Y VÂN: THE LOST SOUNDS OF SAIGON

Director: Khoa Ha & Victor Velle

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½

A young woman’s journey to discover the grandfather she never knew becomes a bridge between family, music and country in Y Vân: The Lost Sounds of Saigon, a wondrously lovely, deeply moving documentary. From the Orange County diaspora community where the odyssey begins to deep into the steamy streets and collector’s culture of Vietnam, this small wonder of a film pulsates with retro style and a heartfelt connection to its subjects, past and present.

Co-directing with Victor Velle and out front of her own film is Khoa Ha, a Vietnamese-American whose parents relocated from their homeland to California when she was a child. The disconnect from community and culture that Khoa experiences is personal, but common to the immigrant experience; her story provides the narrative thrust, but thematically the film captures a longing for people and place that is universal amongst emigres.

The focus of her familial search is her grandfather Y Vân, whose legendary, almost mythical status as a pop-star crooner of the 1950s-60s has faded. Pre-1975 pop cultural relics all but disappeared following the Communist takeover in the wake of the American War; records of Y Vân’s hits Lòng Mẹ (Mother Heart) and Sài Gòn (Saigon) were rare, the reel-to-reel masters all but gone.

Ha and Velle unite a production team that deliver gorgeous images and an evocative cultural experience. Jake Mitchell’s camera captures colour and texture with an acute eye for beauty, and utilises long-lens technique to capture intimate moments while never seeming intrusive (a extended family dinner is a standout); editor Benjamin Shearn cuts with both propulsive energy and respectful restraint. Animators Thien Nguyen and Kim Dhan are the film’s MVPs, with still photos, record covers, archival material and original concepts brought to stunning life under their inspired artistry.   

Ultimately, Khoa’s return to Vietnam and determination to learn about the music and the man that was her ông nội brings with it scenes of profound reconnection, from the family members who recall Y Vân’s early years and musical growth to the collectors whose life-long musical passion now help a young woman define her lineage. Ha’s film builds momentum as a dramatic, detective-type story, but also soars as a testament to the bloodlines that shape us.