OWL AND THE SPARROW

by debbie lynn elias

It is with great joy that I bring you this week’s feature review.  A journey that began at the Los Angeles Film Festival in 2007 with a win of the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature a mere 10 days later, I am privileged to have been along for the ride of this  exquisite and exquisitely sweet film - OWL AND THE SPARROW.  One of my “Must See Festival Film” picks back in 2007, it is still one of my must see picks today as it now opens theaters across the country this week and next.  An even greater privilege, however, has been to know the film’s  writer/director/cinematographer, Stephane Gauger, a man whose humility is so striking and heartwarming; a quality that permeates this film, adding to its innate beauty.

 Born in Saigon, but raised in Orange County, director Stephane Gauger "always wanted to do a film set in Saigon." As he told me, " I love the country and the people. With over 8 million people in Saigon, I knew I had to do a story about them. This is the story of three of them."

Lan is a lonely flight attendant looking for love. Every other week when she comes to Saigon on layovers, the girls who run the hotel where she stays only want to fix her up, albeit with their wannabe magician cousin who works for the City and who looks kind of "goofy." Hai, has spent his entire life at the Saigon Zoo. His father was zookeeper and Hai has followed in his footsteps. He is the quintessential horse whisperer and Dr. Doolittle all rolled into one. He is also alone having been dumped by his fiancé, but takes comfort in talking to the animals. Sadly his heart gets a bit more broken when a beloved elephant for whom Hai has tended since birth is being sold to an Indian zoo. Thuy is a precocious, spunky little 10-year old. Her parents are dead and she lives with her uncle who runs a bamboo factory outside Saigon. Forced to work for her uncle, she tires of his continual verbal abuse and one night determines to set out on her own. With no money and only the clothes on her back, Thuy is befriended by other children laboring as street vendors for their parents.  Joining them in their own entrepreneurial endeavors, she sells postcards, then flowers and thanks to the kindness of one young boy, is invited to his mother’s restaurant where she meets Lan. During the day, she is drawn to the zoo where she meets Hai and his elephant friend.

 All three lonely and looking for love. All three connected by Thuy. And it doesn’t take long for Thuy to see what the future must be. But, she only has four days to make everyone’s dreams come true.

 Newcomer Han Thi Pham as Thuy will steal your heart, as she does every scene.  Her wide eyed innocence but clearly dogged determination tinged with the gift of whimsy is such a delight that one can’t help but smile every time her face graces the screen.  According to Gauger, Han’s inexperience as an actor was belied by “her ability to grasp the character and the scene and be consistent in her portrayal of Thuy.”   Even more amazing is that the “film was shot out of sequence yet Han never missed a beat.”   Veteran, Cat Ly, probably best known for her performance in Ham Tram’s “Journey From the Fall”, is simply stunning as Lan, both visually and emotionally.  With an elegantly nuanced performance, she provides multi-faceted emotion that aids as much in the tonal shift of a scene and the film as a whole as it does in depicting the tapestried Lan.  Particularly engaging are scenes between Ly and our little heartbreaker Pham.  Their chemistry is beautiful to watch.    The Lu Le brings a “goofiness” to the role of zookeeper Hai which, while the weak link in the triumverate of principals, is a necessary and welcome glue that actually showcases Han and Ly.  (Always good to see a man who likes to help the ladies look good!)

 Written by Gauger, the story is simple and sweet.   The characters are likable, believable and approachable.  You root for them.  Your heart is drawn to them.   Drawing on his own experiences in Viet Nam, he paints a rich, textured canvas of the country and its people and never moreso than in his development of Thuy and commentary on the “orphan” situation in the country.  Through Thuy’s character, we are introduced into aspects of the country that clearly touch Gauger’s heart.  For example, his introduction of the children as street vendors and “flower girls.”    Knowing many of these girls and having watched them grow up before his eyes and into their teens, Gauger determined to bring their “bubbly” personas into this film and into the character of Thuy.  Concurrently, he was also able to shed a light on the number of orphans and “street urchins” and the government’s policy of caring for the children and making certain they have food, clothing and a roof over their head, particularly in Saigon where there are five orphanages.  Also key to the script is Saigon’s own energy which amply fills the screen in the absence of dialogue.

 An intuitive filmmaker, it is evident that this film comes from Stephane Gauger’s heart. There is a beauty and elegance in the film’’s simplicity that captures not only the beauty of the people and the country, but its abundant life force, the result of which is emotionally overwhelming. Gauger’s hand held camera work invites the audience into the street with Thuy, and then retains the sounds of Saigon in the background. The bicycle bells, horns honking, people talking, vendors hawking their wares - he doesn’t use Foley artists to add sound; he doesn’t try to censor the sounds of life. He embraces them, allowing the sound to flow with the characters.  Gauger’s love of an actor’s face and expression is evident with his use of close-ups which are not only welcoming but appropriate for the story.    A veteran of many Vietnamese set productions, Gauger is deftly  skilled as a cinematographer as evidenced by the vibrancy of the film and his use of natural light.   Editing is even and crisp adding to the overall polished cut of the film.

 Furthering his desire to depict the country and its people, Gauger shot 30 locations in 15 days and as may come as a surprise to many, rather than look for perceived post-war reconstruction, he chose locations that were bustling, dynamic and filled with the traffic of humanity and life.

 A skilled writer with a clear vision and a kind loving touch, Stephane Gauger’s OWL AND THE SPARROW, will fill your heart with joy.

Thuy - Han Thi Pham
Lan - Cat Ly
Hai - The Lu Le

 
Written and Directed by Stephane Gauger.