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venchonduc
Reviews
Green Dragon (2001)
Not so much the story of the Vietnam war but of refugees everywhere
The Green Dragon is not particularly a story of the Vietnam war but of the refugees of every war: Their fear for themselves, their missing family members and friends, and their fear of the unknown culture they are being thrust into. Their hopes and their dreams, also. The story itself is about the easy interaction between the little boy who is looking for his lost mother and the black American cook, and the uneasy interaction between the adults of both nations. The Vietnamese characters are very real in their humanity - good, bad, young, old. The film introduces certain aspects of Vietnamese culture (polygamy - filial devotion) that few Americans are acquainted with. It should be noted that the main Vietnamese actor, Don Duong, upon his return to Vietnam was put under house arrest for 6 months for "embarrassing the Vietnamese people".
Hikaru no go (2001)
Exciting anime of the game of Go, a 1000 year old ghost and a boy
This anime is about a 1000 year old ghost of a Go teacher to the Emperor and a modern Japanese 6th grader. At the beginning of the series, the ghost who is desperate to play the board game of Go, inhabits the boy in order to get to play. At first the boy could care less about playing but as he begins to learn he develops a wild ambition to become a Professional player by the time he is out of Jr. High. This follows his interaction with the ghost, his school mates, family, other players, rivals with the same goals and adult professional Go players.
I found the opening music irritating but others, who enjoyed this, really liked it. Watching it from the end of the opening credits, made the game so exciting that I have again taken to playing it myself. After the closing credits is a quick lesson on how to play however you have to pause it to read the instructions and the lessons could cover more. It is in Japanese with English subtitles.