Blue Bayou

Name: Blue Bayou
Genre: Drama
Released: September 17, 2021
Duration: 119 min
Rating: 58
Cast: Alicia Vikander, Emory Cohen, Geraldine Singer, Jim Gleason, Justin Chon

2021

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 28 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 23 Ratings

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6.9

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6.9	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 23 Ratings

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Movie Details & Credits

Focus Features | Release Date: September 17, 2021 | R

Starring: Alicia Vikander, Emory Cohen, Geraldine Singer, Jim Gleason, Justin Chon, Linh Dan Pham, Mark O'Brien, Martin Bats Bradford, Renell Gibbs, Sydney Kowalske, Sylvia Grace Crim, Tracy Brotherton

Summary: Antonio LeBlanc (Justin Chon), a Korean adoptee raised in a small town in the Louisiana bayou, is married to the love of his life Kathy (Alicia Vikander) and step-dad to their beloved daughter Jessie. Struggling to make a better life for his family, he must confront the ghosts of his past when he discovers that he could be deported from theAntonio LeBlanc (Justin Chon), a Korean adoptee raised in a small town in the Louisiana bayou, is married to the love of his life Kathy (Alicia Vikander) and step-dad to their beloved daughter Jessie. Struggling to make a better life for his family, he must confront the ghosts of his past when he discovers that he could be deported from the only country he has ever called home.… Expand

Director: Justin Chon

Genre(s): Drama

Rating: R

Runtime: 119 min

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Critic Reviews

Tara Bennett

Sep 17, 2021

Blue Bayou works as both an emotionally insightful character piece about a man looking for where he belongs, and as a brutal exposé of the lesser-known broken parts of our immigration system. Read full review

The Playlist Iana Murray

Jul 16, 2021

What Blue Bayou does wonderfully in these quiet moments is illustrate that being Asian is not a one-size-fits-all identity but a vast tapestry of different cultures. Read full review

Alan Ng

Sep 20, 2021

Good movies make you feel, even if that feeling is not good. Chon ensures you’ll have feelings at the end of Blue Bayou, just not the happy ones. Read full review

David Rooney

Jul 16, 2021

There’s enormous heart behind Justin Chon’s drama, and wrenching performances full of feeling from the writer-director and his co-star Alicia Vikander. But those strengths don’t obscure the problems of an overdetermined screenplay, with too many plot points competing for focus and too many moments of strained melodrama. Read full review

Empire Pamela Hutchinson

Dec 3, 2021

Multi-hyphenate Justin Chon has crafted an impressive melodrama, rich in Louisiana atmosphere and with a timely message, but Blue Bayou is marred by its reliance on symbolism and sentiment. Read full review

Liam Lacey

Sep 16, 2021

The praise for the film — a one-man show by a Korean-American filmmaker at a time of heightened anti-Asian racism and a focus on unjust immigration policies — is understandable. But the film itself is a disappointment, a message film that relies far too much on artless, melodramatic contrivances for its emotional impact. Read full review

Vikram Murthi

Sep 15, 2021

Blue Bayou is designed to jerk tears out of a plainly tragic scenario, but all it does is expose the strings behind the puppets and the set. In the film’s failures, we can see the limits of good intentions: It doesn’t matter if a heart is in the right place if the mind isn’t too. Read full review

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User Reviews

stanlainehardy

Feb 25, 2022

This film is absolutely amazing. One of the best movies I watched this year. Give it a go, you won't regret it.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

robomartion

Jan 18, 2022

This is a very emotionally moving film with a well thought out script that brings together people of all backgrounds and sheds light on the injustice facing adopted immigrants in the USA. A few points are lost for Alicia Vikkander's inconsistent accents (why not just cast an actual FloridianThis is a very emotionally moving film with a well thought out script that brings together people of all backgrounds and sheds light on the injustice facing adopted immigrants in the USA. A few points are lost for Alicia Vikkander's inconsistent accents (why not just cast an actual Floridian or at least American) although she does do a great job being vulnerable, and the at-times terrible camera work is blurry overblown, with flecks on the lens thanks to the new old trend of using film stock (just use a digital camera for crying out loud). Sydney Kowalske (the little girl) does an outstanding job and in some ways really carries the movie, though, Justin Chon is equally convincing and surprised me even more so when I found that he had written, acted and directed the movie. The way the movie ties together the bayou (swamp) with the character's history is very well done. If I didn't know better I would have thought the movie had been made by someone who had really gone through this ordeal. I am aware of the controversy surrounding the film, I think he should have involved Adam Crapser as the actor of the movie or at least in the writing or as an executive producer. But perhaps Chon did not trust anyone else in aligning with his vision. The music is very moving and all-in-all the movie will bring you tears and make you wish the world wasn't so unfair and stupid.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

aurora1

May 27, 2022

Justin Chon did a great job at presenting the drama of thousands of children who aren't granted citizenship despite being adopted by American families, and because of that facing deportation. This is an aspect of being an illegal immigrant in Usa that is rarely told. If we want to find aJustin Chon did a great job at presenting the drama of thousands of children who aren't granted citizenship despite being adopted by American families, and because of that facing deportation. This is an aspect of being an illegal immigrant in Usa that is rarely told. If we want to find a fault, the movie is sometimes too heavy on melodrama, but this doesn't ruin the overall project, which is blessed with dignity. The call for boycott is absolutely ridiculous: this movie should have won an Oscar, not been boycotted! A special praise to the little Sydney Kowalske for her excellent acting, a crescendo of nuances up to the heart-wrecking ending scene.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

MarkTakayama

Feb 6, 2022

I love New Orleans. The bayou was so beautiful. I didn't know many people were deported. It was very informative.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Brent_Marchant

Jul 5, 2022

When a loophole in an official policy results in an inherently unfair practice, attention must be placed on it to make the public aware of this legitimized slight, especially when it amounts to an agenda-driven act of injustice. Such is the case for a US government immigration practice thatWhen a loophole in an official policy results in an inherently unfair practice, attention must be placed on it to make the public aware of this legitimized slight, especially when it amounts to an agenda-driven act of injustice. Such is the case for a US government immigration practice that allows legally adopted children from overseas to be deported many, many years after the fact, an issue documented in writer-actor-director Justin Chon’s 2021 drama, which is now making the rounds on cable TV and streaming services. Told through the eyes of a 33-year-old Korean adult who was adopted by American parents as a child, the film follows his odyssey when faced with a seemingly absurd but legally sanctioned deportation order after 30 years in the US, potentially forcing him to leave behind his wife, stepdaughter and expectant child, all of them citizens. While the film has more than its share of legitimate heart-tugging moments, the narrative nevertheless feels somewhat overstuffed with subplots, underdeveloped character motivations and somewhat incomplete back stories. These shortcomings are compensated for somewhat by fine performances and gorgeous cinematography, but the balance of assets and drawbacks doesn’t quite even out to enable the picture live up to the brilliance it’s striving for. Ultimately, the core message of this story merits justified attention, but it’s unfortunate that it doesn’t quite receive the treatment it genuinely deserves to make that happen.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

JLuis_001

Oct 18, 2021

Blue Bayou is a film that walks between a very fine line that separates a narrative overload with sentimental manipulation, and this is because the subject lends itself to it, but at least the director and also protagonist, manages to keep his story as a fairly firm critique of the USBlue Bayou is a film that walks between a very fine line that separates a narrative overload with sentimental manipulation, and this is because the subject lends itself to it, but at least the director and also protagonist, manages to keep his story as a fairly firm critique of the US immigration system.

The message is important of course, but perhaps a more frank direction would've created more resonance.
I read some professional reviews that said the director could've used more subtlety, but the subject that he addresses doesn't need it.
You can't sugarcoat a theme like this one.

Alicia Vikander is excellent, and her work here deserves more attention. While Justin Chon shows that his career has improved a lot, especially for those who only know about him because of his diminutive participation in The Twilight Saga, and 21 & Over.

Give it a chance. It's not spectacular or anything like that, but it's far from being a bad movie.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

JojoSarang

Sep 20, 2021

Wtf did I watch?! First off stop lying with these rates secondly none can act and Justin wtf it sounds like you are humiliating people from the south. Making fun of them or what?! Seriously the terrible accent is disgustingly disturbing! That’s not how they sound bro! And who are theseWtf did I watch?! First off stop lying with these rates secondly none can act and Justin wtf it sounds like you are humiliating people from the south. Making fun of them or what?! Seriously the terrible accent is disgustingly disturbing! That’s not how they sound bro! And who are these other ones? Sorry not sorry Justin you and your fake actors this movie was pointless. Oh a tearjerker?! Ok put anyone in that scenario yup y’all make viewers cry. But what they really crying at is the bad acting, the horrible horrible accents, the scenes of Justin trying to act all tough seriously please stop. This is a waste of time and money! This movie doesn’t even deserve a one star! Get it together people!… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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