Blue Bayou Movie Review

Blue Bayou (2021)

Rent Blue Bayou on Amazon Video (paid link)
Written by: Justin Chon
Directed by: Justin Chon
Starring: Justin Chon, Alicia Vikander, Mark O'Brien
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
As a Korean-American man raised in the Louisiana bayou works hard to make a life for his family, he must confront the ghosts of his past as he discovers that he could be deported from the only country he has ever called home.

Verdict
This movie feels real, like this is from someone who experienced this. The movie is raw and indulgent at times, but it is also focused on what the main character feels.  It does an excellent job of conveying those feelings. You wonder where this will go, and this ends strongly. This is something that happens to people, caught in bureaucratic processes that upends their life. I can't wait to see what Chon does next.
Watch It.

Review
Chon consulted multiple adoptees over years while writing the script. Antonio (Justin Chon) is the victim of a law passed after he was adopted, and he didn't know that and missed the paperwork for that and when he got married. He's technically an illegal immigrant despite living his entire life in America. This fact comes to a point due to an interaction with a racist police officer.

Justin Chon plays Antonio

This provides a lot of information quickly about Antonio. He's a non-violent felon trying to get a job to support his pregnant wife and daughter. It's not easy to get a job with a felony on your record. Due to being adopted out of Korea, he doesn't look like everyone else in the area. He's in a tough spot, dealing with a lot. He needs work, but you need money to make money. His situation goes from bad to worse. It's a small town and an interaction with a cop goes bad.

Antonio is on the verge of being deported because his adoptive parents didn't fill out the right paperwork. Of course this is paperwork in relation to a law that was passed in 2000 long after Antonio was first adopted. it's a law to protect children adopted internationally, but it provides no protection for adoptees that were over eighteen when the law passed. There's no way for Antonio to know that, but it doesn't matter. He's faced with voluntary deportation with the chance of coming back or appealing and never getting back if he loses. Being a felon doesn't help. All of this happened because of a cop wanting to "help" his partner Ace by removing Antonio from the equation so Ace can get back with his ex. The logic is thin, but that's how some people think.

Alicia Vikander and Justin Chon play Kathy and Antonio

The people with no money are always the target. They can't fight back. Antonio is desperate with his back against the wall. He's told he'll lose everything if he doesn't pay for a lawyer, but he has no money. He opts for high risk quick cash. You can't fault him. Who wouldn't do anything to preserve their way of life? He was targeted for no real reason, a victim of circumstance and a lapse in the process that fell through the cracks.

I didn't see this ending well. With every scene, things get worse for Antonio. It's not an easy ending at all, and it hits hard emotionally. This story feels real, and that's because Chon consulted with people that have experienced that.