Monsoon (2019)

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Movie
Original title Monsoon
Country of production United Kingdom
original language English , Vietnamese
Publishing year 2019
length 85 minutes
Rod
Director Hong Khaou
script Hong Khaou
production Tracy O'Riordan
camera Benjamin Kračun
cut Mark Towns
occupation

Monsoon is a film drama from Hong Khaou , the end of June 2019 at the International Film Festival Karlovy Vary premiered and is slated for release in the UK on 25 September 2020th

action

Kit was born in Vietnam and grew up in Great Britain as his parents had to flee Ho Chi Minh City during the war. For the first time in 30 years, he is returning to the country of his birth to bring the ashes of his parents back to their homeland. He travels from Saigon to Hanoi and tries to orientate himself in a country he no longer knows, but this is not easy for him, especially since Kit hardly speaks Vietnamese anymore. He needs the help of his distant cousin Lee and falls in love with the American Lewis, whose father fought in this war.

production

Directed by Hong Khaou , who also wrote the script. It is the second feature film by the Cambodian-British director after Lilting . Kit's biography in the film shows parallels with Khaou's own life. Like his family, the director's parents fled Southeast Asia at a young age, in their case from Cambodia. Khaou grew up in Great Britain himself. Nevertheless, he does not see Monsoon as an autobiographical film, even if it is very personal. There is a generation of immigrants like him who grapple with the question of cultural identity, and that's what he wanted to tell with this personal story. He received a scholarship from the Sundance Screenwriters Lab that enabled him to return to Vietnam and Cambodia to do further research.

Henry Golding plays kit

Stylistically, Khaou was very much inspired by Taiwanese filmmakers such as Edward Yang and Hou Hsiao-Hsien . He also referred to Yang's film Yi Yi . So he tried to make the viewer feel like they were on this journey with Kit, sometimes just a few steps behind him. The audience should feel a certain intimacy, but at the same time not always receive all the information.

The British-Malaysian actor Henry Golding stars and plays Kit. Parker Sawyers plays Lewis, an American who Kit meets. David Tran plays his distant cousin Lee.

The first screening will take place at the end of June 2019 at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival . In early October 2019 he was presented at the London Film Festival. Performances at Outfest Los Angeles are planned for the end of August 2020 , where it will be shown as an International Centerpiece. It is slated for release by Peccadillo Pictures in the UK on September 25, 2020. Strand Releasing holds the rights for North America.

reception

Reviews

Sight & Sound's Ben Nicholson writes that Hong Khaou has as much confidence in Henry Golding as he does in Ben Whishaw in his role as Richard in Lilting . The actor is given the stage in the film to do something completely different than in his charming role in Crazy Rich Asians . The camera often lingers on his face while he is watching, and Golding conveys exactly what he thinks in wordless scenes. Benjamin Kračun's camera work catches him in medium and wide-angle shots, emphasizing his position in his surroundings or showing him through windows, a recurring cinematic motif that illustrates the isolation.

Awards (selection)

International Film Festival Karlovy Vary 2019

  • Nomination for Best Picture for the Crystal Globe (Hong Khaou)

Sundance Film Festival 2014

  • Honored with the Mahindra Global Filmmaking Award (Hong Khaou)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Ben Nicholson: Monsoon first look: Hong Khaou's Saigon drama charts undercurrents of migration and mourning. In: bfi.org.uk, August 22, 2020.
  2. ^ A b c Jackson Caines: Glass interviews Hong Khaou about his new film Monsoon. In: The Glass Magazine, October 10, 2019.
  3. ↑ Dino-Ray Ramos: Outfest Los Angeles Sets 'The Obituary of Tunde Johnson', 'Monsoon', 'Two Eyes' And More For Virtual LGBTQ Film Fest. In: deadline.com, August 10, 2020.
  4. ↑ Peccadillo Pictures Announces Theatrical And Digital Release Date For Hong Khaou's 'Monsoon' For September 25. In: thefancarpet.com, July 17, 2020.
  5. ↑ Elsa Keslassy: Henry Golding's 'Monsoon' Sells North American Rights to beach Releasing. In: Variety, April 9, 2020.