Movie Review of A
Realm of Return
By Paul Nguyen
October 27,
2021
A Realm of
Return trailer
 Earlier
this October, I was invited to a private film screening and dinner
event to Tam Tran’s second short film, A Realm of Return. Tran
started her career as a reporter and host of SBTN Toronto,
delivering local and international news to a Vietnamese audience. A
Realm of Return
was shot just before the pandemic caused worldwide
lockdowns and delayed Tran’s screening by more than a year. The
screening was held at Toronto’s Famous People Player’s theatre,
founded in 1974, employing staff with physical and intellectual
disabilities. The dining room and theatre venue was filled to
capacity by the Vietnamese community, with cast and crew, and
special guests MP Peter Fonseca and his wife, Mississauga City Councillor Chris
Fonseca. The staff noted that Tran’s screening was among their
initial bookings after the lockdown and thanked Tran for launching
her film event there.A Realm of Return is Tran’s follow up film to her award-winning 2019 short Her Little Rose, in which Tam explored how a Vietnamese family deals with an aging mother suffering from Alzheimers. In A Realm of Return, Tran continues to explore how Vietnamese women deal with the loss of loved ones and the trauma from the Vietnam War.  In
A Realm of Return, Tran follows the lives of two women, Nga and Thu,
who cope with the loss of Khoa to cancer. Nga is the middle-aged
wife of Khoa, who must deal with the reality of being widowed while
raising two children. Thu is Khoa’s former lover who suffered a
miscarriage at sea during her escape at sea from the war. The film
depicts the friendship between the two and how each one copes with
Khoa’s death. The
audience at the screening responded well to Tran’s film. The
harrowing flashback scene where Thai pirates raided the boat and
raped Thu moved several in the audience to tears. The overall
production was filmed beautifully and presented Vietnamese
characters in an authentic light. The original soundtrack was
composed by Emmy and Juno award winner Anthony Vanderburgh.Overall, A Realm of Return is a unique film showcasing a Vietnamese-Canadian perspective that is not often seen in Canadian cinema. Tran demonstrates a promising directing career focused on presenting the Vietnamese diaspora in a personal way, while maintaining the dignity and authenticity of the boat people refugees and their lived experiences. 
Director Tam Tran with
Paul Nguyen
(Photo courtesy of Dat
Huynh)
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