Má Sài Gòn (Vietnamese Documentary) [Mother Saigon]

This is an intimate look into Vietnam’s quietly thriving queer and trans communities. Through a series of portraits, the director explores different individuals from various marginalized groups across Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) who are all trying to live their lives authentically. It follows an intimate collective of people who both challenge and reinforce traditional concepts of family and love within the LGBTQ community in Saigon. The one big thing to note here is that this documentary is made by a Vietnamese born director (but raised in Canada), which is quite a contrast as clarified by one of the participants saying "There are a lot of people who have filmed the Asian LGBTQ+ community but most of them don’t understand our reality and don’t get it right in their films."

Family is at the centre of the film. A wedding is being planned. Relatives have to be won over. Parents adjust to their kids’ sexuality and get to know their new partners. Some of them dive headlong into queer society, one mother acquiring stereotypically fabulous spending habits into the process, which puts pressure on the gay son from whom she constantly borrows money. Elsewhere, a house mother reminds the young people she has taken in to think about their futures. The implication is clear: it is no longer acceptable to assume, if living as a social outcast, that one won’t have one. Things are changing in Vietnam. This community is full of people who are no longer prepared to put up with being marginalized, with having their stories erased. Amid reflections on heartbreak, there are stories of love, some of which we see directly in happy couples and in recently expanded families whose older members glow with pride. Discussions about the difficulty of forming lasting relationships as a trans person with cis partners who find themselves under pressure to find a marriage which will produce children are balanced by an appreciation of the ridiculousness of some cis people’s behavior. There is also a focus on the community’s determination to create joy and celebration on its own terms. Many of the participants work in the fashion business, and in their spare time they create amazing outfits which blend elements of modern and traditional design. Pageants and drag performances are shot with a focus on audience reactions, emphasizing the way that being accepted and adored on stage can help those who have faced rejection elsewhere to heal.

From drag families to odd couples to trans women revelling in the butterflies of new romance, this doc shows us the full rainbow of Vietnamese LGBTQ+ culture. The film and its subjects search for answers to larger questions of love, family, desire, and liberation. The one unique thing in this documentary is that it feels less interrogational and more observational. There are no interviews or talking heads here; we are not being “taught” about the queer scene in Vietnam, as a more typical approach might entail. Instead, we are introduced to queer and trans romance in this city via different vignettes, each of which exist entirely on their own, separate from the others and only connected by the fact that some type of love is at the forefront of the respective story. Instead of just love, characters talk much about family and fitting in within the more traditional Vietnamese society. There are long conversations on how to please mothers and mothers-in-law. Rather than a centerpiece, the city feels like an encroach­ing shadow, ready to overtake the small world this community has constructed. This prioritization of love and kinship is what makes this documentary stand apart. We see how each queer character moves through this city, how the city views them, and, more importantly, how they see themselves and each other. The director is aware that conservative views exist in the bedrock of any society, and he takes care to explore the traumas and grief the subjects might have endured. Overall a decent piece of art for those who are interested in knowing the communities and what it really means to be part of LGBTQ society on other parts f the world, in this case Saigon. (5/10)