What was one film audiences might have missed in 2021? Was it Pig starring Nicolas Cage or Mass starring Ann Dowd and Jason Issacs? With the wide variety of content released every day and new films released every Friday, one independent film stands out as one of the best releases from 2021. Justin Chon’s Blue Bayou was one film audiences missed seeing in theatres and are worth everyone’s time.
Justin Chon’s film is an important story that is driven by emotion following an adopted Korean-American, Antonio LeBlanc (Chon) a tattoo artist who is raised in the Louisiana bayou. Antonio is married to his loving and pregnant wife, Kathy (Alicia Vikander) and he is the step-father to their daughter Jessie (Sydney Kowalske) as he works extremely hard to make a living for his family. Antonio is confronted by the demons of his past and learns he is at risk to be deported from the United States, a place he calls home.
Chon is the writer and director behind the film that shows a style of beautiful filmmaking at the centre of it all. It has become a film that isn’t being discussed enough showing a true sense of realism. Chon worked with cinematographers Ante Cheng and Matthew Chuang to create a visually gorgeous movie that was shot on 16mm that looks grainy but captures a southern and warm look of the atmosphere.
The most complex character of the film is Antonio, who is easy enough to believe in and has just enough background to make audiences care as he is a protagonist.
Chon gives the performance of his career as Antonio.
He is a generous soul, but a character that is flawed, and at times audiences won’t be able to feel sorry for him despite not getting the help or justice he needs. As for Alicia Vikander, she gave one of the greatest performances ever! Forget her award-winning performance in ‘The Danish Girl’, this performance is remarkable! Her emotions are and feel extremely raw as she has pure chemistry with Chon. Vikander and Chon play a very convincing couple that is in love and are often faced with one problem after another and oftentimes make bad decisions not realizing the outcome of the consequences.
The Blue Bayou is based on the thousands of true stories that Chon learned several years ago that many Korean American adoptees were being deported from the United States. Many Korean children were adopted in the 1970s and 80s and raised in the US throughout their entire life, which was stripped away from not being protected by the Child Citizenship Act of 2000. It’s a compelling story that will leave audiences impacted with a story that leads to an incredibly emotional ride during the third act. The film has some subplots that may not grab audiences’ attention, but it all comes together in the end. The film is quite overdramatic, however, it does not stop itself from the great and eye-opening importance of its story. It even looks at Asian hate crime and racism.
It’s a devastating story that shows the struggles of today’s times. It’s a story about belonging and survival as audiences will certainly shed a tear. It’s a shame that Blue Bayou film isn’t getting the true recognition it deserves as it deserves more attention.
I give this film a 9 out of 10
