Review: ‘Monsoon’
According to the Oxford English dictionary, ‘displacement’ refers to the “moving of something from its place or position; the enforced departure of people from their homes, typically because of war, persecution, or natural disaster.” It is a term that can be applied to many different things: economy, geography, ethnicity and culture. As its textbook definition suggests, people actively seek displacement when they live in an environment marred by natural, political or economic disasters, such as war or recessions. Essentially, people who displace themselves (or are displaced against their will) only do so in search of a better standard of living for their children, for their children’s children and so on.
The effects of displacement differ from situation to situation, from person to person, from place to place – but they are almost always negative. Forcibly removing someone from the environment in which they were born in can be a jarring experience, especially at first. That person can learn to acclimate, to adjust themselves to their surroundings, to camouflage themselves so as to not seem out of place and with time, they can heal. But their relationship with their home country can never fully recover, forever defined by a sudden severance and permeated by a tangible discomfort, made glaringly obvious whenever they decide to return.
To feel displaced in your own country, like a stranger in your own home, is a devastating feeling. To look around and see familiar faces, ones that look like your own, wearing the same smiles and features, and to feel no semblance of connection or relation is truly distressing. It is also a feeling I am more than familiar with, having regularly moved between three different countries since an incredibly young age. I have always felt like a person with three houses but no home. And I oftentimes found myself trying to build a home out of people, desperately trying to establish personal connections wherever I went in lieu of any cultural ones.
I have never seen a film so accurately portray my experiences the way ‘Monsoon’, the latest film from ‘Lilting’ director Hong Khaou, does. Telling the story of Kit (Henry Golding), a British-Vietnamese man returning to Vietnam, his birth country, for the first time in over 30 years, ‘Monsoon’ explores the relationship many first and second generation emigrants have with their country of origin and their constant search for a cultural identity. A soft-spoken, delicate and introspective film, ‘Monsoon’ perfectly captures the feelings of alienation felt by many emigrants who find themselves back in their home countries. By portraying scenes of a despondent Kit solely walking through the streets of an environment he is no longer familiar with, Khaou manages to establish a sense of loneliness and isolation that lingers throughout the first act of the film, one that slowly starts to melt away with the introduction of Lewis (Parker Sawyers), a man Kit meets through a dating app and subsequently embarks on a relationship with.
Having mostly been in romantic comedies (‘Crazy Rich Asians’) and action films (‘The Gentlemen’), Golding is a revelation here, delivering a haunting, layered portrayal of a man tackling grief and trying to revitalize a connection to his place of birth, establishing himself as a captivating leading man in the process. With Kit in almost every single frame, the film rests entirely on Golding’s shoulders and he proves he is more than capable for the challenge, holding the audience’s attention with a soulful, intimate performance characterized by surprising depth and nuance. The film is also gorgeously shot, with picture perfect cinematography courtesy of Benjamin Kracun, who captures the different sides of Vietnam. Its discussions of the tragic effects of war and the resulting loss of cultural identity are also spellbinding, with Khaou raising interesting questions about displacement and trusting viewers to come to their own conclusions instead of providing clear answers.
Much has been made about the queer representation in ‘Monsoon’ and it is quite refreshing that the film does not make a big deal out of it, portraying it in the same matter-of-fact manner usually seen in films with straight relationships. Unfortunately, despite their best efforts, Golding and Sawyers cannot conjure up enough chemistry to truly sell the relationship between their characters; Kit and Lewis come off like a pair of friends or acquaintances instead of the love interests the film tries to insist they are. ‘Monsoon’ is also a bit too introspective and too quietly thoughtful to capture mainstream audiences’ attention, with a very relaxed and meandering pacing that may prove to be too frustrating to viewers who are used to something a bit more urgent. Some subplots are also slightly underwritten, specifically that of Kit’s cousin Lee (David Tran), who is fascinated by and slightly envious of his life in England, and Kit’s brother, who only appears briefly towards the end of the film. It would have been interesting to see a different perspective on Kit’s struggles to establish a cultural identity and whether that experience is mirrored by his brother, who also left Vietnam at an incredibly young age.
Anchored by a vulnerable performance from Henry Golding, ‘Monsoon’ is ultimately a gentle exploration of cultural displacement that feels timeless thanks to its arresting visuals and universal themes. Its depiction of a man struggling to define his own cultural identity will undoubtedly be relatable to countless others who went through the same experience and, as someone who did, watching it in the age of COVID-19, where human connection is sparse and lacking, made me feel a little less alone.
Rating: 4/5
Monsoon will be released in the UK on September 25.