Blue Bayou had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in July 13, 2021 and was released in the United States on September 17, 2021, by Focus Features.
Antonio LeBlanc is a Korean-American adoptee and tattoo artist living outside New Orleans with his pregnant wife Kathy, a rehabilitation nurse, and her daughter Jessie. Due to his criminal record, Antonio is unable to find additional employment to support his family, though Kathy offers to resume working to help make ends meet.
After being physically harassed by NOPD officers Ace and Denny, the former being Jessie’s absent biological father, Antonio is violently arrested. He is placed into ICE custody and faces deportation when it is revealed that his adoptive parents never naturalized him pursuant to Child Citizenship Act of 2000. Antonio and Kathy seek to appeal his deportation with the help of immigration lawyer Barry Boucher, who requests a $5,000 retainer. Barry warns, however, that if his appeal fails, he can never return to the United States again.
Antonio strikes up a friendship with Parker, a Vietnamese refugee with terminal cancer who came to America with her father when she was a child, and whose mother and brother had died during the journey. After receiving a tattoo of Fleur-de-lis from Antonio, Parker invites his family to a communal cookout at her home. Still unable to afford Barry’s services, Antonio and his friends resort to stealing motorcycles and selling them, with Antonio nearly getting caught. Antonio pays Barry, claiming that the money was an advance from work, which Kathy finds suspicious. Barry tells Antonio that due to his criminal record and a lack of factors that would make his appeal favorable, his best chance is to seek support from his adoptive mother, who is still alive – something Antonio had hid from Kathy.
Deeply hurt over this lack of disclosure and even more devastated by his refusal to contact his adoptive mother, due to her refusal to defend themselves against his physically-abusive adoptive father Henry, Kathy leaves with Jessie and moves in with her mother. Having begun to lose hope, Antonio severs his friendship with Parker.
Eventually, Antonio chooses to see his now-widowed mother, who appears apathetic and unwilling to appear for his trial. Antonio is fired by his boss at the tattoo parlor due to unpaid debts. He makes amends with Parker, whose cancer has gotten worse. When she falls unconscious, he takes her to the hospital. Kathy gives birth to her and Antonio’s daughter, and they reunite.
On the day of Antonio’s hearing, Kathy, Jessie, Antonio’s friends, Ace, and Antonio’s mother, arrive to offer support but Antonio never shows up. Antonio, unbeknownst to them, is abducted by Denny and his friends, who viciously assault him and leave him for dead. Knowing that he's guaranteed to be deported, Antonio attempts to commit suicide by drowning but cannot bring himself to do it. Meanwhile, Denny brags to Ace about assaulting Antonio and making him miss his hearing but Ace, disgusted by Denny, drives him to the hospital where Kathy works and handcuffs him. Upon telling Kathy what has happened, she returns with Ace and angrily attacks Denny for his assault on Antonio.
After saying his final goodbyes, Antonio is escorted by ICE to the airport for deportation to South Korea. Intending to go with him, Kathy and Jessie manage to locate Antonio at the airport. Ace also arrives, wanting to say his farewells to Jessie before she leaves. Not wanting to displace his own family or knowing where he'll be sent, Antonio tells them to remain in the United States until he is stable elsewhere. Unable to let go of an inconsolable Jessie, Antonio is forcibly separated from her as she cries out for him.
As the film ends, real-life cases of other unnaturalized adoptees who are either facing deportation or have been deported are shown, along with the estimates by the Adoptee Rights Campaign of international adoptees who face similar circumstances.
Cast
Justin Chon as Antonio LeBlanc, a tattoo artist, husband of Kathy, and step father of Jessie who is getting deported.
Alicia Vikander as Kathy LeBlanc, a rehabilitation nurse and Antonio’s wife.
Mark O'Brien as Ace, a police officer and Jessie’s biological father.
Linh Dan Pham as Parker, a Vietnamese women who is dying of terminal cancer.
Sydney Kowalske as Jessie LeBlanc, the step daughter of Antonio.
Vondie Curtis-Hall as Barry Boucher, a immigration lawyer who helps Antonio.
Emory Cohen as Denny, a police officer who harasses Antonio.
Altonio Jackson as Quintin, Antonio’s best friend.
Toby Vitrano as Merk, Antonio’s friend who works for ICE.
Geraldine Singer as Dawn Landry, Kathy’s mother and Jessie’s grandmother.
Renell Gibbs as Reggie, one of Antonio’s friends.
Martin Bats Bradford as Lajon, one of Antonio’s friends.
Tyler Henry as Kamal, one of Antonio’s friends.
Sylvia Grace Crim as Sylvia, a police desk sergeant
Jim Gleason as Doctor Keegan, a doctor
Susan McPhail as Susanne, Antonio’s adoptive mother
Chon worked on the movie for four years.[9] He consulted with five adoptees who read drafts;[11] they were consulted throughout the writing process and Chon spent hundreds of hours on the phone with them. When he had an edit, he screened it for some adoptees and then received notes from them and changed the edit through the post-production of the film to make sure that they felt comfortable with it. Chon said, "I couldn’t consult with the entire community, but with the people who I was consulting, I was making sure that they felt that it was authentic to them."[12] Chon spoke with adoptees Kristopher Larsen,[13] who was director of Adoptees for Justice, and Anissa Druesedow[14] about their experiences with the deportation process. Larsen conferred with fellow deportees as they passed around the script. Larsen said, "Every deportee we spoke to – it didn’t matter if they were from Panama, Korea, Venezuela, Vietnam, China – they all responded with the same thing: This is my story."[13]
The movie is based on true stories Chon heard from Korean adoptee friends, as well as research that revealed a broader crisis for Asian American adoptees of a certain age.[15] In the U.S., the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 grants citizenship to all children adopted from overseas, but it does not protect anyone who turned 18 before the law was passed.[9]
Chon mentioned in a GQ magazine interview, "A lot of people were adopted in the 70s and 80s. It just doesn't make sense to me. For the case of this movie, you have somebody who is a step further than that: you already have these questions of identity from being adopted. And then, not all adoptions end well. So sometimes parents give up their adopted kids, or they abuse them. Antonio goes through foster care and is abused. So to be also given up by your adoptive parents and be bounced around, and then for your country to finally say, we're also like giving you up. Psychologically, I'm sure it's absolutely devastating. So for a lot of people who get deported, there's a high suicide rate."[11]
Release
In July 2020, Focus Features acquired distribution rights to the film.[16] It was released on September 17, 2021,[17] after being postponed from its originally announced date of June 25, 2021.[18] It is invited at 26th Busan International Film Festival in 'World Cinema' section of the festival program. It will be screened on October 7, 2021.[19]
Blue Bayou holds a 75% approval rating on review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes, based on 125 reviews, with a weighted average of 6.6/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Blue Bayou can be indelicate in its attempts to tug the heartstrings, but solid acting and a genuinely affecting story make this drama difficult to ignore."[21] On Metacritic, the film holds a rating of 58 out of 100, based on 28 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[22]
Controversy
Members of the international Korean adoptee community have criticized the film and called for its boycott,[23] claiming it appropriated adoptee stories without consent and utilized inappropriate promotions, such as a VIP trip giveaway to the location where the film's traumatic events took place.[24][25][26] Focus Features has since removed the VIP trip promotion.[27]
Adam Crapser, a Korean adoptee raised in the United States and who was later subject to a high-profile deportation case, claims the movie is largely based upon his personal life story without his consent.[28] In 2017, Chon reached out to him on Facebook and indicated that he learned of Crapser’s story in the media. Chon wrote, "I feel like everyone in the U.S. should know what happened to you because it’s ridiculous".[28] In an interview with NBC News, Crapser stated, “People who have experienced difficult things deserve the dignity to tell their story when and if they’re ready. When that is taken away – when personal traumas are forcefully misappropriated for other people’s purposes – it is hurtful. I ask Justin and his team to stop using other people’s trauma to support his Hollywood ambitions, and for my friends to speak the truth about this film."[28]
Adoptees for Justice, an international nonprofit advocacy group, issued a statement that they were aware Focus Features and director Justin Chon had approached Crapser during development of the film and have since called for a formal public apology and response from Chon.[29]
Focus Features issued a statement from Adoptee Advocacy, a newly formed group after the film with the support of Focus Features that includes members who consulted during the production, that they “see strong similarities to many of our histories: abusive families, getting in trouble with law, being deported while leaving behind small children.” Adoptee Advocacy called the boycott a "devastating gut punch to us.”[28]
In response to the allegations, Chon released a statement saying that as part of his research for the film he had worked with 13 adoptees, and that the film "is not about one person. From the onset, I did not want this film to solely reflect one individual's details".[28]
Related Research Articles
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from the biological parents to the adoptive parents.
The international adoption of South Korean children was at first started as a result of a large number of orphaned mixed children from the Korean War after 1953, but later included orphaned Korean children. Religious organizations in the United States, Australia, and many Western European nations slowly developed into the apparatus that sustained international adoption as a socially integrated system. This system, however, is essentially gone as of 2020. The number of children given for adoption is lower than in comparable OECD countries of a similar size, the majority of adoptees are adopted by South Korean families, and the number of international adoptees is at a historical low.
Holt International Children's Services (HICS) is a faith-based humanitarian organization and adoption agency based in Eugene, Oregon, United States, known for international adoption and child welfare. The nonprofit works in thirteen countries, including: Cambodia, China, Colombia, Ethiopia, Haiti, India, Mongolia, Philippines, South Korea, Thailand, Uganda, Vietnam, and the United States. This work includes a range of services for children and families including efforts in nutrition, education, family strengthening, orphan care, foster care, family reunification, and child sponsorship. The organization's stated mission is to seek a world where every child has a loving and secure home.
Out of the Blue is a 1980 drama film directed by Dennis Hopper, and starring Linda Manz, Hopper, Sharon Farrell, Don Gordon, and Raymond Burr. The film was produced by Leonard Yakir and written by him and Brenda Nielson. Its plot follows a troubled and rebellious teenage girl living in the Pacific Northwest with her dysfunctional mother and alcoholic father. The title is taken from the Neil Young song "My My, Hey Hey ", which is also featured in the film.
International adoption is a type of adoption in which an individual or couple residing in one country becomes the legal and permanent parent(s) of a child who is a national of another country. In general, prospective adoptive parents must meet the legal adoption requirements of their country of residence and those of the country whose nationality the child holds.
"Blue Bayou" is a song written by Roy Orbison and Joe Melson. It was originally sung and recorded by Orbison, who had an international hit with his version in 1963. It later became Linda Ronstadt's signature song, with which she scored a Top 5 hit with her cover in 1977. Many others have since recorded the song.
Interracial adoption refers to the act of placing a child of one racial or ethnic group with adoptive parents of another racial or ethnic group.
Nil by Mouth is a 1997 drama film portraying a family in South East London. It was Gary Oldman's debut as a writer and director, and was produced by Oldman, Douglas Urbanski and Luc Besson. It stars Ray Winstone as Raymond, the abusive husband of Valerie, played by Kathy Burke. The score was composed by Eric Clapton.
The Child Citizenship Act of 2000 (CCA) is a United States federal law that amended the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 regarding acquisition of citizenship by children of US citizens and added protections for individuals who have voted in US elections in the mistaken belief that they were US citizens. The law modified past rules for child citizenship. Under the CCA, certain children born outside the US who did not obtain citizenship at birth may obtain citizenship automatically after admission as permanent residents (CCA § 101) or may be eligible for expeditious naturalization (CCA § 102). The act also implemented protections for some individuals who have voted or claimed to be US citizens as a result of a good faith mistake (CCA § 201).
Child laundering is a tactic used in illegal or fraudulent international adoptions. It may involve child trafficking and child acquisition through payment, deceit or force. The children may then be held in sham orphanages while formal adoption processes are used to send them to adoptive parents in another country.
Justin Jitae Chon is an American actor and filmmaker. He has directed three films, Gook (2017), Ms. Purple (2019), and Blue Bayou (2021). He is also known for portraying Eric Yorkie in The Twilight Saga film series. He is a member of the K-pop parody group Boys Generally Asian.
Alicia Amanda Vikander is a Swedish actress. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, and nominations for two Golden Globe Awards and three British Academy Film Awards.
Child-selling is the practice of selling children, usually by parents, legal guardians, or subsequent custodians, including adoption agencies, orphanages and Mother and Baby Homes. Where the subsequent relationship with the child is essentially non-exploitative, it is usually the case that purpose of child-selling was to permit adoption.
Seoul Searching is a 2016 South Korean comedy-drama film written and directed by Benson Lee and starring Justin Chon, Jessika Van, Cha In-pyo and Teo Yoo.
Jessabelle is a 2014 American supernatural horror film directed and edited by Kevin Greutert and written by Ben Garant. The film stars Sarah Snook, Mark Webber, David Andrews, Joelle Carter, and Ana de la Reguera. The film was released by Lionsgate on November 7, 2014.
Gook is a 2017 American drama film written and directed by Justin Chon. It tells the story of two Korean-American brothers running their father's shoe store, and their unlikely friendship with a neighborhood 11-year-old black girl, during the first day of the 1992 Los Angeles riots. The film stars Justin Chon, Simone Baker, David So, Sang Chon, Curtiss Cook Jr. and Ben Munoz. The film was released on August 18, 2017, by Samuel Goldwyn Films.
It is not uncommon for Korean adoptees to be deported from the United States. Due to the institutional and parental failure to grant and apply for adopted children's citizenship, South Koreans adopted by American families prior to 1983 were left vulnerable to deportations, and many suffered from a lack of access to other resources American citizens have.
Return to Seoul is a 2022 drama film written and directed by Davy Chou starring Ji-Min Park as a 25-year-old French adoptee who travels to South Korea seeking her biological parents.
Ante Cheng is a Taipei-born American cinematographer, based in Los Angeles. He is best known for his work on Ms. Purple, Blue Bayou and Pachinko.
↑ Jaehwan Park (October 3, 2021). ""미국의 코리안" '푸른 호수' 부산국제영화제 매진"["Korean American" and "Blue Lake" sold out at Busan International Film Festival]. KBS Entertainment (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
