Bui doi – "less than dust" – is a slur aimed at Vietnamese children with American fathers. The Beautiful Country, set in 1990, relates the odyssey of a young "bui doi" with one impossible dream, to be reunited with his birth father, an American GI who disappeared one day without trace.
Binh is a young man of unusual height and facial features marking him for contempt. He lives in a village with his foster family who barely tolerate his presence. When his foster mother begrudingly reveals that his birth mother is alive and living in Saigon, Binh packs up his few possessions and journeys to the city. His one link to family life, and clue to his mother's whereabouts, is a photo of a smiling American and pretty young Vietnamese woman holding a baby, standing before a distinctive shop front. Asking around, showing his photo, stoically accepting of rude rebuffs but persevering, Binh finally locates a young boy, Tam, who has heard tell of a very tall big brother.
After an emotional reunion with his mother, who helps him escape Vietnam, he endures a Malaysian refugee camp, survives a brutal ocean crossing in a freighter, and indentured servitude with a human-trafficking ring. Throughout his long journey Binh confronts unimaginable hardships yet manages to keep hope, humanity and a generous spirit alive as he searches for a connection with his long-lost father. His quest eventually leads him to a remote Texas ranch and a redemptive reunion, the key to finally unlocking the mysteries of his past.
A sensitive, unpretentious and deeply moving story about the human soul's ability to sustain life through hope.
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