Three Seasons (1999)

Capsule Review
by Jeffrey M. Anderson

26-year-old Tony Bui makes his directorial debut with four interwoven stories that take place on the streets of Saigon. The stories are simplistic and sentimental, but the feel of the movie is an easy blending of the realism of De Sica, the humanism of Renoir, and the colorful visual poetry of Kieslowski. The stories occur in the shadows of the expensive hotels where only the rich can afford to stay, but they do not blend easily; some of the cuts are jarring and disorienting. "Three Seasons" is ultimately a light and lovely movie that satisfies, but goes away quickly. It was a big winner at Sundance, taking both the critics' award and the audience award, and it opened this year's SF Asian American Film Festival.

Rating: 3 Stars (out of 4)