As I browsed my Regal app on Thursday evening, I saw a film that I hadn’t heard of before, Bo Gia, a Vietnamese film. I was intrigued that it was placed into the megaplex theater, rather than the indie theater, and there were also multiple showtimes. I figured that there must be something about this film to push it into the larger theater.
Billed as a family comedy, Bo Gia follows Sang, a father and brother, who lives in a low-income area of Saigon with his son and daughter, surrounded by family. By far, the most interesting character was Woan, Sang’s son, a budding Youtuber. This film rollicks around, with multiple plotlines, some of which are never resolved. I think I got the overarching focus point of the movie, which was to appreciate your father, as the English title (Dad, I’m Sorry) suggests.
Typically, I stay away from films that are billed as family films, I have enough drama in my own family, thank you. Comedy, of course, is subjective, and I did not necessarily find it funny. This is probably because of the cultural difference because, apparently it was funny, the large Vietnamese family behind me was cracking up.
There were negatives, the subtitles were whack. There were typos and grammar errors galore. It was distracting enough to me, but luckily, I was the only one in the theater that needed them. The acting was also questionable, but again, did I perceive the acting as a little off purely because this movie wasn’t made for an American audience? It’s highly possible.
I enjoyed the film, more than most, because I was fascinated by the culture and the difference in family dynamics from my own. I’m glad Regal took a chance on a foreign language film. I have a feeling that they’re trying to replicate the success of ‘Demon Slayer’, which isn’t a bad thing. If you’d like to watch something a little different and have just over two hours to spare, I’d recommend taking a chance on the film.
7.4
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I’m a Data Analyst, from the land of Matthew McConaughey. I’m an avid movie-goer and love seeing films in theaters. My most recent favorite films are Good Time, Only Lovers Left Alive, TENET, and England is Mine. When I’m not at the movies, I’m either reading or watching obscene amount of true crime and historical documentaries.
