On a gusty evening in Saigon, heavy rain starts to fall. Three boys chatting on the terrace of a bar are interrupted by a sudden thud coming from a nearby street. A crowd gathers in the traffic as the results of a scooter accident unfold. Twenty-something Thiện (Lê Phong Vũ) has to take the body of his sister-in-law, killed in the accident, and her five-year-old son Đào, who miraculously survived the crash, to their hometown in the countryside. Thus begins a journey in which Thiện searches for his older brother who vanished years ago, and searches within for himself. Winner of the prestigious Caméra d’Or for Best First Film at Cannes this year, Vietnamese director Phạm Thiên Ân traces a family’s labyrinthine spiritual quest triggered by a road accident. We slip into the gentle rhythms of withdrawal and return – to spirituality, to oneself, and to a country’s past of war and colonisation.

Official Competition, Director’s Fortnight Cannes International Film Festival 2023.

Age rec. 15+

Notes by Marie-Pierre Richard, Programmer/Curator, East Asia Film Festival Ireland & EAFFI Discoveries