Green Dragon (film)

Green Dragon is a 2001 American drama film directed by Timothy Linh Bui and starring Patrick Swayze, Forest Whitaker and Duong Don.^[1]

Green Dragon
DVD cover
Directed by	Timothy Linh Bui
Written by	Timothy Linh Bui Tony Bui
Produced by	Tony Bui Tajamika Paxton Elie Samaha Andrew Stevens
Starring	Patrick Swayze Forest Whitaker Don Duong Hiep Thi Le Billinjer C. Tran Trung Nguyen Kieu Chinh
Cinematography	Kramer Morgenthau
Edited by	Leo Trombetta
Music by	Jeff Danna Mychael Danna
Production company	Franchise Pictures Classics
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date	January 19, 2001 (2001-01-19)
Running time	115 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Plot

The film follows the experience of Vietnamese refugees in the United States immediately following the Fall of Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War. Tai Tran (Duong) has been appointed the camp translator by Gunnery Sgt. Jim Lance (Swayze). He has arrived with his sister's two young children. Their mother is believed to have been lost in the rush to leave Vietnam.

Despite the despair of leaving Vietnam and having to live in an unfamiliar United States, many of the occupants make adjustments. Minh (Nguyen) is silent and solitary until he meets Addie (Whitaker), the camp's cook. They embark on a friendship to the point where Minh is drawn out of his shell. Meanwhile, Tai and his friend Duc (Tran) find themselves enamored with two female refugees. Tai falls for Thuy Hoa, the daughter of a discredited Vietnamese general. Duc falls back in love with a former girlfriend from Vietnam (Luong) who is an unhappily married second wife.

Cast

There were open casting calls for actors and actresses in Orange County, California and San Jose, California.

Don Duong had been cast in Tony Bui's 1999 acclaimed film Three Seasons as Hai. Impressed by his work in the film, Timothy Bui asked him to play Tai.

Initially, Bui did not want Patrick Swayze for the role of Jim Lance due to fears that his big name would overshadow the story and message of the small film. However, upon meeting Swayze he changed his mind, as Swayze related to Bui his complete understanding of the film.

• Patrick Swayze as Gunnery Sergeant Jim Lance^[2][3]
• Forest Whitaker as Addie
• Don Duong as Tai Tran
• Hiep Thi Le as Thuy Hoa
• Billinjer C. Tran as Duc
• Kathleen Luong as Second Wife
• Kieu Chinh as Kieu
• Trung Nguyen as Minh

Production

The story was written by Bui's younger brother Tony Bui. Both of the brothers came to the United States with their family in 1975, as refugees from Vietnam.^[4]

The setting of the film is Camp Pendleton in Southern California, where the movie was also filmed.^[5]

Release

Green Dragon held its premiere on January 19, 2001 at the Sundance Film Festival where it was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize.

Reception

The film received primarily positive reviews although many contended that the film was so sentimental that details were lost. In The New York Times, film critic Dave Kehr wrote that the film was, "not a pernicious film, but simply one that tugs too tenaciously at the heartstrings."^[6] Variety praised the actors, "Swayze and Whitaker are effective without especially stretching their acting range, while Duong, who co-starred with Harvey Keitel in "Three Seasons," brings solemn understatement and warmth that serve his role well." However, they criticized the film for its director who "zeros in too unrelentingly on the innocent faces of the two children, the development of the Addie/Minh bond feels calculatedly heartwarming and dialogue too often sounds agenda-driven."^[7]

Accolades

Award	Year	Category	Recipient(s)	Result	Ref.
Austin Film Festival	2001	Best Advance Screening	Tony Bui & Timothy Linh Bui	Won	^[8]
Humanitas Prize	2001	Best Independent Feature Film		Won	^[9]
Political Film Society	2003	PFS Award for Exposé	Green Dragon	Nominated	^[10]
Sundance Film Festival	2001	Grand Jury Prize for Best Dramatic Film	Timothy Linh Bui	Nominated	^[11]
Young Artist Award	2003	Best Performance in Film By a Young Actor Age Ten & Under	Trung Hieu Nguyen	Nominated	^[12]

References

1. Gonzalez, Ed (May 15, 2002). "Review: Green Dragon". Slant Magazine. from the original on January 4, 2024. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
2. "Green Dragon (2001)". The A.V. Club. from the original on January 4, 2024. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
3. "Green Dragon - Full Cast & Crew". TV Guide. from the original on January 4, 2024. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
4. "Green Dragon". Rotten Tomatoes. from the original on January 4, 2024. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
5. Curiel, Jonathan (July 5, 2002). "Longing for freedom / 'Green Dragon' shows lives of Vietnamese refugees in U.S." SFGate. from the original on April 13, 2023. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
6. Kehr, Dave (July 19, 2002). "FILM REVIEW; Sustaining Asian Roots in American Soil". The New York Times. from the original on January 4, 2024. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
7. Rooney, David (January 22, 2001). "Green Dragon". Variety. from the original on January 4, 2024. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
8. "2001 Winners". Austin Film Festival. from the original on January 4, 2024. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
9. Brownfield, Paul (June 29, 2001). "'Count on Me,' 'Wit' Take Humanitas Writing Honors". Los Angeles Times. from the original on January 4, 2024. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
   . Humanitas Prize. Archived from the original on January 4, 2024. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
10. . Political Film Society. Archived from the original on January 14, 2010. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
11. "2001 Sundance Film Festival – Grand Jury Prize – Dramatic Winner and Nominees". Awards Archive. April 18, 2020. from the original on January 4, 2024. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
    IndieWire (January 28, 2001). "PARK CITY 2001 NEWS: Sundance 2001 Winners". IndieWire. from the original on January 4, 2024. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
12. . Young Artist Award. Archived from the original on December 4, 2016. Retrieved January 4, 2024.

External links

• Green Dragon at IMDb  
• Green Dragon at Rotten Tomatoes