Journey from the Fall
Journey from the Fall is a 2006 independent drama by Ham Tran about the aftershocks of the Fall of Saigon in 1975. The film follows a Vietnamese family as they struggle to survive and find a new life after escaping to the United States.
The story centers on Mai, her husband Long, their son Lai, and Mai’s mother-in-law. Long is imprisoned in a North Vietnamese re-education camp. Meanwhile, Mai and her relatives flee Vietnam by boat and hope to settle in Southern California. Believing his family is dead, Long becomes worn down by harsh conditions, but when he learns they are alive in America, he vows to join them at any cost.
Financed entirely by the Vietnamese American community, Journey from the Fall premiered in 2006 and opened in the United States on March 23, 2007, to sold-out screenings. The film stars Kieu Chinh, Long Nguyen, Diem Lien, and Cat Ly. It is in Vietnamese and English and runs 135 minutes.
Critical reception was strong. Rotten Tomatoes scored it around 92% positive, with praise for its photography and performances. The New York Times lauded the director for creating something powerful, the Los Angeles Times called it a superb saga of loss and survival, and The Mercury News described it as heartbreaking. Variety suggested it deserved a wider audience. Some reviews were more mixed or negative.
The film faced controversy in Vietnam, where it was banned for being deemed defaming and distorted. Despite this, unlicensed copies circulated widely.
Box office began strong with an opening weekend of about $87,000 on four screens, and the film grossed roughly $630,000 in its limited release. The 2-disc DVD came out in 2007 with extras, and a Blu-ray release followed in 2024. An early cut was shown in 2005 in several U.S. cities to mark the 30-year anniversary of the Fall of Saigon.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 14:56 (CET).