One aspect of the film I found a bit strange was how similar the leave-taking of the children from their families was to the removal of children from Vietnam for adoption in the U.S. (see Daughter from Danang). An outside do-gooder white woman, who isn't necessary welcomed by the families involved, convinces the children to leave for a better life. Granted, most everyone would agree that going to boarding school is better than base manual labor or prostitution. But I think it is telling that eventually all of the children left the boarding school, or their parents removed them from the boarding school. Except for the one boy who became sort of famous, and the one girl who wasn't even sad to leave home knowing she wouldn't see her family or friends anymore.

Post a comment