Blue Bayou

Blue Bayou written and directed by Justin Chon is a powerful new film about a Korean-American, Antonio LeBlanc, played by Justin Chon, who is fighting for his family and his status as a US citizen.

Adopted from Korea at the age of 3, Antonio lives in Louisiana. He speaks fluid English. He is married to a US citizen, and he and his wife are expecting their first child. He is a stepfather to Jessie (Sydney Kowalske), the daughter of his wife, Kathy, played by Alicia Vikander, who calls him daddy.

Victim of racial profiling by a police officer, he is arrested and then his immigration status is called into question. Kathy and Antonio seek the counsel of a lawyer, played by Vondie Curtis-Hall, who informs them that before the year 2000, US foreign adoption laws were very ill defined, and in many cases immigration paperwork was never filed by adopting parents. In Antonio's case, his adopting family abandoned him after 6 months and he bounced around in foster care for much of his young life after coming to the US.

The film was a powerful representation of the uncertainty and difficulty many immigrants face in the US. It was both deeply saddening and moving as you watch the turmoil the family endures, especially the child affected by it all. The film brings awareness to an important issue that has yet to be addressed and has been the cause of many, many deportations of adults who have lived in the US for 30 to 40 years and some times longer, do not even know the language of their country of origin, who are deported to this foreign land without any family connections or similar ties to the country they are being sent.

Blue Bayou is an official selection of the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. The film contains some beautiful cinematography of the Louisiana bayou and breathtaking sunset shots taken around New Orleans. The screenplay also stood out in the way that he portrayed both the struggle and impossible choices the protagonist faces. Also, his own identity as an Asian American, looking for his past and a cultural touchstone and comparing it to the over thirty years he spent in Louisiana feeling like an outcast as the "other."

Justin Chon did a great job with this one. It's not often you get a director/writer/lead actor in a movie but he did all of those and it was all very well done. The story is poignant, quite incredible that something like this is even possible in real life, but it is sadly the reality, and that in a country that wants to be the example for the rest of the world. To be honest I found this incredibly sad, and that in the land of the free, in the land of opportunities. Justin Chon is not only a good writer but he was also very convincing in his role as the American-Korean. The rest of the cast were also very good playing their respective characters, especially the young Sydney Kowalske. She played very natural, almost like she wasn't acting, and that's not given to a lot of child actors. Blue Bayou isn't a movie that will leave you with a smile, and that's good, because these kind of stories are still happening now, and a smile would just be wrong when you think about all the lives that have been destroyed.

His biggest film yet in a career that still feels as though its only just beginning, actor, Youtuber and director Justin Chon delivers his biggest project yet in the form of the New Orleans set immigration themed drama Blue Bayou, a familiar feeling character drama that is nevertheless an effective and emotionally engaging experience with great performances from the multi-tasking Chon and the radiant Alicia Vikander.

Perhaps most well known in popular culture as Eric from the Twilight saga, Korean blooded Chon delivers a heartbreaking performance as down on his luck tattoo artist, one time felon and family man Antonio LeBlanc, who finds his workmanlike life turned on its head when he faces the possibility of being deported from the United States after a run in with the law and a discovery that his adoptive American parents never filed the correct paperwork to legally declare him an American citizen.

Based around some confronting home truths occurring in the United States in this present day when it comes to their dealings with long term citizens but not legally recognized ones, Bayou hits fairly hard when its stars align and the chemistry between Chon and Vikander as his long suffering but devoted wife Kathy and her daughter Jessie (a nice turn from young actress Sydney Kowalske) ensures that this intimate and raw humanly centered drama makes for some of 2021's most touching moments as the LeBlanc's try their best to keep their heads above water with the past and present converging to hold them under.

Shot in a documentary like manner, with Chon keeping things focused tight on his films subjects on most occasions throughout, Bayou never feels Hollywoodized or materialistic and even while it has a few too many narrative devices that don't feel fully formed or too convenient for dramatic tension, the performances and honesty on show here will keep willing audiences involved throughout its entirety.

As an added bonus to the film itself, its reliving too see the talented Vikander as good she's been in years, with a rough period of recent times that includes the likes of Beckett, Earthquake Bird, Jason Bourne and Tulip Fever all failing to make a mark or give material worthy to the talented performer who shone so bright in the likes of Ex Machina and The Light Between Oceans, Vikander's performance here in Chon's tale is a stern reminder that she's one of the best working in the industry today when picking the right projects.

Final Say -

It doesn't rewrite the dramatic rulebook and follow's a fairly well-worn path too its emotional climax but Blue Bayou signals both a return to form for Alicia Vikander and an official announcing of Chon as a filmmaker to get excited about.

4 sausages out of 5.

For more reviews check out Jordan and Eddie (The Movie Guys)

Alicia Vikander is the biggest name of this movie by far, BUT she is not at ll the highlight here, as Justin Chon is just slashing it!

This movie shows us what is wrong with immigration politics in the USA and I knew that these cases exist, but not how common they actually are.

You will follow a heartbreaking story that will probably not leave your eyes dry. I havent seen a movie like this in a long time, where I literally could hear the majority of the people around me in the theatre cry, no matter which age, gender or race... This movie is very touching, even though at times it gets a bit "toooo much" and is slightly over the top, especially in the last wuarter of the movie.

That being said, it is still a very strong movie that tells a heartfelt story that has so much poetry between the lines, that it will make you appreciate your life and everything you have, even more, while still making you very depressed with its brutal honesty and depiction of events.

I can recommend this, especially if you are adopted yourself or are an expat of any kind in another country!

Instant reaction here. Was blown away by this movie. Not overly familiar with Justin Chon but his performance was exceptional and seeing he also wrote and directed this makes me excited for whatever projects he's involved with in the future. Alicia Vikander was solid as always great casting and most importantly the movie raises awareness to an issue most people were likely unaware of. Bravo!