Three Seasons
Encyclopedia
Three Seasons is an American Vietnamese language
movie filmed in Vietnam
about the past, present, and future of Ho Chi Minh City
in the early days of New Vietnam
. It is a poetic film that tries to paint a picture of the urban culture undergoing westernization
. The movie takes place in Ho Chi Minh City
, formerly Saigon. As the characters try to come to terms with the invasion of capitalism, neon signs, grand 5-star hotels, and Coca-Cola
signs, their paths begin to merge.
This was the first American film to be made in Vietnam after Bill Clinton
lifted the embargo. The filmmakers were followed by Vietnamese inspectors throughout filming.
from a flower pond, to later sell to American tourists and fellow Vietnamese
alike. To pass the time, the girls sing rich folk songs that touch the heart of a poet (Teacher Dao) who lives in an old temple overlooking the pond. Teacher Dao (Manh Cuong Tran) suffered leprosy
at the age of 26 and had consequently lost his fingers.
The girls (one of them a newcomer named Kien An (Nguyen Ngoc Hiep) are trucked off to the bustling streets of Saigon where they sell the lotus in bundles for 5,000 đồng VND (roughly 30 cent
s USD). In Saigon, we meet different aspects of its inhabitants. Woody is a 9 to 10 year old street peddler who sells cigarettes, chewing gum, and various other things in a box that hangs on a strap to his shoulder. Hai (Don Duong
) is a cyclo
driver who hangs out with his buddies near a grand hotel.
Through a chance meeting, Hai eventually falls in love with Lan (Zoe Bui) who works as a prostitute in big hotels. Even seemingly happy after receiving every American dollars from her clients, she carries a silent resentment of herself and her clients. She tells Hai that she won't be doing this job for long and dreams of sleeping in an air-conditioned room, with no one to bother her. Lan tries to embrace the capitalist invasion by re-inventing herself and though she resents the lifestyle, she promises to one day live like them. Hai respects her and sees through her pain. After winning $200 USD in a cyclo race, he treats her to her dream. Lan feels guilty and rejects Hai's advances. She feels that she is incapable and doesn't deserve Hai's special treatment. During one of the last scenes of the film, Lan finally comes to terms with herself and Hai as he takes her to a place streaming with red phượng vĩ (Royal Poinciana
) blossoms. Lan, dressed in a beautiful white
áo dài
(traditional Vietnamese dress), marvels at her surroundings.
Hai's encounter with Kien An is a ridicule of the western embrace of "convenience
". Kien An's flowers, hand-picked and real, are being driven out by mass-produced plastic flowers. Hai comments that they are even sprayed with perfume to imitate the smell. The only difference is that the plastic flowers never wilt and die. Hai wants no part in this and asks Kien An for two. Kien An respects him and gives him the lotus for free.
Kien An's tale involves various personal tragedies and how poetry can triumph and provide respite for the human soul. Teacher Dao is particularly interested in Kien An's song because it reminds him of his days as a small boy (when he was "light and pure") along the river markets. Teacher Dao also tells Kien An of a recurring dream. He dreams of being able to visit the river markets and drop white lotuses, letting them float downriver.
Kien An remarks that Teacher Dao's pain involves his inability to leave the seemingly abandoned temple. Teacher Dao corrects her and says that even though he never leaves the place, in spirit, he yearns for the songs of the birds, the scent of the lotus, and the freedom of the clouds that lazily float in the sky. In his prime, he was a successful poet. After losing his fingers to leprosy
, Teacher Dao had given up hope of ever writing again. Kien An wants to help him and so she promises to lend him her fingers. From time to time, Kien An would visit his home in the temple to copy whatever the poet recites.
Soon, ill health as the result of old age and leprosy takes away the poet's life. Huy (Hoang Phat Trieu), Teacher Dao's headman, carries out one of his final wishes and gives Kien An Dao's poetry book, which contains a never-before seen picture of Dao. The two remarks that he was very handsome before being overtaken by leprosy. Kien An asks Huy for help to make the late Dao's dream come true. She visits the river market and drops lotus flowers, just like in Dao's dream.
James Hager is an American G.I. who returns to Vietnam to look for his daughter, in hope of "coming to peace with this place". Hai and his buddies jokingly say that Hager probably lost a few screws in his head. They witness him sitting in front of a hotel for weeks, smoking, staring at a restaurant across the street. They watch him with curiosity but never approach him. His story ends with him meeting his daughter. He gives her a bundle of lotus buds he has bought from Kien An and tries to talk with her.
Through these intertwining tales, Tony Bui is able to portray the struggles of a vanishing culture. Kien An represents the country's old ways, living as if untouched by time. Lan represents the country's present, re-inventing herself and hoping to embrace the capitalist invasion. Hai (the cyclo driver) acts as a bridge between the past and the present, living care-free yet observing the "improvements" of westernization with a silent resentment. Woody, the young peddler, acts as the country's future, naïve, innocent, and easily fooled. Woody's story ends with him playing soccer with his friends in the rain.
is breathtaking and was singled out for an award. Three Seasons received a standing ovation after its public showing at the Sundance Film Festival
.
Advocates of the film point out that the film should be taken as a fable
. As foreign as it looks to western viewers, such conditions and worse do exist in Ho Chi Minh City.
Sundance Film Festival
"Three Seasons" was the first in Sundance Film Festival history to ever receive both the Grand Jury Award and Audience Award.
Vietnamese language
Vietnamese is the national and official language of Vietnam. It is the mother tongue of 86% of Vietnam's population, and of about three million overseas Vietnamese. It is also spoken as a second language by many ethnic minorities of Vietnam...
movie filmed in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
about the past, present, and future of Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City , formerly named Saigon is the largest city in Vietnam...
in the early days of New Vietnam
New Vietnam
New Vietnam was a theme park proposed to be built near Cape Canaveral, by Evangelist Carl McIntire. It was intended to simulate, what the Vietnam War was like during the height of fighting....
. It is a poetic film that tries to paint a picture of the urban culture undergoing westernization
Westernization
Westernization or Westernisation , also occidentalization or occidentalisation , is a process whereby societies come under or adopt Western culture in such matters as industry, technology, law, politics, economics, lifestyle, diet, language, alphabet,...
. The movie takes place in Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City , formerly named Saigon is the largest city in Vietnam...
, formerly Saigon. As the characters try to come to terms with the invasion of capitalism, neon signs, grand 5-star hotels, and Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
signs, their paths begin to merge.
This was the first American film to be made in Vietnam after Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
lifted the embargo. The filmmakers were followed by Vietnamese inspectors throughout filming.
Plot
In the misty mornings of Saigon, young girls wake up to pick lotusesNelumbo nucifera
Nelumbo nucifera, known by a number of names including Indian Lotus, Sacred Lotus, Bean of India, or simply Lotus, is a plant in the monogeneric family Nelumbonaceae...
from a flower pond, to later sell to American tourists and fellow Vietnamese
Vietnamese people
The Vietnamese people are an ethnic group originating from present-day northern Vietnam and southern China. They are the majority ethnic group of Vietnam, comprising 86% of the population as of the 1999 census, and are officially known as Kinh to distinguish them from other ethnic groups in Vietnam...
alike. To pass the time, the girls sing rich folk songs that touch the heart of a poet (Teacher Dao) who lives in an old temple overlooking the pond. Teacher Dao (Manh Cuong Tran) suffered leprosy
Leprosy
Leprosy or Hansen's disease is a chronic disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis. Named after physician Gerhard Armauer Hansen, leprosy is primarily a granulomatous disease of the peripheral nerves and mucosa of the upper respiratory tract; skin lesions...
at the age of 26 and had consequently lost his fingers.
The girls (one of them a newcomer named Kien An (Nguyen Ngoc Hiep) are trucked off to the bustling streets of Saigon where they sell the lotus in bundles for 5,000 đồng VND (roughly 30 cent
Cent (currency)
In many national currencies, the cent is a monetary unit that equals 1⁄100 of the basic monetary unit. Etymologically, the word cent derives from the Latin word "centum" meaning hundred. Cent also refers to a coin which is worth one cent....
s USD). In Saigon, we meet different aspects of its inhabitants. Woody is a 9 to 10 year old street peddler who sells cigarettes, chewing gum, and various other things in a box that hangs on a strap to his shoulder. Hai (Don Duong
Don Duong
Đơn Dương is a film actor originally from Vietnam, who now lives and works in the United States.-Life & career:...
) is a cyclo
Cyclo
Cyclo may refer to:* Cycle rickshaw* Cyclo , a 1995 Vietnamese film* Cyclo , a 2001 album by Ryoji Ikeda and Carsten Nicolai* A chemical compound with a cyclic structure such as a cycloalkane* Cyclo-cross bicycle* Cyclo Industries...
driver who hangs out with his buddies near a grand hotel.
Through a chance meeting, Hai eventually falls in love with Lan (Zoe Bui) who works as a prostitute in big hotels. Even seemingly happy after receiving every American dollars from her clients, she carries a silent resentment of herself and her clients. She tells Hai that she won't be doing this job for long and dreams of sleeping in an air-conditioned room, with no one to bother her. Lan tries to embrace the capitalist invasion by re-inventing herself and though she resents the lifestyle, she promises to one day live like them. Hai respects her and sees through her pain. After winning $200 USD in a cyclo race, he treats her to her dream. Lan feels guilty and rejects Hai's advances. She feels that she is incapable and doesn't deserve Hai's special treatment. During one of the last scenes of the film, Lan finally comes to terms with herself and Hai as he takes her to a place streaming with red phượng vĩ (Royal Poinciana
Royal Poinciana
Delonix regia is a species of flowering plant from the Fabaceae family, Caesalpinioideae subfamilia, noted for its fern-like leaves and flamboyant display of flowers. In many tropical parts of countries around the world it is grown as an ornamental tree and in English it is given the name Royal...
) blossoms. Lan, dressed in a beautiful white
White
White is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light that stimulates all three types of color sensitive cone cells in the human eye in nearly equal amounts and with high brightness compared to the surroundings. A white visual stimulation will be void of hue and grayness.White light can be...
áo dài
Áo dài
The áo dài is a Vietnamese national costume, now most commonly for women. In its current form, it is a tight-fitting silk tunic worn over pantaloons. The word is pronounced ow zai in the North and ow yai in the South of the country. Áo is derived from a Middle Chinese word meaning "padded coat"...
(traditional Vietnamese dress), marvels at her surroundings.
Hai's encounter with Kien An is a ridicule of the western embrace of "convenience
Convenience
Convenience is anything that is intended to save resources or frustration. A convenience store at a petrol station, for example, sells items that have nothing to do with gasoline/petrol, but it saves the consumer from having to go to a grocery store."Convenience" is a very relative term and its...
". Kien An's flowers, hand-picked and real, are being driven out by mass-produced plastic flowers. Hai comments that they are even sprayed with perfume to imitate the smell. The only difference is that the plastic flowers never wilt and die. Hai wants no part in this and asks Kien An for two. Kien An respects him and gives him the lotus for free.
Kien An's tale involves various personal tragedies and how poetry can triumph and provide respite for the human soul. Teacher Dao is particularly interested in Kien An's song because it reminds him of his days as a small boy (when he was "light and pure") along the river markets. Teacher Dao also tells Kien An of a recurring dream. He dreams of being able to visit the river markets and drop white lotuses, letting them float downriver.
Kien An remarks that Teacher Dao's pain involves his inability to leave the seemingly abandoned temple. Teacher Dao corrects her and says that even though he never leaves the place, in spirit, he yearns for the songs of the birds, the scent of the lotus, and the freedom of the clouds that lazily float in the sky. In his prime, he was a successful poet. After losing his fingers to leprosy
Leprosy
Leprosy or Hansen's disease is a chronic disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis. Named after physician Gerhard Armauer Hansen, leprosy is primarily a granulomatous disease of the peripheral nerves and mucosa of the upper respiratory tract; skin lesions...
, Teacher Dao had given up hope of ever writing again. Kien An wants to help him and so she promises to lend him her fingers. From time to time, Kien An would visit his home in the temple to copy whatever the poet recites.
Soon, ill health as the result of old age and leprosy takes away the poet's life. Huy (Hoang Phat Trieu), Teacher Dao's headman, carries out one of his final wishes and gives Kien An Dao's poetry book, which contains a never-before seen picture of Dao. The two remarks that he was very handsome before being overtaken by leprosy. Kien An asks Huy for help to make the late Dao's dream come true. She visits the river market and drops lotus flowers, just like in Dao's dream.
James Hager is an American G.I. who returns to Vietnam to look for his daughter, in hope of "coming to peace with this place". Hai and his buddies jokingly say that Hager probably lost a few screws in his head. They witness him sitting in front of a hotel for weeks, smoking, staring at a restaurant across the street. They watch him with curiosity but never approach him. His story ends with him meeting his daughter. He gives her a bundle of lotus buds he has bought from Kien An and tries to talk with her.
Through these intertwining tales, Tony Bui is able to portray the struggles of a vanishing culture. Kien An represents the country's old ways, living as if untouched by time. Lan represents the country's present, re-inventing herself and hoping to embrace the capitalist invasion. Hai (the cyclo driver) acts as a bridge between the past and the present, living care-free yet observing the "improvements" of westernization with a silent resentment. Woody, the young peddler, acts as the country's future, naïve, innocent, and easily fooled. Woody's story ends with him playing soccer with his friends in the rain.
Criticisms
Three Seasons has been said to be over-romanticized and unrealistic. Furthermore, some critics argue the film lacks the breadth and substance expected in a drama. On the other hand, the dozens of accolades seem to disagree. Its cinematographyCinematography
Cinematography is the making of lighting and camera choices when recording photographic images for cinema. It is closely related to the art of still photography...
is breathtaking and was singled out for an award. Three Seasons received a standing ovation after its public showing at the Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
.
Advocates of the film point out that the film should be taken as a fable
Fable
A fable is a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, mythical creatures, plants, inanimate objects or forces of nature which are anthropomorphized , and that illustrates a moral lesson , which may at the end be expressed explicitly in a pithy maxim.A fable differs from...
. As foreign as it looks to western viewers, such conditions and worse do exist in Ho Chi Minh City.
Cast
In order of appearance (major characters):- Nguyen Ngoc Hiep - Kien An
- Hoang Phat Trieu - Huy, Teacher Dao's headman
- Don Duong - Hai
- Nguyen Huu Duoc - Woody
- Harvey KeitelHarvey KeitelHarvey Keitel is an American actor. Some of his most notable starring roles were in Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets and Taxi Driver, Ridley Scott's The Duellists and Thelma and Louise, Ettore Scola's That Night in Varennes, Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, Jane Campion's The...
- James Hager - Zoe Bui - Lan
- Tran Manh Cuong - Dao
- Gideon Barnett - Extra asking Woody for chewing gum in Vietnamese dubbed from British accent to American accent
Independent Spirit Awards
- Best Cinematography (2000), won (Lisa Rinzler)
- Best First Feature (2000), nominated
Sundance Film FestivalSundance Film FestivalThe Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
- Audience Award (1999), won
- Cinematography Award (1999), won
- Grand Jury Prize (1999), won
"Three Seasons" was the first in Sundance Film Festival history to ever receive both the Grand Jury Award and Audience Award.