Boat People

BOAT PEOPLE is a hard-hitting slice of social commentary from director Ann Hui, telling the plight of the Vietnamese people following the North's win in the Vietnam War. She based her film on stories told to her by refugees and filmed this movie on Hainan Island which adds to the authenticity of the picture. This fits well into that early '80s grittiness you see in the likes of THE KILLING FIELDS. George Lam, playing a Japanese photographer, is the nominal protagonist but the film is much more interesting when depicting local lives; in particular, Season Ma really shines as the innocent girl and Andy Lau wows in a star-making turn.