Monsoon

"Monsoon feels like a precisely considered expression of the untethered experience of migration."

"Most film-makers would crank the themes loud. But Khaou is never less than measured in his study of place and displacement..."

"(A) gentle, nuanced and meditative story of cultural and emotional disconnection."

"More of a slow drip than a torrential downpour. It’s a lovely film that suddenly and magically can wash over you, then lose you in its opacities."

"Khaou is so intent on not being obvious... that the dilemmas and dissatisfactions of the immigrant experience get lost among the subtleties."

"Monsoon could stand to be a little more turbulent, but that doesn't mean it won't stir something within you."

"Offers a poignant picture of the emigrant experience as well as Vietnam's post-war hangover, while cementing Henry Golding's position as a leading man to watch."

"Leaves a lasting, optimistic impression of love and friendship."

"A thoughtful, deeply felt movie of great sweetness, unfolding at an unhurried pace."

"Tips over the line that separates minimalism from a not-fully-developed movie."

"A quiet, solitary affair designed to communicate how isolating it can be to travel alone in a big city, especially one you have a fragmentary relationship to."

"Some may find the pacing a little too languid, but its worth persevering, as the real, tender heart of the story eventually starts to pour forth."

"As he did in Lilting, Khaou in Monsoon finely sketches the complex inner lives and identities of a small group of characters and plugs them into a narrative that unfolds gradually but precisely, so audiences have the time to consider the work's larger thematic concerns."

"A well-acted, gracefully shot, but perhaps overly delicate exploration of a Vietnamese-born Briton's return to the country of his childhood."