Blue Bayou is a heartbreaking drama definitely worth seeing.
Read more in our review below:
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Focus Features upcoming drama Blue Bayou is the moving and timely story of a uniquely American family fighting for their future. Antonio LeBlanc (Chon), a Korean adoptee raised in a small town in the Louisiana bayou, is married to the love of his life Kathy (Alicia Vikander) and step-dad to their beloved daughter Jessie.
Struggling to make a better life for his family, he must confront the ghosts of his past when he discovers that he could be deported from the only country he has ever called home.
Why Blue Bayou Works
Justin Chon‘s newest directorial effort, which he also wrote, produced and starred in, is an intimate, yet intense drama about the life of an asian-American coming to terms with his past, while facing an uncertain future due to social injustice. And it’s a film you should put on your radar.
Blue Bayou shines through its honest and calm performances. The camera, helmed by Ante Cheng and Matthew Chuang often stays in close-ups of the characters faces to let audiences look inside their minds. And even when it’s not a close-up of the characters face, it always stays close to them as this is a character driven film.
Justin Chon‘s calm performance is full of heart, while Alicia Vikander, who celebrates her big screen comeback this year with A24‘s medieval epic The Green Knight and now with Blue Bayou, in which she delivered an often emotionally charged performance. Newcomer Sydney Kowalske, who plays Jessie, the young daughter of the family, is excellent and one of her scenes will rip your heart out.
The film was shot on 16mm film and some of those images do look quite beautiful, at other times it is a bit distracting, especially when the film uses “shaky cam” during chosen scenes, as a way to showcase the characters distressed mind, which sounds good on paper, but doesn’t on film. Director Chon wanted a bit too much, but it only happens twice. Blue Bayou is accompanied by a beautiful score that really underlines some of the more emotional scenes.
Blue Bayou is an intense, intimate social commentary that shines through great performances by Justin Chon, Alicia Vikander and the rest of the cast, combined with some beautiful imagery and a finale that rips your heart out. If you feel safe going, it’s worth seeing in theatres.
4/5
Blue Bayou hits theatres September 17, 2021. It is written and directed by Justin Chon. It stars: Justin Chon, Alicia Vikander, Linh Dam Pham, Mark O’Brien and introduces Sydney Kowalske.
What do you guys think? Are you planning to watch this film? Which is your favorite Alicia Vikander performance? Let’s discuss everything in the comments down below and on our Twitter.
KEEP READING: BLUE BAYOU: JUSTIN CHON FIGHTS FOR HIS FAMILY IN NEW TRAILER
