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Monsoon (2019 film)

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Monsoon
Official poster
Directed byHong Khaou
Written byHong Khaou
Produced byTracy O'Riordan
Starring
CinematographyBenjamin Kracun
Edited byMark Towns
Music byJohn Cummings
Production
companies
Distributed byPeccadillo Pictures
Release dates
  • 29 June 2019 (2019-06-29) (KVIFF)
  • 25 September 2020 (2020-09-25) (United Kingdom)
Running time
100 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
Languages
  • English
  • Vietnamese
Box office$190,152[1]

Monsoon is a 2019 British drama film, written and directed by Hong Khaou and produced by Tracy O'Riordan. It stars Henry Golding, Parker Sawyers, David Tran and Molly Harris.

Monsoon had its world premiere at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival on 29 June 2019. It was released in the United Kingdom on 25 September 2020, by Peccadillo Pictures.

Synopsis

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Kit (Henry Golding), a young British Vietnamese man, returns to his birth country for the first time in over 30 years. He was just six years old when he and his family escaped Saigon as 'boat refugees' after the Vietnam War. No longer familiar with this country and unable to speak his native language, Kit embarks on a personal journey from Saigon to Hanoi in search of a place to scatter his parents’ ashes. Along the way he reconnects with his cousin and childhood friend Lee (David Tran) and falls for Lewis (Parker Sawyers), an American whose father had fought in the war.

During his travels, Kit finally starts to connect to the memories of his parents and his own roots.

Cast

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Production

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Monsoon was awarded the Sundance Institute/ Mahindra Global Filmmaking Award in 2014.[2] The feature was also among the BFI's top ten Film Fund recipients, receiving £800,000.[3]

In March 2018, it was announced Henry Golding had joined the cast of the film, with Hong Khaou directing from a screenplay he wrote. Tracy O'Riordan would serve as a producer on the film, with BBC Films and British Film Institute producing.[4]

When director Hong Khaou's Lilting played at Sundance Film Festival, the Sundance Screenwriter's Lab suggested Khaou pitch them an idea for his next project. In the four years that followed, with the support of the BFI and BBC Films, the film underwent "various incarnations" according to Khaou. As an example, the character of Lewis, an African American in the finished film, started out as Hank, a white American. Khaou stated that the change was made because executives and financiers believed that "the Hank character’s voice – the dominant white American, in terms of the subtext of the war – had been heard before."[5]

Release

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Monsoon had its world premiere at the 54th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in competition on 29 June 2019.[6][7] In April 2020, Strand Releasing acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film.[8] It was released in the United Kingdom on 25 September 2020,[9] and in the United States on 13 November 2020.[10]

Critical reception

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Monsoon has received very positive reviews from critics out of Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 87% of 61 film critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 7.1/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Monsoon sees writer-director Hong Khaou offering a thoughtful look at the emigrant experience, brought beautifully to life by Henry Golding's stellar performance."[11]

Demetrios Matheou, in his review for Screen Daily, said that "it’s a touching, thoughtful and gorgeously shot piece of work, which both examines its protagonist’s experience of displacement and tenderly evokes a country moving energetically forwards while some are still tied painfully to the past."[12] Jessica Kiang, in her review for Variety, called it "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".[13] Giving the film a 'B−' score, Gregory Ellwood writing for The Playlist said "for a naturalistically told story about a man finding his place in the world, slightly more emotion wouldn’t have necessarily been a bad thing".[14] Boyd van Hoeij of The Hollywood Reporter praised the film, calling it "an intimate drama of surprising depth".[15] At Film London's new-look London Screenings, which took place at Picturehouse Central in London's West End from June 24–27, Monsoon was described by one distributor in London as “absolutely charming”.[16]

Monsoon was nominated for the 2021 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Film (Limited Release).[17]

References

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  1. ^ "Monsoon". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  2. ^ "World Premiere of Monsoon at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival". United Agents. 29 June 2019. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  3. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (21 December 2018). "The BFI's Ten Biggest Production Awards Of 2018: New Movies With Keira Knightley, Henry Golding & Liam Neeson". Deadline. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  4. ^ Ford, Rebecca (7 March 2018). "'Crazy Rich Asians' Actor Henry Golding to Star in 'Monsoon' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  5. ^ Barraclough, Leo (28 June 2019). "Crazy Rich Asians' Star Henry Golding Plunges into Modern Vietnam in 'Monsoon". Variety. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  6. ^ "Monsoon". Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  7. ^ Holdsworth, Nick (28 May 2019). "Karlovy Vary Film Festival Reveals 2019 Lineup". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  8. ^ Keslassy, Elsa (9 April 2020). "Henry Golding's 'Monsoon' Sells North American Rights to Strand Releasing (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  9. ^ "Peccadillo Pictures Announces Theatrical And Digital Release Date For Hong Khaou's MONSOON For September 25". The Fan Carpet. 17 July 2020. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  10. ^ "Monsoon". Strand Releasing. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  11. ^ "Monsoon (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  12. ^ Matheou, Demetrios (30 June 2019). "Monsoon: Karlovy Vary Review". Screen Daily. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  13. ^ Kiang, Jessica (30 June 2019). "Karlovy Vary Film Review: Monsoon". Variety. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  14. ^ Ellwood, Gregory (30 June 2019). "Henry Golding Finds Himself A Stranger In A Modern Vietnam In Monsoon [Review]". The Playlist. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  15. ^ van Hoeij, Boyd (2 July 2019). "Monsoon: Film Review Karlovy Vary 2019". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  16. ^ Macnab, Geoffrey (2 July 2019). "International attendees give their verdict on London Screenings 2019". Screen Daily. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  17. ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (28 January 2021). "GLAAD Unveils Nominees For 32nd Annual GLAAD Media Awards; Deadline's New Hollywood Podcast Honored With Special Recognition Award". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
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