Boat People (1982) - Ann Hui

Ann Hui's Boat People is a harrowing melodrama that follows the plight of Vietnamese peasants shortly after the fall of Saigon.  Centered around Shiomi Skutagawa, a Japanese photojournalist who arrives to document Vietnam's attempts of rebuilding after the war, Boat People delivers a powerful document of the strain post war life has on the less privledged, revealing the horrors which faced the people living in the port of Danang, many of which were forced into labour camps that were hidden by the government with the fancy title 'new economic zones'.  This is my first film from the celebrated Chinese filmmaker, Ann Hui, and what jumped out to me right away is the humanistic quality to her filmmaking.  Hui delivers a poetic message about people and circumstances, with Boat People exposing how people are typically forced into tough situations with little control of their surroundings.  Fatalism is a major aspect of Boat People in that regard, as the plight of many of the characters Shiomi Skutagawa meets along the way feel predetermined, stuck under the crushing regime of postwar Vietnam.  The main protagonist being a photographer is no coincidence either, with Hui using this character to make statement about how our perspective of events is routinely framed by photographers, offering only a small piece which may not fully encapsulate the full picture.  When Skutagama first arrives he is chaperoned by government officials, who only show happy, healthy children living at peace in quaint villages.  It's only when he manages to get permission to set off alone without a chaperon that he discovers the true horror lying beneath the surface.  Hui's directorial style, at least in Boat People, is naturalistic with stylistic flourishes, giving the film a documentary-type feel while using well-crafted camera movements to exemplify certain sequences, typically to trigger an emotional response.  The characters in Boat people have had their fate sealed by their terrible circumstances, and it should certainly be noted that Boat People is a film that never holds back, offering a few downright brutal sequences at times.  Featuring a final sequence that sees Skutagama break the chain of fatalism, sacrificing himself in the process, Boat People is a heartbreaking film about our own lack of control at times, offering a glimmer of hope in the end with Skutagama's selfless act.  

---