Green Dragon (2001)

Green Dragon: Directed by Timothy Linh Bui. With Patrick Swayze, Forest Whitaker, Duong Don, Hiep Thi Le. The story of some Vietnamese refugees as they first arrive at Camp Pendleton in the United States as the Vietnam War ends in 1975.

“Along Southern Californiau0026#39;s coast, midway between Los Angeles and San Diego, sprawls Camp Pendelton, home to about 50,000 U.S. Marines. Less than an houru0026#39;s drive to the north, not far from Disneyland, is a Vietnamese enclave of about 200,000 without political boundaries which the road signs call u0026quot;Little Saigonu0026quot;. u0026quot;Green Dragonu0026quot; peers into the lives of a handful of Vietnamese who, in 1975 during the fall of Saigon, occupied a refugee camp at Camp Pendelton and went on to be assimilated into American society and establish communities such as u0026quot;Little Saigonu0026quot;.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003ePart history lesson and part drama, u0026quot;Green Dragonu0026quot; is sensitive look at a people in flux agonizing over their expatriation and fragmentation while coming to grips with an uncertain future. The film is a somewhat uneven and austere hodgepodge with the look of a low budget indie. However, what it lacks in embellishments it makes up for in nobility of purpose and should be appreciated by those with a special interest in the time and the people involved. (C)”