Examine individual changes

'{{Infobox film | name = Blue Bayou | image = Blue Bayou (film).jpg | border = no | caption = Theatrical release poster | director = [[Justin Chon]] | producers = {{Plainlist| * Charles D. King * Kim Roth * Poppy Hanks * Justin Chon }} | writers = Justin Chon | starring = {{Plainlist| * Justin Chon * [[Alicia Vikander]] * [[Mark O'Brien (actor)|Mark O'Brien]] * [[Linh Dan Pham]] * Sydney Kowalske * [[Vondie Curtis-Hall]] * [[Emory Cohen]] }}<!--PER BILLING BLOCK--> | editing = Reynolds Barney | music = Roger Suen | cinematography = {{Plainlist| * Matthew Chuang * Ante Cheng }} | studio = {{Plainlist| * [[Entertainment One]] * MACRO }} | distributor = {{Plainlist| * [[Focus Features]] (United States) * [[Universal Pictures]] (International)<ref>{{cite web|title='Blue Bayou': Cannes Review|website=[[Screen Daily]]|first=Lee|last=Marshall|date=14 July 2021|access-date=10 August 2021|url=https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/blue-bayou-cannes-review/5161601.article}}</ref> }} | released = {{Film date|2021|7|13|[[2021 Cannes Film Festival|Cannes]]|2021|9|17|United States}} | runtime = 119 minutes<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/festival/films/blue-bayou|title=Blue Bayou|website=[[Cannes Film Festival]]|access-date=June 28, 2021}}</ref> | country = United States | language = English | budget = | gross = $719,922<ref name=NUM>{{cite web|url= https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Blue-Bayou-(2020)#tab=summary |title= Blue Bayou (2021)|website=[[The Numbers (website)|The Numbers]]|access-date=September 28, 2021}}</ref><ref name=BOM>{{cite web|url= https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl777749249/?ref_=bo_da_table_10 |title= Blue Bayou (2021)|website=[[Box Office Mojo]]|access-date=September 28, 2021}}</ref> }} '''''Blue Bayou''''' is a 2021 American [[drama film]] written and directed by [[Justin Chon]]. The film stars Chon, [[Alicia Vikander]], [[Mark O'Brien (actor)|Mark O'Brien]], [[Linh Dan Pham]], Sydney Kowalske, [[Vondie Curtis-Hall]] and [[Emory Cohen]]. ''Blue Bayou'' had its world premiere at the [[2021 Cannes Film Festival|Cannes Film Festival]] in July 13, 2021 and was released in the United States on September 17, 2021, by [[Focus Features]]. ==Plot== Antonio LeBlanc is a [[International adoption of South Korean children|Korean American adoptee]] and tattoo artist living outside [[New Orleans]] with his pregnant wife Kathy, a rehabilitation nurse, and her biological daughter Jessie. Due to his criminal record, he 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 [[New Orleans Police Department|NOPD]] officers Ace and Denny, the former being Jessie’s absent biological father, Antonio is violently arrested. He is placed into [[U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement|ICE]] custody and faces deportation when it is revealed that his adoptive parents never [[Naturalization|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 America 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 had died during the journey. After receiving a tattoo of [[Fleur-de-lis]] from Antonio, she 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), she 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. 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. Denny brags to Ace about assaulting Antonio and making him miss his hearing, and Ace, disgusted, arrests him. After saying his final goodbyes to his friends, Antonio is escorted by ICE to the airport for deportation to South Korea. Intending to go with him, Kathy and Jessie manage to locate him at the airport. Ace also arrives, wanting to say his farewells to Jessie, his daughter, before she leaves. Not wanting to displace his own family and not knowing where he'll be sent, Antonio tells them to stay in America. Unable to let go of an inconsolable Jessie, Antonio is forcibly separated from her as she cries out for him. Real-life cases of other unnaturalized adoptees who are either facing deportation or have been deported are shown, along with the estimates by the [[Deportation of Korean adoptees from the United States|Adoptee Rights Campaign]] of international adoptees who face similar circumstances. ==Cast== * [[Justin Chon]] as Antonio LeBlanc * [[Alicia Vikander]] as Kathy LeBlanc * [[Mark O'Brien (actor)|Mark O'Brien]] as Ace * [[Linh Dan Pham]] as Parker * Sydney Kowalske as Jessie LeBlanc * [[Vondie Curtis-Hall]] as Barry Boucher * [[Emory Cohen]] as Denny ==Production== In October 2019, it was announced [[Justin Chon]], [[Alicia Vikander]], [[Mark O'Brien (actor)|Mark O'Brien]], [[Linh Dan Pham]] and [[Emory Cohen]] had joined the cast of the film, with Chon directing from a screenplay he wrote.<ref>{{cite web|last=N'Duka|first=Amanda|title=Justin Chon, Alicia Vikander Plus More Star In 'Blue Bayou' Drama From Chon, MACRO & eOne|date=14 October 2019|publisher=[[Deadline Hollywood]]|url=https://deadline.com/2019/10/justin-chon-alicia-vikande-blue-bayou-macro-eone-1202759282/|access-date=24 January 2020}}</ref> [[Principal photography]] began in October 2019, and concluded by December.<ref>{{cite web|last=Lawrence|first=Gregory|date=14 October 2019|title=Justin Chon Preps New Movie 'Blue Bayou' Alongside Alicia Vikander|url=https://collider.com/alicia-vikander-new-movie-justin-chon-blue-bayou/|access-date=24 January 2020|publisher=[[Collider (website)|Collider]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=N'Duka|first=Amanda|date=2 December 2019|title=Mark O'Brien Sets Feature Directorial Debut With 'The Righteous'|url=https://deadline.com/2019/12/mark-obrien-feature-directorial-debut-the-righteous-1202793058/|access-date=24 January 2020|publisher=[[Deadline Hollywood]]}}</ref> It was filmed and set in New Orleans, Louisiana.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|last=writer|first=MIKE SCOTT {{!}} Contributing|title=An open letter to Dennis Quaid: Or how the New Orleans-shot 'Blue Bayou’ gets it right|url=https://www.nola.com/entertainment_life/movies_tv/article_e413edb4-1562-11ec-a45c-9fa638973817.html|access-date=2021-09-18|website=NOLA.com|language=en}}</ref> Chon has been working on this movie for 4 years.<ref name=":0" /> He consulted five adoptees who read drafts.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-09-18|title=Justin Chon on his heartbreaking "Blue Bayou": "I wanted to do justice to the adoptee community"|url=https://www.salon.com/2021/09/18/blue-bayou-justin-chon-adoption-immigration/|access-date=2021-09-19|website=Salon|language=en}}</ref> 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."<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Director Justin Chon on how he tried to capture an authentic adoptee experience|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/director-justin-chon-tried-capture-authentic-adoptee-experience-rcna1921|access-date=2021-09-16|website=NBC News|language=en}}</ref> Chon spoke with adoptees Kristopher Larsen,<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|last=Bae|first=Hannah|last2=|first2=|last3=|last4=|first4=|date=16 September 2021|title=In Justin Chon’s ‘Blue Bayou,’ one man’s fictional immigration saga raises real-world political awareness|url=https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/movies-tv/in-justin-chons-blue-bayou-one-mans-fictional-immigration-saga-raises-real-world-political-awareness|url-status=live|access-date=2021-09-20|website=Datebook {{!}} San Francisco Arts & Entertainment Guide|language=en-US}}</ref> who was director of Adoptees for Justice, and Anissa Druesedow<ref name=":6">{{Cite web|last=Sun|first=Rebecca|last2=Sun|first2=Rebecca|date=2021-09-17|title=‘Hollywood Remixed’: Jose Antonio Vargas and ‘Blue Bayou’ Director/Star Justin Chon Tell Stories About Undocumented Immigrants|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/blue-bayou-justin-chon-hollywood-remixed-podcast-1235015493/|access-date=2021-09-20|website=The Hollywood Reporter|language=en-US}}</ref> 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."<ref name=":2" /> The movie is based on true stories Chon heard from Korean adoptee friends as well as research that revealed a broader crisis for [[Asian Americans|Asian American]] adoptees of a certain age.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web|last=Nast|first=Condé|date=2021-07-07|title=Justin Chon Confronts a Broken American Dream in ‘Blue Bayou’|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/07/cannes-premiere-blue-bayou-justin-chon-interview|access-date=2021-09-22|website=Vanity Fair|language=en-US}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Nast|first=Condé|date=2021-09-16|title=With Cannes Darling 'Blue Bayou,' Justin Chon Asks What It Means to Be an American|url=https://www.gq.com/story/justin-chon-blue-bayou-interview|access-date=2021-09-16|website=GQ|language=en-US}}</ref> 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#Abuse_and_negligence|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."<ref name=":1" /> ==Release== In July 2020, [[Focus Features]] acquired distribution rights to the film.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2020/film/news/justin-chon-blue-bayou-sells-to-focus-feature-cannes-virtual-market-1234696449/|title=Justin Chon's 'Blue Bayou' Sells to Focus Features Out of Cannes Virtual Market (EXCLUSIVE)|website=Variety|first=Matt|last=Donnelly|date=July 2, 2020|access-date=July 2, 2020}}</ref> It was released on September 17, 2021,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2021/05/city-on-the-hills-mark-obrien-amcs-1234761903/|title=City On A Hill's Mark O'Brien Joins AMC Series '61st Street'|publisher=Deadline|first=Justin|last=Kroll|date=May 21, 2021|access-date=May 26, 2021}}</ref> after being postponed from its originally announced date of June 25, 2021.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2020/10/focus-features-eyes-summer-2021-release-for-cannes-market-pick-up-blue-bayou-1234606849/|title=Focus Features Eyes Summer 2021 Release For Cannes Market Pick-Up 'Blue Bayou'|website=Deadline Hollywood|first=Anthony|last=D'Alessandro|date=October 30, 2020|access-date=October 30, 2020}}</ref> ==Reception== ===Box Office=== In United States, the film released in limited theaters alongside ''[[The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2021 film)|The Eyes of Tammy Faye]]'' to be played theatres totally 477 and it grossed $120K in Domestic Box Office in its opening weekend.<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl777749249/?ref_=bo_da_table_10 |title = it is a film was Friday opening}}</ref> ===Critical Reception=== ''Blue Bayou'' holds a 74% approval rating on [[review aggregator]] [[Rotten Tomatoes]], based on 43 reviews, with a [[Weighted arithmetic mean|weighted average]] of 6.40/10. 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."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/blue_bayou_2021|title=Blue Bayou (2021)|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|access-date=September 17, 2021}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], the film holds a rating of 59 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/blue-bayou|title=Blue Bayou Reviews|website=[[Metacritic]]|access-date=September 17, 2021}}</ref> == Controversy == Members of the international Korean adoptee community have criticized the film and called for its boycott,<ref name=":8">{{Cite web|date=2021-09-21|title=Adoptees Call For Boycott of “Blue Bayou”|url=http://reappropriate.co/2021/09/adoptees-call-for-boycott-of-blue-bayou/|access-date=2021-09-22|website=Reappropriate|language=en-US}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|last=Crapser|first=Adam|date=2021-09-20|title=Here is my statement|url=https://www.facebook.com/AdamCrapser2017/posts/4467915886608200|url-status=live|access-date=2021-09-22|website=Facebook|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=https://twitter.com/taelixev/status/1440129367250665485/photo/1|url=https://twitter.com/taelixev/status/1440129367250665485/photo/1|access-date=2021-09-22|website=Twitter|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=West|first=Amy|date=2021-09-22|title=Twilight star's new movie criticised over adoptee representation|url=https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a37689752/twilight-justin-chon-blue-bayou-criticism-adoptee-representation/|access-date=2021-09-23|website=Digital Spy|language=en-GB}}</ref> Focus Features has since removed the VIP trip promotion.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ultimate New Orleans Weekend Sweepstakes|url=https://insider.focusfeatures.com/sweeps/blue-bayou-new-orleans-sweepstakes|access-date=2021-09-23|website=Ultimate New Orleans Weekend Sweepstakes|language=en}}</ref> 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.<ref name="NBCAC">{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/justin-chon-s-blue-bayou-faces-backlash-after-accusations-exploiting-n1280255|publisher=NBC News|last=Yam|first=Kimmy| date=September 28, 2021|title=Justin Chon's 'Blue Bayou' faces backlash after accusations of exploiting an adoptee's story|access-date=2021-09-28}}</ref> Adoptees for Justice, an international nonprofit advocacy group, issued a statement that they were aware Focus Feature 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. <ref>{{cite web|url=https://adopteesforjustice.org/adoptees-for-justice-demands-a-response-from-justin-chon-and-focus-features/?fbclid=IwAR0l7K56_7G4QBYN_uQ8eBPa4SDJAqkgJwsuri4MUG5lQCAve-EwQk3gf0E|title=Adoptees For Justice demands a response from Justin Chon and Focus Features| publisher=Adoptees For Justice|access-date=2021-09-28}}</ref> 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," Crapser said in a statement. "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."<ref name="NBCAC" /> ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== * {{IMDb title|id=11121664}} * {{Rotten Tomatoes|blue_bayou_2021}} * {{Metacritic film|blue-bayou}} [[Category:2020s English-language films]] [[Category:2021 films]] [[Category:American films]] [[Category:American drama films]] [[Category:Focus Features films]] [[Category:Entertainment One films]] [[Category:2021 drama films]] [[Category:Asian-American cinema]] [[Category:Independent films]] [[Category:Asian-American drama films]] [[Category:Asian-American-related controversies]] [[Category:Asian-American films]] [[Category:Films about adoption]] [[Category:Films set in New Orleans]] [[Category:Films set in Louisiana]] [[Category:Films shot in New Orleans]] [[Category:Films shot in Louisiana]] [[Category:Films about immigration]]'