Le Ly grows up in a village in the countryside of Vietnam. She
experiences big changes in her life and that of her village at the hands of communist fighters who fight off the French army to begin with and later on the American. Le Ly gets raped by Viet Cong insurgents, because they think her to be a traitor. Her standing with the village is irreparably destroyed by that, and she and her family have to leave.
Click here to see the rest of this review...
They move to Saigon and she finds a domestic job with a family. The
master of the house makes her believe he really cares for her, she falls in love with him and gets his baby. The mistress of the house finds out about it and throws Le Ly and her family out. They have to move back to the countryside. Le Ly meets Steve Butler (Tommy Lee Jones), who serves in the United States Army. At the time, she doesn't want to get involved and have a boyfriend or get married. Steve falls in love with Le Ly and takes care of her, improving her life.
At the end of the war, the two leave Vietnam for the United States and start a life together. At first things go well, but the years of
aggression have made Steve a violent prone man. The relationship
deteriorates, despite attempts to reconcile. After an emotional
plea by Le Ly, asking him to come back to her, he kills himself. Many years after this tragedy, Le Ly returns to Vietnam with her boys to show them her roots.
Best part of story, including ending:
It shows the impact war has on people's personal lives and emotional state.
Best scene in story:
Where he declares her his love for the first time.
Opinion about the main character:
Mentally he goes to pieces because of his experiences in Vietnam and his very life follows suit.
