a Norwegian, Hans Petter Moland, to direct the saga of a young Vietnamese man who embarks on an arduous journey from his homeland to Texas in search of his American father. Then again, who better to make such an immigrant story than an outsider to both cultures?
With careful handling, Sony Pictures Classics could turn Beautiful Country into an art house hit after building momentum on the festival circuit. Name actors such as Nick Nolte -- in a small role as the father -- Bai Ling and Tim Roth can only help.
Born to a Vietnamese mother and an American GI dad, Binh (an accomplished debut by Damien Nguyen) wears the face of the country's enemy. Such half-castes are known by a pejorative expression meaning "less than dust." Simple yet poignant scenes at the outset establish his ostracized status. Even aboard a rusty tanker ferrying human cargo to the New World, the captain (Roth) tells him he will be an outcast wherever he goes.
As Vietnam aggressively celebrates the Vietcong victory, Binh heads for Ho Chi Minh City to locate his mother (Chau Thi Kim Xuan). All he has to go by is an old photo showing a happy couple holding a baby in front of a corner building. He locates that building and soon his mom. He meets a very young half-brother (Tran Dang Quoc Thinh) and then gets a job alongside his mother in the household of a rich though nasty old woman.
(A weakness in the story is that we never learn why Binh's mother more or less abandoned him or why she now greets him with such joy.)
When a household tragedy is blamed on Binh, his mother gives him enough money for him and his brother to flee the country in an open boat. In a Malaysian refugee camp, he meets Ling Bai Ling), a Chinese prostitute with whom he develops a gentle, supportive friendship. During a riot, the three escape and essentially barter their souls for passage to New York on a tanker.
Many die en route, including Binh's little brother. After suffering a period of virtual slavery in New York's Chinatown, he parts company with Ling to hitchhike his way to Texas in search of his dad.
Pretty familiar stuff all along the way. Yet the details are surprisingly fresh, and the characters are vividly drawn. The script by Sabina Murray and Larry Gross eschews melodrama whenever possible for a realistic portrait of the hardships of the illegal immigrant experience. People ruthlessly focus on their own self interest, but the film avoids picking out heroes or villains. This is just the way people behave on the immigrant trail.
Moland gets wonderful performances from his cast. Nguyen must be the narrative's driving force and yet perform an often-reactive role, a seeming contradiction he smoothly handles. Nolte and Roth show restraint in playing highly flawed individuals. Ling lets no sentimentality encroach on the prostitute, who is lively on the outside and dead within.
Cinematographer Stuart Dreyburgh catches the grit and beauty of the lands and seas Binh transverses. Zbigniew Preisner's music never intrudes, rather gently accompanying the perilous journey with an evocative score that pulls in themes from cultures encountered.
BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY
Sony Pictures Classics
Dinamo Story AS/Sunflower Prods.
Credits: Director: Hans Petter Moland; Writers: Sabina Murray, Larry Gross; Story: Terrence Malick; Producers: Edward R. Pressman, Terrence Malick, Petter J. Borgli, Tomas Backstrom; Director of photography: Stuart Dreyburgh; Production designer: Kalli Juliusson; Music: Zbigniew Preisner; Costume designer: Anne Petersen; Editor: Wibecke Ronseth. Cast: Binh: Damien Nguyen; Ling: Bai Ling; Tam: Tran Dang Quoc Thinh; Captain Oh: Tim Roth; Snakehead: Temuera Derek Morrison; Steve: Nick Nolte. No MPAA rating, running time 137 minutes.
BERLIN -- Patty Jenkins' Monster, Richard Linklater's Before Sunset, Ken Loach's Ae Fond Kiss, Eric Rohmer's Triple Agent, Hans Petter Moland's Beautiful Country and John Boorman's Country of My Skull are among the titles that will compete for the Golden Bear at the 54th annual Berlin International Film Festival, organizers said Thursday. Other titles in competition at the festival, which runs Feb. 5-15, include Daybreak, from Swedish director Bjorn Runge; Trilogy: The Weeping Meadow, by Greek veteran Theo Angelopoulos, and the Italian production Primo Amore from helmer Matteo Garrone.
- 1/16/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.