The response of Daughter from Danang - Essay Example

The response of "Daughter from Danang." 2006 Daughter from Danang is a human drama depicted with such a mastery that a viewer becomes insider of the emotions bursting on the screen. This film is emotionally powerful depiction of real life story of an adopted Vietnamese child Mai Thi Hiep named Heidi Bub. We see on the screen real emotions of real people. Emotional power of the documentary is incredible. The filmmakers do not interfere in the natural motion of the story and it unfolds by itself.

The film with its natural flow of conversation makes the film a real treasure for research of cultural differences and how they impact the life of people.Family reunion which we observe impresses by spontaneity and immediacy. ‘The actors’ are so much involved in the process that they create excitement which can be rarely produced by professional actors. It’s no wonder that the film won the Documentary Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. The story of Heidi impresses with the pain and despair of the children torn between two cultures.

Heidi feels herself miserable as he tries to find love and understanding among her birth family but what she finds is disillusionment. This disillusionment comes from the lack of understanding people who grew up in entirely different world with its own customs and visions. When Heidi’s dream to meet her family comes true, she is embarrassed and is not sure what to do. After the family reunion Heidi is greatly disappointed. We come to realize the existence of the gap which now separates Heidi and her family - the cultural gap.

We see from the first scenes of meeting the emotional burden which Heidi comes to experience. While her mother is on the emotional high, Heidi is more bewildered, embarrassed and uncertain. She feels startled and tense. She sees the life with her family in another light, different from that before the reunion. Life of poverty and misery, hard toil of her mother to support other children – that’s what she sees in the real life of her family. The cultural gap which separates Americanized Heidi and her family is evident in many life situation.

The tension from cultural shock comes to a climax and Heidi feels that she wants to go home as soon as possible. At the farewell party when Heidi’s brother comes to talk about financial issues directly, she feels completely disconnected from the Vietnamese family. She perceives money issue in the American way – it’s not better talked about. What Heidi expected is unconditioned love and care. Heidi is not aware of the family relations and obligations which are traditional for Asian families.

Instead she is focused on her own self which is very much American way of thinking. Even after returning home Heidi is alienated and is not sure if she supports relations with her family overseas. She feels like her family wants to take advantage of her and that’s what she did not expect to find. On the other hand her family did not mean to hurt her and use her but that’s how Vietnamese see family obligations. The visions of two cultures collide and it comes to be the root of the opposition.

We cannot accuse anyone of being not right in this situation. That’s how cultural differences prove to be a great force.The reunion is painful both Heidi and her family as well as viewers. Heidi comes to realize how different she and her family are. It’s entirely different world which she refuses to accept. This difference cannot be patched with all the joy and excitement of the meeting. This film shows the force of cultural differences and how family bonds get disrupted by the war. It impresses with frankness and genuineness of feelings and emotional conversations involve the viewer into this personal story and make one a participant of it.

The viewer experiences that grief and sorrow which the main characters feel and becomes aware of the injustices of the war.