Keep it down, old man.
Let them shoot you in the leg and see how you take it.
That's what you get.
You were really going to kill that old woman today.
Let's hope she keeps her word.
If you had killed her, you would be just like them.
She's probably a communist, too. Just you wait and see.
Have a banana, cry baby.
These plantains make me think of banana desserts.
Fried bananas... or sticky rice and bananas.
Here... Iook at what my son drew.
That's him.
You really think you'll find them?
He drew this in America.
No matter what happens, I have to get this book back to my son.
Let's hope we make it to the boat in time.
Kill the lights, old man.
Take this porridge to Nam.
- Excuse me. - Have some porridge.
Thank you, miss.
Do you think that lamp is bright enough for other boats to see us?
The moon is full.
Let's hope they can see us.
Today is already mid-August.
You're right.
Today is the Moon Festival.
So much has happened, I forgot all about it.
I remember the first time Lai's father helped him light his first festival lantern.
I don't think I'll ever forget these memories.
You can celebrate the Moon Festival anywhere.
But it won't have the same atmosphere.
I know what you mean.
I remember going to the temple,
Giving thanks for the harvest,
- and eating sticky rice. - With hot tea.
That's right. With hot tea.
I wonder if the young ones will miss Vietnam the way we do.
Lai knows that he's leaving his homeland.
But I don't think he will ever understand why we had to leave.
Sleep now, Sun.
Wake up, Lai.
Have some porridge.
Miss Phuong.
Please have some porridge.
Thank you.
What was that?
- What was that? - What just happened?
Get down! Everyone, get down.
- Hurry, Mai. Run away! - Mother!
- I beg you, please. - Spare me, please!
- Mom! - My baby!
Mommy!
My baby! My baby!
- Mai!
Mom!
Let me go!
Go! Run!
Go this way, Sun! Run away! Run!
Mai!
Let her go!
Get off me! Get off!
Hands off!
Mai!
What have I done?
Please, please. I beg you!
I have nothing! Nothing!
Let him go!
Leave him alone!
No!
Sun!
No! I beg of you!
I beg you!
Oh God, no!
Please, God! Don't let them take my daughter!
Don't take her away!
My baby!
Take me! Not her!
Let go! Let go of me!
Let go!
Don't touch me!
Phuong!
Let me go!
Mai!
Phoung!
Phuong!
Mai!
Phuong!
Open this lid! I want my daughter, Hong!
Hong! Hong!
My daughter!
Hong! Give me back my baby girl!
Hong! Hong! Don't leave me!
Long.
Long!
Are you okay, Long?
What do we do now?
You see that rock?
Yes.
We have to make it past that.
It's too rocky.
If you lose your footing, cover your head, and let the current take you out.
- Okay. - Play the odds!
- Play on! - Go!
Find them!
Is this him?
And so it was that the great General Le Lai sacrificed his life to save Le Loi.
As promised, the emperor escaped the mountains alive.
This time, Le Loi would not forget his promise to the great turtle god.
But first, he had a war to finish.
ORANGE COUNTY USA, 1981
Why were you fighting With those boys?
Because they called me a bastard.
Pay no attention to them. You have a father.
Grandma?
How long will father be in prison?
Grandma doesn't know.
Well then, do you think he misses us?
Of course he does.
Every time he receives a letter or sees Your drawings he thinks about you.
Then how come he doesn't write back?
Like grandma said before.
He's not allowed to write letters in prison.
What if we waited all this time, and they never let him out?
Son.
Even if they keep him there forever, will you ever forget about him?
No.
Then he will never forget about you.
Grandma?
Don't tell mom about what happened today okay?
I won't tell,
if you promise to keep our letters a secret.
Okay.
- Promise? - Promise.
Lai!
No shoes in the house!
Mommy.
- I'm here. - Oh?
You're home early tonight.
Today is a holiday, so they let us out early.
What happened here?
Nothing.
What's going on?
Your hair is too long.
I'll take you to get it cut tomorrow.
Don't you have school tomorrow, mom?
I do.
Afterwards, I'll take you.
Sleep, now.
Mom?
Can you leave the light on?
Starting next week, Nam will pick Lai up from school.
I have arranged for Lai to stay with him until he gets off work.
That's not convenient for Nam.
It's better for Lai to have someone look after him.
But I am looking after him.
Have you seen his face?
How can I let you take care of him if you hide things from me?
I didn't want you to worry.
Why not, mother?
I'm his mother. If he's hurt, then of course I should worry.
I don't understand why you keep things from me.
I understand him. You don't understand him!
You're never home!
What I meant to say is...
that you work till very late.
He's still growing.
He needs his father around.
Miss Mai?
Phuong?
Phuong, is it you?
Mai.
Miss Phuong.
Phuong.
I can't believe it's you.
It's been so long since I've had Vietnamese crepes.
I can't find the ingredients here.
I have to buy green beans and grind my own flour.
Mai?
How did you end up in California?
We were sponsored by a Christian Coalition.
Actually... it was Nam who brought us to California.
- Nam, our boat captain? - Yes, that's right.
We were supposed to go to Virginia.
But we were scared Grandma couldn't handle the cold.
Forget it.
California is the best place, you know.
Otherwise I wouldn't have seen you again.
You should thank Buddha.
It makes me so happy to see your bright face.
When we first got to America,
Grandma wanted to become a Buddhist nun.
She believes that it was Buddha that rescued us from the boat.
You should know this by now.
On the boat people prayed to any and every god,
just to stay alive.
Actually...
For us to have survived what happened on the boat,
was surely an act of Buddha.
Why couldn't it have been a stroke of luck?
Because living without faith is just as good as being dead.
I believe that Mai has faith.
You just haven't found it yet, right Mai?
Over here they have an expression.
If you're missing anything, you'll find it at the mall.
Whatever.
What are you laughing at?
You ride the horsey.
- Your mom and I will go shopping. - How nice for you.
How did you manage to adapt to this new life in just one year?
My fourth uncle helped me out a lot.
How long has he been in America?
Since 1974.
He taught me something.
If you want to make a new life for yourself in America,
then you have to abandon all of your past.
According to my uncle,
This is Vietnam.
Crepes are ready!
Oh, that smells so good!
What smells like crepes?
He's got a sharp nose.
What?
Is that you, Phuong?
Hello, Nam.
What’s that?
Hold on a minute.
Hold on. There's more.
Fish sauce.
Where did you get that?
Let's test this out.
This is my favorite song.
Gosh, who would have thought that you were so romantic?
Eat while it's hot, Phuong.
Yes. Thank you, grandma.
"Let's not fool ourselves."
"Speak not of love when we're alone."
"Let's not fool ourselves."
"Who knows where this love will go?"
"Let's just hide our souls,
"and not let hope make drunks of us."
"Let our shoulders touch,
"and know it's just
"...a dream."
Lai, take this plate of vegetables to the table for grandma.
Later, grandma. I'm drawing.
Drawing what?
A picture.
What picture?
- One from a story. - Which story?
From...
I'll show you when I'm done.
That boy...
Hungry?
- Cold? - All day.
- After you. - Chopsticks, please.
Have some ribs.
Let's go, son. You okay?
Who is it?
Time to eat.
Okay. Give me a second.
What are you making?
I'm making turtles, uncle.
Who taught you to make it so nice?
I taught myself.
Let's see what grandma made us for lunch.
Wow! Sauteed catfish.
Your mom said that grandma used to run a rice stand in front of the house.
Yep.
I used to wake up early every morning and watch her cook.
I bet she's a good cook.
Yep.
- Uncle Nam? - What, son?
Do you know a lot about Vietnam?
Of course I do.
Then, do you know about the legend of Le Loi?
What Vietnamese person doesn't know it?
That’s the legend about the lake in Hanoi.
There's really a lake?
Yeah. That's the place where Le Loi...
returned the sword after he became emperor.
That's why the lake is called, "Lake of the Restored Sword."
But I thought Le Loi forgot to return the sword.
Who told you that?
Grandma told me.
That's not how I heard it.
But did grandma tell you how the sword was returned?
No.
Here's how it goes.
This is after Le Loi had driven the Chinese out of Vietnam.
One night as he was crossing the lake,
Suddenly, the sword...
inside the scabbard, started to rattle and shake.
Then it shot. ZIP! Straight into the sky.
At that moment, a giant turtle came up from the water.
It opened its mouth, snatched the sword and dove under.
Wow!
Have you ever been there?
No. Never.
Don't you want to see the sword and the lake?
It's just a story.
Grandma says it's real.
Obviously, your grandma knows more than I do.
All right.
I have to get back to work, now.
Remember to save some of the sauteed fish for me.
- Uncle Nam? - What, son?
Thank you. For this afternoon.
It was nothing.
Should I close the door?
Yes, please.
Watch your feet.
Yep.
Grandma.
What, son?
What do you think about uncle Nam?
Uncle Nam is a good person.
It's thanks to him that we are now in America.
Yep.
I like him, too.
Have you written to your father, yet?
Yes. Let me get it.
No shoes in the house!
That boy is impossible.
Here, grandma.
Is this when Le Lai and Le Loi are trapped in the mountains?
Yes, it is. Do you like it?
I do.
And so will your father when he receives it.
I'll send it tomorrow, okay?
Yep.
Grandma.
What?
Two cans.
One more?
Yep.
Two cans?
Two cans.
Oh, boy.
- Grandma! - Sit down, son.
Lai!
Grandma.
Step up, son.
Phuong, this is too scary.
- Mom, let's race. - No, I'm getting dizzy.
Phuong. Mai. Smile!
Hold on tight for me.
Grandma!
Look up! Look up.
- Phuong, how do I make it stop? - It won't stop for a while.
Sit proper.
- Lai, come out for some photos. - Come out, son.
Grandma.
- Did you have fun? - Sure did.
This way. This way for photos.
- Mai. Phuong. Let's take some photos. - Okay.
Okay. Go this way. That's right.
- You weren't dizzy? - Okay, sit right here.
Grandma sits here. Mai and Phuong sit here.
Yes, that's right.
All righty, then. Let's take some pictures.
Phuong, scoot over. That's right.
Lai, sit up. Everyone look forward.
Mai, it's a photo.
Smile for the camera. One. Two.
One.
Two.
Three!
Mom, mom. Let's go again.
- I've got a headache. - Here, I'll take you.
- We can take more pictures. - Grandma, grandma.
- Let's go play. - Okay, but I'll wait outside.
- Okay, we'll stay here. - Yes, don't go anywhere.
- Oh, boy. My head hurts. - Just rest here for a bit.
I need an aspirin or something.
Hi there. What a cute girl!
Hello, miss.
Excuse me.
But is your name Phuong?
- Do you know this man? - No.
My name is Binh Loc Hoang.
Is your name Phuong Van Le?
Grandpa, let's go.
Give grandpa a minute. He needs to talk to this lady.
Afterwards, I'll take you out to play, okay?
Okay.
The person in the photograph. Is it you?
Where did you get this?
Are you the one in the photo?
My mother took this before I left for Can Tho.
Why do you have it?
Praise Buddha.
That I have found you today, in the name of your father.
I have carried this photograph around for almost two years.
But today, I finally get to meet you face to face.
I was...
I was in the Da Ban re-education camp with your father,
Trai Van Le.
My father was never at Da Ban.
He died at Suoi Mau.
No. No he didn't.
They transferred your father and I, all of us to Da Ban in the night.
Your father had asked me... to find you,
and deliver this photograph.
Your father...
always loved you, and every night,
he would look at this photo, and cry.
Phuong.
You are your father’s only reason for living.
Don't...
don't ever forget that.
My uncle was wrong.
How can I ever accept that America is my homeland,
when my mother and father are still in Vietnam?
I have a past, Mai.
Do you know that... when I was taken that night,
I almost went crazy.
But I thought of my mother.
I thought of my mother, and prayed to my father's spirit
for the strength to endure.
You should write your mother, so that she can visit your father.
I know that he would want to hear from you.
Mai,
if my father was transferred to Da Ban,
Do you think that your husband could also be there?
I thought about that, when I heard the news about your father.
Would you like me to send word along with my mother?
Don't say anything to my mother and Lai.
At least for the time being.
Sure.
I'll wait for you outside.
I need your advice on something.
What is it?
I think Long is still alive.
Why do you think so?
It's a feeling I have.
Have you told Lai and Ba Noi, yet?
That's what I find difficult.
I don't think it’s that difficult.
Ba Noi and Lai need to know about this.
But I have no proof.
I don't want to tell them.
That would be false hope.
My mother passed away when I was only fourteen.
At that time my father was a fisherman.
After she passed away, he lost all his spirit.
What happened to him?
Because he loved her so much,
he lost the will to do anything.
I had one younger brother, and four little sisters.
Suddenly, I had to become both mother and father to them.
How is your father now?
He's been living in his own world,
ever since she died.
You have to find Long.
Why aren't you playing outside?
Did something happen at school?
You like playing with these?
I have something for you.
Wait.
Wait a bit.
Kim Quy has to have a sword.
Let's eat.
Wonder what grandma cooked for us today.
Yum. Pork in coconut juice.
Oh.
You're still home?
What is this?
Why is Lai writing to his father?
I needed to give him hope.
To ease his mind.
By writing to a dead person?
- Long is not dead. - How do you know?
If you don't know, then don't confuse him with hope.
Giving him hope is not a bad thing.
If you knew Long was alive,
wouldn't you tell me?
I need hope to live, too!
Your way of giving hope is harmful to him.
I don't think so.
I would do anything in this world to protect this family.
You're wrong.
You don't know the harm that you're doing to him.
I am his mother.
I cannot let anyone harm him like this.
You are no mother to my grandson.
A stone has more warmth than what you have shown him.
Since the day we were rescued,
you have been nothing but cold to him.
Do you know how his mind is affected having to grow up without his father?
If l knew where my son was,
I would cross jungles and mountains and cut my feet to find him.
I would hand these letters to him myself.
If he is dead,
I would burn these letters at his altar for him.
That is the pain of my womb.
That is a mother’s love, do you understand?
Grandma.
Son.
What’s the matter here?
What's wrong, grandma?
Do you know about this?
He hasn't been in school for the last three days.
Where did he go?
Is this true?
Why didn't you tell grandma?
Lai.
Are you hiding things from me?
I hate you.
Don't shame your mother.
Why not?
Isn't that what you wanted?
It's not her fault.
Then whose is it?
It's your fault.
You're never at home when I need you.
Quiet!
You don't care about me or grandma,
or care if dad is alive or dead.
Enough!
I said that's enough.
Why are you hitting me?
You, yourself said that mom doesn't think about dad.
Ever since we got to America,
you've never asked about or said anything about dad.
All you care about is uncle Nam.
How can you say that?
Uncle Nam has treated us like his own family.
With you,
he has treated you like his own son.
I am not his son.
And he is not my father.
My father is still alive in a prison in Vietnam,
and you act as if he’s dead.
Shut up!
Just shut your mouth!
Do you know what I've been through to be with this family today?
Do you think your mother is still alive?
She's dead already.
Dead already!
I died the day they took your father.
I died again out on that ocean, Lai.
This person you call your mother,
is nothing but a corpse,
living only to take care of you.
But your real mother is already dead, son.
I hope you know.
She's dead, son.
When you were three,
your father had just returned from war,
and you had just finished making your first kite.
Our whole family went out to fly it.
The kite soared real high.
Then we made little paper circles,
that we wrote our wishes on
and attached to the kite string.
We watched as the circles went up into the sky.
But afterwards, something happened.
We were so busy doing our own things,
that we forgot you were still flying the kite.
We didn't notice until we heard your cry.
I didn't know where you were,
or what happened to you.
That waste scariest moment of my life.
I promised myself,
that ifl found you,
I would never, ever let you out of my sight again.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry I haven't been there for you.
But I promise you,
from now on, I will always be there.
Everyone stay calm until I get to you.
Children and the elderly first.
Slowly. Children first.
Injured. Anyone injured?
Careful, we have an injured here.
Careful. She's badly burned.
Please be gentle.
Be very gentle.
Be gentle. She's in a lot of pain.
Bring her up. Bring her up.
Careful! She's really badly burned.
Slowly! Slowly!
Legend has it that Le Loi returned the sword,
but it makes no mention of the emperor's loss,
and of Le Lai's great sacrifice.
Though Le Loi kept his promise,
he realized
Kim Quy's sword belongs in the lake.
As long as the sword returns,
Vietnam will always have hope.
ONE YEAR LATER
By the time you finish, there won't be any wind.
You can't be too careful.
- Oh no, it's falling. - Pull it up, uncle.
- Hurry, uncle. - Hold on. Hold on.
Wait, son.
All right, let's go.
My turn.
Try to keep it steady. It's climbing.
Pull. Pull.
See, uncle? I can do it.
What are you writing, grandma?
Wait a bit.
Peace and
Good health.
Paste it, now.
I'll make another wish.
- Here, mom. - Good. Now I can attach it.
- I want to make a wish. - Oh, here.
Oh, there it goes. Hope it goes high.
Mai, you write one.
I want to write, too.
Can you attach this form?
Oh, this one is going to go really high.
It's going up real high.
Those two wishes went up fast, but my lottery wish took forever.
Isn't it beautiful?