Mùa len trâu

Set in Southern Vietnam in the 1940's, Buffalo Boy is an elegant film that highlights the struggles of living in always flooded, rural Vietnam. Kim, a teenage boy, lives with his impoverished parents, but is religious, extremely kind and well-meaning. His life is changed forever one flood season when he is forced to learn the buffalo herding profession to protect his families' well being. Soon thereafter, the poverty his family lives in becomes too much to handle and his parents move away. Kim is then left to fend for himself and choose his livelihood. Throughout this film we watch Kim grow and assume many characteristics of the corrupt people he's working with, such as treating women more poorly. We see this theme of the internal struggle between his new way of life and his old morals throughout the story. Distributed by Global Lens Initiative and directed by Nguyen Vo Nghiem Minh, this artistic display of Vietnam poverty is perfect for anyone interested in the history of Southeast Asia or someone who just wants to know more about the area. Although the story can be slow developing, the lessons it teaches about Vietnamese culture at this time are valuable and the graceful nature of the film is undeniable. The film was also Vietnam's entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 78th Academy Awards.

Lyrical, beautifully filmed story of the difficult lives of poor rice farmers in the Mekong Delta flood plain in the years immediately preceding the Japanese occupation of WW II. Kim (The Lu Le) is a young man who must take on extra responsibilities when his father grows too ill to work.

The immediate problem is getting the family's two water buffalo to higher ground so they will have grass to eat, as the entire area surrounding their farm is experiencing one of the worst flood seasons in years and the animals are at risk for starving to death. Kim throws in with the notorious Lap and his "gang" – buffalo herders who move many animals each year for all the farmers in the area, for a hefty fee.

The film features buffalo drives, gang rivalries and warfare, drunken, cannabis laced parties, raped women, love, honor and duty to one's family. But the most vivid theme depicted here is the very hard life lived by people entirely at the mercy of the river.

Many important themes are expressed with subtlety, lightly touched upon. For example, we see evidence of the admixture of Catholicism and Buddhism, when one character or another makes simple reference to "God and Buddha" in everyday conversation. The heavy hand of the French colonizers is discerned just once, when a boatload of armed, uniformed officers comes around to check on tax matters. As Kim digs a grave for an old woman, we see in the background a procession of men pass by. Those in the front and rear wear caps with sun protective cloth at the back: the classic caps of Japanese soldiers. The others are French. It's the only reference to the occupation.

We gain insight into problems unique to this culture. We learn of the precious value of the water buffalo, without which spring tilling for rice cannot be accomplished. The problem of disposing properly of bodies of the dead during flood season is confronted at length. We get a sense of the pervasiveness and power of the delta floods through underwater scenes that show us vague forms of dead humans and swimming water buffalo, among other sights.

The music is sporadic and spare, hauntingly gorgeous. Flute playing and group singing by intoxicated gang members are delightful surprises. This film is part of the Global Lens 2005 series. It deserves far wider screening. (In Vietnamese) Grade: 8.5/10 (A-). (Seen on 04/14/05). If you'd like to read more of my reviews, send me a message for directions to my websites.

A film of quiet power, beautifully shot and well-acted.

The deceptively simple story takes place during the French Occupation of Vietnam, shortly before the beginning of World War II.

Kim, the 15-year old son of impoverished Vietnamese rice farmers, must take the family's two starving buffaloes on a river journey to an area where there is still grass for them to eat.

Despite the tiny budget, the execution of the film is lyrical but realistic. It's hard to believe that this is the director's first film.

The images lingered in my mind long after the film ended. Hope to see more from this director.

A beautiful yet poignant narrative of mans paradoxical existence in relation to each other and the honest forces of nature, i.e., the duality of man as virtuous parasites. The themes of life and death are juxtaposed into a realization of powers greater than our own opinions or ethos. Director Nguyen Vo Nghiem Minh successfully enlightens of the psyche of fatalistic and enduring Vietnamese people. "Mua Len Trau" needs to be placed in the top 10 best Vietnamese directed full features of all times, or at least trading-places with less then average film fest winners like "Ba Mua"; where the cinematography fools the viewer into accepting an inexplicable story.

When I saw this film at the Palm Springs Film Festival I was prepared for a nice slice-of-life movie about a time and place I would never visit in any other way. This stunningly beautiful film delivers that and so much more. Set in Vietnam during the occupation by the French in the 1930's Bufalo Boy tells the story of a teenage boy who becomes a man when he leads his family's only hope for survival, two water buffalo, out of their flooded homeland to forage on higher ground. With this debut, the director combines riveting action/adventure, poignant relationships, powerful performances and excellent photography. He immerses us in a way of life that requires more courage in order to survive one day than most of us will have to summon in a life-time. Like a character with a starring role, the water is always there, always changing, always influencing the lives of those who depend on it to nurture them and fight with it to keep it from destroying them. Out soon in DVD but well worth the effort to see it on a large screen if you can.