Detailed Analysis of The Happiest Refugee Film Scene - English Essay

This report provides a detailed analysis of a film scene adaptation from Anh Do's 'The Happiest Refugee.' The essay outlines the director's approach to a specific scene, focusing on the family's escape from Vietnam. It describes characters, their attire, and dialogue, along with the setting, lighting, and props. The report emphasizes the importance of camera movements, background score, and acting to convey the scene's emotional depth. The analysis includes technical devices, such as camera techniques and lighting, to enhance the dramatic effect and the overall invited reading of the film. The goal is to create a compelling and emotionally resonant film adaptation that captures the story's themes of family, determination, and the refugee experience.

Running Head: ENGLISH ESSAY
English Essay
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ENGLISH ESSAY
Greetings to everyone who have gathered today! I want to extend my sincere gratitude to
all of you. As you all are hopefully aware, we have met today to discuss the shooting of a scene
from The Happiest Refugee, a popular story by Vietnamese-born Australian author Anh Do. It is
an extraordinary story of a journey of a family of 40 immigrants, who are forced to leave their
home in Vietnam, and in an attempt to reach Malaysia, ends up in Australia. The story is one of
tragedy, heartache, endless determination and inspiration, all while invoking a brilliant sense of
humour under the penmanship of Do.
Now, the task of portraying such a story on film requires a similar amount of
determination and dedication. Narrating a story on the screen is quite different from that on paper
and requires a number of decisions about what and how to communicate messages and ideas to
the audience. The Happiest Refugee is a story, most formerly, about family and community. It
teaches us the value of gratitude and giving back. Therefore, these shall comprise of the main
theme of our film. One of the most important moments or scenes of the story is the part where
the family makes their final preparation just before fleeing Vietnam on a boat. The scene
presents a sense of compactness and solidarity among the family members along with a quiet
hushed tone of preparedness and an undertone of fear and anxiety of what might befall them in
the upcoming journey.
The scene opens in a dark hut, in a Vietnamese village. There is a narrow canal flowing
by the house, with a small boat tied close by. The time is around an hour before dawn; the sky is
still quite dark and there is a general overtone of darkness. The head of the family (Anh’s father)
is seen talking to a group of men, who are his brothers and cousins, discussing the plan of
escape. The overall atmosphere has a strong sense of fear and secrecy, where even in their own
home they are talking in a low, hushed tone. There is exchange of a final few dialogues, where

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the men discuss that Mr. Do would have to carefully navigate a smaller boat through the canals,
leading the family to the main boat “The Motherfish” without being noticed, as he was well
skilled from sailing through the waterways, to sell coal.
Next he is seen coming out of the hut and as he crosses another hut nearby, he hears the
murmur of women. This is his mother’s house, where a number of the women of the family who
were about to leave with them had put up for the night. Mr. Do approached the door, and from
the very dim light of pre-dawn, he made out the outline of his mother, who was kneeling on the
floor, praying with her rosary beads held tightly in her hands. Her face and expression portrayed
disdain and fear: disdain for the loss of her two sons who had died in a past attempt to escape and
fear for her present children and their families, who were about to make the same attempt. Her
son felt the guilt of having to leave his mother behind followed by fear as he remembered the
fate of his brothers. His expressions, after his mother’s, portray his feelings.
Finally, he walks into an adjacent hut which is his own house, where his wife and
children are resting. He looks at his family for some time, as if he is unsure whether he will be
seeing them under such peaceful conditions again or not. He crouches down and first kisses his
wife. Then he kisses his two sleeping sons: one two and a half years old and the other just a year
old. He looks at them with adoration and says “I love you, my sons”, and then gets up and
quietly steps out of his house to make the final preparations for the escape.
The significant characters in this scene are:
Mr Do (Anh’s father)- a Vietnamese man, around 25 years of age
Mr Do’s mother- a Vietnamese woman, around 60-65 years of age

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Mrs Do. (Anh’s mother)- a Vietnamese woman, 24-25 years of age
Anh Do- a child, two and a half to three years of age
Khao Do- a child, around one year old.
Apart from these, around 10 men and 8 women are required as extras, who will portray
the roles of Anh’s uncles, aunts and extended family.
The attire of all the characters should be dark, mostly shabby and thin. Trying to stick as
close to the real situation, we must keep in mind that Vietnam is a tropical country, with mostly
hot and humid climate, so the people would not require thick or warm clothes. The story is set in
the aftermath of the Vietnam War, where there is a lot of oppression on the people by the local
government. Also keeping in mind that the general tone of the scene is dark and the family is
attempting to escape through the darkness, clothes should be kept dark and simple. All the
characters are escaping from the country and have their family members with them. They are
running a grave risk of being caught and killed by the oppressive government regime.
The camera movements should not be too swift and should mainly consist of still shots,
which include close ups focusing on facial expressions and mid shots while showing dialogues
and discussions. The main movement of camera should be short pan shots as Mr. Do moves from
one hut to another. The tone is of cautious, slow movements, which should be reflected in the
camera work. The overall background score should be quiet, with soft violin at the end, after Mr.
Do kisses and sons and leaves the hut.
Emphasis should be laid on the depth of expressions, delivery of dialogues in the correct
tone and the right pauses and movements in acting. The seriousness and anxiety in the hearts of

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the characters should reach the audience. This part of the film conveys an extremely strong
emotion of attachment towards family, the one which comes when there is a strong sense of
losing them. It should strike the audience with the appropriate senses to make the film a worthy
and compelling watch. So let’s go!

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Bibliography:
Do, A. (2010). The Happiest Refugee : the extraordinary true story of a boy's journey from
starvation at sea to becoming one of Australia's best-loved comedians - PDF Free
Download. Retrieved 28 August 2019, from https://epdf.pub/the-happiest-refugee-the-
extraordinary-true-story-of-a-boys-journey-from-starvat.html