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Green Dragon (2002) 113 minutes (Franchise) Written and Directed by Timothy Linh Bui. Based upon a story by Timothy Linh Bui and Tony Bui. "My dream is going to be bigger than washing windows."  “Welcome
to America, and welcome to Camp Pendleton.” Green Dragon’s opening
line is loaded with the intense emotions of joy, optimism, and opportunity;
and simultaneously lined with feelings of apprehension, fear, and entrapment
– the entire Vietnamese immigrant experience amid the Vietnam War era.
This poignant and personal film by the Bui Brothers was inspired by stories
from their mother, one of the thousands of Vietnamese refugees temporarily
housed on the marine base. It is through these people that we discover
some of the truths and fallacies of the American Dream.
Our first experience of this immigration is through Minh and his sister, two young Vietnamese children, alone amongst the crowds of homeless immigrants, swimming in their one-size-fits-all military-issued jackets. This bleak image cries out for some paternal figure to come and care for them, as the government clearly cannot. As Minh searches each group of new arrivals for his mother, left behind in Vietnam to secure the children’s escape, we identify with the orphaning of these young immigrant children. Minh is befriended by Addie, a cook on the base, whose art bridges their age, language and cultural barriers. Addie’s African-American ethnicity adds a new color to our understanding of the difficulty of immigrating to this so-called land of opportunity. When Minh is confused by a drawing Addie has done of a slave, severely scarred from his master’s whip, Addie tries to explain, “It’s not all like they put it in the Sears and Roebuck catalog.”
We taste other versions of this immigration through Duc, eager to stake his claim in this land of capitalism where everyone is guaranteed at least $2 an hour. Or a young girl without an education or husband, who agreed to marry as the second wife of a wealthy Vietnamese man in order to gain her family’s passage to America. Or the Vietnamese General powerless to deal with the humiliation of defeat and the guilt from escaping his country before the war was truly over. The Bui Brothers weave an intricate and extensive view of the Vietnamese immigration experience that is both emotional and honest. They explore a dream that is possible, but expensive. Tai asks what lies beyond the mountains that border the camp and Sgt. Lance replies, “I don’t know. Maybe someday we’ll go and find out together.” What lies beyond the boundaries? …America! Essay by Garrett
Lambert
|
It
is through Tai, Mihn’s uncle, and his relationship with Sergeant Jim Lance,
the base commanding officer, that the pains of these two nations can be
seen. Lance’s noble desire for his country’s capable military
to help free the Vietnamese people through victory in the war, yet feeling
as though they have failed miserably. And Tai’s struggle with not
only the guilt of leaving his sister, the children’s mother, behind in
Vietnam, but also the fears of losing his community and culture as the
Vietnamese families are shipped out all over this new country.