Cinema: Faraway Place

BOAT PEOPLE Directed by Ann Hui Screenplay by K.C. Chiu

Directors who make movies that are "ripped from today's headlines" must tread a narrow, tortuous path. Pay attention to all the political ambiguities and you risk putting your audience to sleep; turn history into histrionics and you anger everyone with a special interest. It is to the credit of Hong Kong's Ann Hui, the 36-year-old director of Boat People, that she has chosen the latter course. Her film is not a meticulous precis of Vietnamese politics; it is a fast-paced, humanist melodrama...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!