Monsoon

Name: Monsoon
Genre: Drama, Romance
Released: November 13, 2020
Duration: 85 min
Rating: 69
Cast: David Tran, Edouard Leo, Henry Golding, Ho Nhi, Lam Anh Dao

2020

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Generally favorable reviews based on 14 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 4 Ratings

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6.8

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6.8	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 4 Ratings

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Monsoon

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Movie Details & Credits

Strand Releasing | Release Date: November 13, 2020 | Not Rated

Starring: David Tran, Edouard Leo, Henry Golding, Ho Nhi, Lam Anh Dao, Lâm Vissay, Molly Harris, Nguyen Myan, Olivia Hearn, Parker Sawyers, Phan Bao Ngoc, Võ Liên, William Do

Summary: Kit (Henry Golding) returns to Ho Chi Minh City for the first time since he was six years old when his family fled the country in the aftermath of the Vietnam-American war. There he meets Lee, his estranged second cousin, Linh, a young Vietnamese student, and arranges an online date that turns into something more with Lewis (ParkerKit (Henry Golding) returns to Ho Chi Minh City for the first time since he was six years old when his family fled the country in the aftermath of the Vietnam-American war. There he meets Lee, his estranged second cousin, Linh, a young Vietnamese student, and arranges an online date that turns into something more with Lewis (Parker Sawyers), an American clothing designer. Struggling to make sense of himself in a city he’s no longer familiar with, he embarks on a personal journey across the country that opens up the possibility for friendship, love and happiness.… Expand

Director: Hong Khaou

Genre(s): Drama, Romance

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 85 min

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Critic Reviews

Mary Sollosi

Nov 14, 2020

The specificity with which Khaou portrays this beautiful place, evolving beyond its traumatic history but never forgetting it entirely, is what makes Monsoon so piercing. Read full review

IndieWire Ryan Lattanzio

Nov 11, 2020

This is a gentle and joyous film not to be slept on, even as its low-key aura lulls you into a soothed state of mind. Read full review

Boyd van Hoeij

Nov 11, 2020

As he did in Lilting, Khaou in Monsoon finely sketches the complex inner lives and identities of a small group of characters and plugs them into a narrative that unfolds gradually but precisely, so audiences have the time to consider the work's larger thematic concerns. Read full review

Jessica Kiang

Nov 11, 2020

Monsoon is a graceful and truthfully irresolute investigation into the strange, often poignantly unreciprocated relationship that many first- and second-generation emigrants have with the far-off foreign country of the past. Read full review

Carlos Aguilar

Nov 13, 2020

Laden with bittersweet sentiment, the film packs a muted but lasting emotional wallop. Read full review

Demetrios Matheou

Nov 11, 2020

The journey is definitely worth making, as both people and places lead Kit slowly towards some sort of rapprochement with his identity. Read full review

David Lewis

Nov 11, 2020

Monsoon, an offbeat story about a man’s cultural dislocation in Vietnam, is more of a slow drip than a torrential downpour. It’s a lovely film that suddenly and magically can wash over you, then lose you in its opacities. Read full review

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Brent_Marchant

Nov 24, 2020

This oh-so-subtle examination of a Vietnamese refugee's return to his homeland after 30 years in London languishes in such painful understatement that it's nearly impossible to decipher what director Hong Khaou was going for. Is it a discourse on the life of a man without a country, cultureThis oh-so-subtle examination of a Vietnamese refugee's return to his homeland after 30 years in London languishes in such painful understatement that it's nearly impossible to decipher what director Hong Khaou was going for. Is it a discourse on the life of a man without a country, culture or legacy? A travelogue on how much modern-day Vietnam has changed since the days of the war? An attempt to reconnect with family on home turf despite, oddly enough, having spent a life with them overseas? An on-again/off-again interracial, international gay love story about a romance that's startlingly open in a country often criticized for its pervasive homophobia? Elements of all of these story threads are included but with seemingly no glue or direction to bind them, resulting in a narrative that's more often confounding than enlightening. Whatever the point was supposed to be here, it's camouflaged under heaps of gorgeous cinematography, long lingering shots of pensive emoting and trivial incidentals that add precious little to the story. What's more, for a film titled "Monsoon," there are no literal or metaphorical deluges that permit the finished product to live up to its namesake.… Expand

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