Given the IMDb score and the many high praise reviews that this movie had gotten, I must say that I had expected something quite more from the movie. That being said, then don't get me wrong, because "Three Seasons" is a beautiful and entertaining movie.
There are several layers and stories told in the movie. Stories that are all connected together. Some better and more interesting than others. "Three Seasons" tells the story of an American looking for his daughter - this was the least interesting of the stories. It also tells the story of Woody, a street urchin who thinks the American stole his case of tourist trinkets. While this story is better than the searching for the daughter story, it just seemed a bit too shallow. "Three Seaons" is also the story of Hai, a cycle driver who gives a ride to Lan, a hotel callgirl, whom he ends up falling in love with. This was a good story, albeit quite generic, but this story was really well-told on the screen. And finally, it is also the story of Kien An, a young woman hired to harvest lotus flowers, who end up bringing a glimmer of life back to a reclusive man stricken with leprosy. This was the most touching and beautiful of all the stories told in "Three Seasons".
"Three Seasons" does have some really good acting performances by the Vietnamese cast. Ngoc Hiep Nguyen (playing Kien An) stole the screen with her performance. But Duong Don (playing Hai) and Diep Bui (playing Lan) were also putting on very memorable performances.
This is a story and character driven movie, so it might come off as a slow and dull movie to some. But it is a beautiful movie on different layers, and it is well-worth watching.
There are several layers and stories told in the movie. Stories that are all connected together. Some better and more interesting than others. "Three Seasons" tells the story of an American looking for his daughter - this was the least interesting of the stories. It also tells the story of Woody, a street urchin who thinks the American stole his case of tourist trinkets. While this story is better than the searching for the daughter story, it just seemed a bit too shallow. "Three Seaons" is also the story of Hai, a cycle driver who gives a ride to Lan, a hotel callgirl, whom he ends up falling in love with. This was a good story, albeit quite generic, but this story was really well-told on the screen. And finally, it is also the story of Kien An, a young woman hired to harvest lotus flowers, who end up bringing a glimmer of life back to a reclusive man stricken with leprosy. This was the most touching and beautiful of all the stories told in "Three Seasons".
"Three Seasons" does have some really good acting performances by the Vietnamese cast. Ngoc Hiep Nguyen (playing Kien An) stole the screen with her performance. But Duong Don (playing Hai) and Diep Bui (playing Lan) were also putting on very memorable performances.
This is a story and character driven movie, so it might come off as a slow and dull movie to some. But it is a beautiful movie on different layers, and it is well-worth watching.