Vietnam, Where Are You?

Endearing Madame Phung and her transvestite singers travel around Vietnam, sparking fascination and hostility from the local people.

Set in 1985 post-war Vietnam, Khang moves to Saigon after securing a position to translate "The Little Prince." Due to his family connections, Khang's life under the new regime is secure. But everything changes when he meets Ky Nam, a reserved older widow who lives in Khang's new community.

Set against a gloriously filmed backdrop of the distinctly jaded charm of mid-90s Saigon, the lives of two men intertwine as they are both bound by traditions and honor. One to his mafia family, the other to the traveling troupe that performs elaborate classic operas. Yet they have much more in common than either wants to admit.

Kim is 15; his father and step-mother have two buffalo, their lifeline as subsistence rice farmers. During the rainy season, there's no grass and the buffalo are starving. Kim volunteers to take the beasts inland to find food. On this coming-of-age journey, Kim sees men mistreat women, men fight with men, and French taxes rob the poor. He works for Lap, a buffalo herder whose past is entangled with Kim's parents, and he makes friends who will lead him to his place in the world.

A young couple from the Ho Chi Minh City middle-class, both architects, are expecting their first child. Having only just reached adulthood, the young man is getting ready to become a father. He begins to become aware of the new responsibilities and the role he will now have to take on. But behind this figure of the new young father, the outline of a young mother is also visible in filigree.

The film shines a light on the lives of people in a small alley in a working-class residential area of ​​Ho Chi Minh City. They make a living from odd jobs: street vendors, small traders, loan sharks... For them, money is a daily struggle.

Thi was born in a traditional family in the country. Her parents are teachers. She came to Hanoi to study languages. Today, she works as a translator. In the city, she gains more freedom: she meets foreigners and some of them have become friends. But when her mother comes to visit, she reminds Thi of the principles of traditional education, the duties and obligations of a young woman, and is insistent on the issues of marriage and children.

The grandfather tries to explain the family history, the traditions, privileges and duties of the eldest son to his grandson, who agrees to stay on in the village, unlike others of his generation who have left for the city.