Monsoon
- Director: Hong Khaou
- Writer: Hong Khaou
- Producer: Tracy O'Riordan
CGiii Comment
Story-telling takes on many forms, Hong Khaou has his own style and voice...infused with delicacy and, surprisingly, [considering the many themes explored] serenity. Quite easily, Monsoon could have slipped into a melodramatic deluge of emotion...thankfully, it doesn't. Instead, we are given room to think, moments just to watch a process of exploration and self-realisation. This is a carefully constructed mood, a thoughtful sense of being. The three tenses are given a voice...past, present, future...as are the conditionals...what could/should/would have been/be...as for the future...well, that all depends on the here and now...those 'ifs' - this all sounds terribly complex and that is the innate beauty of this film, Hong Khaou manages to demystify the complexity...via a gentle and poised performance by Henry Golding...
Monsoon may [or may not] sweep you away emotionally...but, it will linger...asking - politely - where are you? Where is your place? Where will you end up? Not many filmmakers are bold enough to ask such questions...Hong Khaou does, politely.
A lovely, careful film.
Trailer...
The(ir) Blurb...
Londoner Kit (Henry Golding, Crazy Rich Asians) has come to Vietnam to scatter his mother’s ashes and to connect with the place he departed from as a child. But everything has changed and he finds little to anchor him. That is, until he meets Lewis, a black American living in Saigon whose father served in the war that still underscores many of Kit’s interactions. The opening shot, an intriguing vantage on a busy traffic intersection with no road markings or discernible rules, sets the pace and theme for this gradually enveloping film. With its emphasis on moments of grace (the act of scenting lotus tea, Kit’s tender Skype calls to family), Monsoon builds an atmosphere that will likely resonate with anyone who has felt that unique sense of loneliness at being somewhere they once belonged.
Kate Taylor
Cast & Characters
Henry Golding as Kit
Parker Sawyers as Lewis
David Tran as Lee
Molly Harris as Linh
Edouard Leo as Stephane
Nguyen Myan as Pharmacist
Lâm Vissay as Henry (as Lamou Vissay)