FILM review: Compelling narration, drama in 'Refugee'

Documentary: The lives of three young Cambodian refugees that grew up in the streets of San Francisco's Tenderloin district, are forever changed when they embark on a long trip to Cambodia to visit the home they never knew. "Refugee," a new documentary by Emmy Award filmmaker, Spencer Nakasako follows the struggles and triumphs of these men.

By Thuy Chu
On-line Forty-Niner

Brother and sister are sitting next to each other after meeting for the very first time, unable to communicate due to a language barrier. She speaks Cambodian, he doesn't.  Yet, the smiles on their faces convey all as words fail them.

Such heart-breaking moments are featured on "Refugee" a powerful documentary by award-winning filmmaker Spencer Nakasako. The documentary follows three 20-something men from San Francisco as they embark on a trip back to Cambodia to visit family members left behind during the 1979 Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia.

Mike Siv wants to see his father and his younger brother. Paul Meas is delivering $1,000 his parents gave him to give to his sister so she could build a house. David Mark just wanted to tag along for fun. Despite the fact that he does have family in Cambodia, he doesn't want to see them.

The documentary captures raw emotions of a son learning his father is not who he thought him to be.

The audience is taken into the worlds of these three young men through strong narration.  Paul's inability to communicate with his sister and Mike discovering that his father did not raise his brother left the audience both helpless and disappointed.

As Mike learns more about that fateful day when his family separated, he wanted an explanation from his father as to why he didn't escape with him and his mom, and why his father has a new wife.  He is disappointed and angry when his father brought out a Hello Kitty diary that reveals all of the years that had passed as an explanation for what he did.  But as Mike observed, the diary looks like it was put together the previous day.

Nakasako's strong story telling and Siv's heartfelt narration as he comes to terms with his past, added up to a compelling documentary about Cambodian culture, history, heritage, and the struggles of a family.

What makes "Refugee" special is that it was created by a group of youth out of a digital video laboratory at the Vietnamese Youth Development Center in San Francisco. The film, which is the center's first full-length effort, is a response to the "digital divide" that keeps their community from taking part in the opportunities in new technologies, that other, more economically sufficient communities have.

"Refugee" is set to air on PBS primetime in May next year as part of the "Independent Lens," a series in which actor Don Cheadle hosts in its second season. Other films that the center produced included "aka Don Bonus" and "Kelly Loves Tony."