The Teardrop Pearl of Ha Long (1995)
Directed by Nguyen Huu Phan / Tran Vu
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Synopsis by Sandra Brennan
This Asian melodrama, set in Vietnam during the late 1970s, follows a love affair torn asunder by social pressures and border politics. The story takes place in a small community northwestern Vietnam where the Chinese and locals have lived in harmony for many years. A-Chau is a Chinese potter. She is in love with Quang, a fisherman. Unfortunately, she is forced to marry the son of her family's benefactor Ma Cuong, a spoiled selfish brat. He is also ethnic Chinese. A-Chau protests in vain that Ma, her fiance's father, married a Vietnamese. In desperation, she and Quang elope and escape by boat. They live with a village of coral divers until A-Chau gets pregnant and must return where she bears the child. The year is 1978. When the Sino-Vietnamese border war erupts, all ethnic Chinese were exiled back to China, including A-Chau who had to leave her son with Quang. After many years, the lovers are finally reunited.
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Keywords
forbidden-love, Vietnam, marriage-arranged, elopement, escape, pregnancy