Movie of the Week-Lost in Paradise

Here's a second movie this week that I like very much. It is a story of male and female prostitution in Saigon, South Vietnam. It has English subtitles. It is an excellent movie if you are not homophobic. There is the side story of a mentally handicapped man and his pet duck. This side story touched my heart, indeed. It reminded me of my childhood years when I was raising a chick that think, I was his mother in the jungle of Panay Island during the American-Japanese War in the Philippines. Let me know if you like it. Lost in Paradise is a 2011 Vietnamese drama film directed by Vũ Ngọc Đãng. Its original title is Rebellious Hot Boy and the Story of Cười, the Prostitute and the Duck (Hot boy nổi loạn và câu chuyện về thằng Cười, cô gái điếm và con vịt), shortened to Rebellious Hot Boy (Hot boy nổi loạn) or simply Hot Boy. The film is set in Saigon and has two separate story lines. The first depicts a love triangle between three men, Khôi, Lam, and Đông, of whom the latter two work as prostitutes. The second concerns a mentally-handicapped man, Cười, his friendship with Hạnh, a female prostitute, and his attempts to raise a duckling. The film was a strong critical and commercial success in Vietnam. It has been shown at several international festivals, from which it garnered more mixed reviews. In particular its portrayal of homosexuality has been noted as ground breaking within the context of Vietnamese cinema.