It's a Vietnamese refugee family story set in Saigon, Vietnam, and Granby, Quebec, ending in 1979. Minh (Jean Bui) and Nguyen (Chantal Thuy) are an educated, upper-middle-class Vietnamese family. Minh is a senior civil servant and Nguyen helps run a business her mother owned. They decide to flee at the war's end with their three children, Tinh (Chloé Djandji), Quôc (Olivier Dinh) and Duc (Xavier Nguyen). Their beloved siblings and cousins decide to remain in Vietnam.
The family flies to Montreal in winter 1979. Their host and sponsoring family includes Normand Girard (Patrice Robitaille), his wife, Lisette (Karine Vanasse), and their extroverted and talkative daughter, Johanne (Mali Corbeil-Gauvreau), who is near Tinh's age.
From Tinh's perspective, the film follows the struggles of employment and the relationships of the families, especially Tinh and Johanne, all mixed with flashbacks to their escape from Vietnam and time in a refugee camp. Tinh misses her cousin and is sometimes triggered by events in Canada. At the same time, she learns from grandfatherly refugees with their own stories and encouragement to look ahead.
"Ru" is emotionally engaging and convincingly represents a "good" refugee experience. The film presents no real dark sides in the Canadian context, which is its greatest limitation. The story is well told and paced, but never really ends. I don't think Tinh smiles once in the movie. Nonetheless, "Ru's" strength is its unique perspective.
The family flies to Montreal in winter 1979. Their host and sponsoring family includes Normand Girard (Patrice Robitaille), his wife, Lisette (Karine Vanasse), and their extroverted and talkative daughter, Johanne (Mali Corbeil-Gauvreau), who is near Tinh's age.
From Tinh's perspective, the film follows the struggles of employment and the relationships of the families, especially Tinh and Johanne, all mixed with flashbacks to their escape from Vietnam and time in a refugee camp. Tinh misses her cousin and is sometimes triggered by events in Canada. At the same time, she learns from grandfatherly refugees with their own stories and encouragement to look ahead.
"Ru" is emotionally engaging and convincingly represents a "good" refugee experience. The film presents no real dark sides in the Canadian context, which is its greatest limitation. The story is well told and paced, but never really ends. I don't think Tinh smiles once in the movie. Nonetheless, "Ru's" strength is its unique perspective.