Buffalo Boy
Directed by Minh Nguyen-Vo
USA 2005. Vietnamese.
A teenager coming of age in Vietnam in the '40s is faced with new challenges and troubling news as he asserts his independence in this drama. Kim (Le The Lu) is a 15-year-old living in a rural area where a six-month rainy season causes frequent flooding, threatening the lives of the water buffalo which are crucial to the livelihood of the farmers. Eager to prove himself, Kim is given the important task of leading two buffalo to higher ground by his father Dinh (Nguyen Huu Thanh), but the flooding proves to be more than Kim counted on, and he returns with the news that one of the animals died during the journey. After an angry confrontation with Dinh, Kim strikes out on his own and goes to work for a farmer named Det (Kra Zan Sram), while striking up a friendship with Ban (Nguyen Thi Kieu Trihn), a woman who works with Det. Kim and Dinh resolve their differences shortly before Dinh's passing, but now Kim must deal with the responsibilities of burying his father and the startling revelation that his mother is not who he believed she was.
Minh Nguyen Vo – Director
Minh Nguyen Vo studied engineering in France and applied physics at UCLA. He received his cinema diploma through UCLA extension. After producing a short film and a documentary, Minh Nguyen Vo co-wrote and directed the coming-of-age film “Buffalo Boy”. Entirely shot in Vietnam, the movie follows the passage of Kim, a 15-year old boy in charge of herding two buffaloes, into adulthood where he encounters the world of violence, alcohol, betrayal and death.
Awards and Festivals
The movie won numerous international awards, including Special Prize from the Young Jury (Locarno International Film Festival), New Directors Silver Hugo Award (Chicago International Film Festival), Licorne d'or (Golden Unicorn, Grand Prix – Amiens International Film Festival, France), and Premier Special Jury Award (Amazonas International Film Festival, Brazil). |
