Three Seasons

1999

Three Seasons (1999)

TOMATOMETER

78%
83%

Critic Consensus: No consensus yet.

AUDIENCE SCORE

89%

Want to See

Not Interested

Add Rating
My Rating    

Three Seasons Photos

View All Photos

Movie Info

With sweeping directorial vision and a powerful poetic narrative, Tony Bui has created an enormously impressive feature debut about the "new" Vietnam. Weaving three stories (really four) into a striking pictorial tapestry, Three Seasons contrasts the traditional to the modern in a nation in the chaotic throes of transition. We meet four ordinary people living almost as strangers in their own land: a young girl hired to aid a reclusive spiritual master; a cyclo driver who becomes obsessed with a proud and ambitious prostitute; a very young boy hustling lighters, gum, and cheap watches from the case around his neck; and an American Vietnam vet searching for the daughter he has never seen. What ensues is images of lives struggling to find both place and meaning in a nation which won the war but may now be losing a piece of its soul. The rich diversity of American independent film is deepened this year by the Southeast Asian, melodramatic style of Bui's work. The usual hyperbole about craft and art can't describe the immense visual sensibility of this film. It's not an overstatement to say that more arresting lyrical beauty may not appear in another American film this year. As the first American film to be shot in Vietnam since the war, with a remarkable Vietnamese cast and emotionally provocative acting by the stalwart Harvey Keitel, Three Seasons achieves a pinnacle of excellence that is rare in filmmaking today.
  • Rating:
    PG-13 (for thematic elements)
  • Genre:
    Art House & International, Drama
  • Directed By:
    Tony Bui
  • Written By:
    Tony Bui
  • In Theaters:
     wide
  • On Disc/Streaming:
  • Runtime:
  • Studio:
    October Films

Cast

Harvey Keitel
as James Hager
Don Duong
as Hai
Nguyen Ngoc Hiep
as Kien An
Tran Manh Cuong
as Teacher Dao
Zoe Bui
as Lan
Huu Duoc Nguyen
as Woody
Diem Kieu
as Singing Lotus Woman
Minh Ngoc
as Truck Driver
Phat Trieu Hoang
as Huy
Le Hong Son
as Binh
Nguyen Ba Quang
as Ngon
Tran Huu Su
as Minh
Luong Doc Hung
as Man Who Chases Lan No. 1
Tran Duy Long
as Man Who Chases Lan No. 2
Tranh Manh Cuong
Bui Tuong Trac
as Man Who Buys Lotus Flowers
Huynh Kim Hong
as Woman on the Balcony
Michael Salamon
as Man Who Steals Case
Nguyen Van Son
as Shoeshine Boy
A. Lu
as Street Guardian No. 1
Hong Phu Quang
as Street Guardian No. 2
Tran Quang Hieu
as `Fagan'
Duong Tan Dung
as Cyclo Race Promoter
Ho Van Hoang
as Khoi
Thach Thi Kim Trang
as Little Girl
Ho Kieng
as Restaurant Owner
Quang Hai Ngo
as Man in Taxi
Hong Khac Dao
as Parlor Manager
Oliver Thai
as Parlor Friend
Othello Khanh
as Phuong's Drunk Friend
Lola Guimond
as Phuong/Amerasian Daughter
Nguyen Thanh Son
as Cyclo Race Official
Nguyen Thi Ngoc
as Teacher Dao's Servant
Nguyen Thi Lien
as Grandmother
View All

Critic Reviews for Three Seasons

All Critics (32) | Top Critics (6)

To my eyes, the novelty and exoticism of the setting couldn't disguise the hackneyed situations and sentimentalized characters.

Mar 31, 2008 | Full Review…
Newsweek
Top Critic

Stronger in visual imagery than in ideas or characters, Bui's impressive feature debut, which is set in Vietnam, won the Sundance Film Festival jury and audience awards.

Jan 9, 2007 | Rating: B+
EmanuelLevy.Com

3.5

Jul 18, 2003 | Rating: 3/5
Movie City News

A light and lovely movie that satisfies, but goes away quickly.

Apr 11, 2003 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…
Combustible Celluloid

An extraordinary cross-cultural masterpiece shining with incredible images, a keen sense of place, and a reverence for the incredible yearning of ordinary people.

Mar 4, 2002 | Full Review…
Spirituality and Practice

Bui has no sense of pacing or momentum.

May 1, 2001 | Rating: short | Full Review…
Matinee Magazine
View All Critic Reviews (32)

Audience Reviews for Three Seasons

There are no featured reviews for Three Seasons at this time.

View All Audience Reviews

Three Seasons Quotes

There are no approved quotes yet for this movie.

News & Features