Boat People

109 minutes | 1982 | Fiction | Cantonese, Japanese | English Subtitles
4K Restoration

Invited to document the progress of postwar Vietnamese society, a Japanese photojournalist (George Lam) initially finds a picture-perfect image of communist contentment. But when he begins looking beneath the idealized surface the government wants him to see, he discovers a world of poverty and brutality that shocks him into helping a desperate family escape.

Ann HUI was born in Anshan, Liaoning Province and later immigrated to Hong Kong with her family. After graduating from the University of Hong Kong, she completed a special course on film in the U.K., then returned to Hong Kong as the assistant to the master of Chinese martial arts films, King HU. In 1979, she made her directorial debut with The Secret and soon became a leader in the “Hong Kong New Wave” film movement. Her notable works include Boat People (1982), Love in a Fallen City (1984), Song of the Exile (1990), Summer Snow (1995) and The Way We Are (2008).