THE MOST BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY IN THE WORLD

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY IN THE WORLD is a 2004 Vietnam-related drama film set in 1990. It is directed by Hans Petter Moland and starring Damien Nguyen, Nick Nolte, Bai Ling, Chau Thi Kim Xuan, Tim Roth, Anh Thu, Temuera Morrison and John Hussey. The screenplay was written by Sabina Murray, a writer who teaches at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst's MFA Program for Poets & Writers.

The film tells the story of Binh, a Vietnamese boy who is often referred to as a "bui doi" (a derogatory term which has come to refer to a Vietnamese-born child fathered by an American soldier during the Vietnam War). After a life of prejudice and servitude, Binh decides to leave his tiny Vietnamese village and search for his mother in Saigon. Binh finds his mother, Mai, and discovers he has a younger brother, energetic and precocious Tam. Mai is employed by Mrs. Hoa, the cruel mistress of a great house. After getting a job at the house with his mother, Binh discovers that she is sexually harassed constantly by Mrs. Hoa's son.

While dusting with his mother, Binh lifts a red glass statue of Buddha, a precious family heirloom, to allow his mother to dust. As Binh lifts the statue to see it glow in the sun, the mistress walks in and charges Binh, calling him a thief. As Binh tries to keep the Buddha safe in his arms, the mistress slips on a wet patch of the floor, falling to her death. Binh and his mother quickly escape the house back to their apartment. They frantically pack the belongings of Binh and Tam. His mother gives them American money, the address of Binh's American father, and passage on a boat.

Binh and Tam both make it onto a boat bound for the United States, but a storm knocks them off course and instead takes them to Malaysia. Stuck in a refugee camp, Binh and Tam adapt to their new circumstances and meet Ling, a Chinese prostitute whose passage to America was also detoured to Malaysia. Binh and Ling seem to develop feelings for each other, kissing after Ling sings a ballad in Mandarin and dances for him.

Ling had been selling sexual favors for some time (though she dreams of a life as a singer) and had managed to buy herself, Binh, and Tam's way out of the refugee complex and onto a barge captained by the British Captain Oh. During the voyage Binh, Ling, and Tam suffer under shortages of food and rationing of fresh water. A gambling game (two contenders shout off American brand names in succession) threatens the other passengers by unfairly winning their food, water, and money. Several people succumb to the conditions, as does little Tam. A heartbroken Binh and Ling give him a funeral at sea.

The immigrants finally reach the United States, but are quickly rushed into transport trucks, bound for Chinatown in New York City. Binh works at a Chinese restaurant as a delivery boy and Ling works in a Chinatown cabaret, though she still keeps prostitution as her main source of income. Ling eventually meets a wealthy businessman to support her. Binh's feelings for Ling go unanswered. Binh sends a letter explaining Tam's death to his mother, along with all the money he had saved thus far.

Binh finds out (over a poker game with his friends) that Vietnamese children born to American fathers are allowed free airplane passage to the United States and granted citizenship. Angry because he didn't have to lose his brother, he promptly leaves his job and hitch hikes toward Austin, Texas, meeting amputee Vietnam War veterans and a Hispanic family along the way. Upon reaching the address Binh finds a woman, his father's ex-wife. His father had relocated after their divorce, working as a handyman at a ranch in Sweetwater, Texas. Binh is finally confronted with his father, blinded after opening a crate filled with explosives he thought was beer during the war. While Binh doesn't confess that he's his son, his father realizes it and the film ends with Binh and his father joking and laughing as he cuts his father's hair.

Nationalism movement

In 1905 the first nationalist movement, the Islamic Trade Union was formed and was followed in 1908 by the nationalist movements that followed, Budi Utomo. The Dutch responded after World War with repressive measures. Nationalist leaders came from small groups consisting of young professionals and students, which some of them have been educated in the Netherlands. Many of those who were imprisoned for political activities, including Indonesia's first president, Sukarno.

Colonization of the Dutch government

After the VOC went bankrupt in the late 18th century and after a short British rule under Thomas Stamford Raffles, the Dutch government took over ownership of the VOC in the year 1816. A successful rebellion was crushed in Java Java War in 1825-1830. After the year 1830 the compulsory system, known as cultuurstelsel in Dutch began to be applied. In this system, the residents were forced to plant the results of the plantation into the world market demand at the time, like tea, coffee etc.. Yield was then exported to foreign countries. These systems bring great wealth to the executive - both the Dutch and the Indonesian. This cultivation system is a government monopoly and was abolished in that time more freely after 1870.

In 1901 the Dutch adopted what they called the Ethical Policy (Dutch: a political Ethische), which included greater investment in education for indigenous people, and little political change. Under the governor-generals J.B. van Heutsz Dutch East Indies government to extend direct colonial rule throughout the Dutch East Indies, and thereby establish the foundation for the current state of Indonesia.

Colonization VOC

Starting in 1602 the Netherlands gradually became the ruler of what is now Indonesian territory, by exploiting divisions among the small kingdoms that had replaced Majapahit. The only one not affected is of Portuguese Timor, which remains controlled by Portugal until 1975 when integrated into Indonesian province called East Timor. The Dutch controlled Indonesia for nearly 350 years, except for a short period in which a small part of Indonesia ruled Britain after the Anglo-Dutch Java War and the period of Japanese occupation during World War II. When colonizing Indonesia, Netherlands East Indies Netherlands developed into one of the world's richest colonial power. 350 years of Dutch colonial rule for some people is a myth because the newly conquered territory of Aceh after the Netherlands close to bankruptcy.
VOC logo

In the 17th century the Dutch East Indies and 18 are not controlled directly by the Dutch government but by a trading company called the Dutch East Indies Company (Dutch: Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie or VOC). VOC has been given monopoly rights to trade and colonial activities in the area by the Dutch Parliament in 1602. Headquarters are in Batavia, now Jakarta.

VOC main purpose was to defend the monopoly of the spice trade in the archipelago. This is done through the use and threat of violence against the population on the island spice, and on people of non-Dutch who tried to trade with their resident. For example, when the population of the Banda Islands continued to sell seeds of nutmeg to the British merchants, the Dutch troops to kill or deport almost the entire population and then populating the islands with the servants or slaves who worked in the nutmeg plantations.

VOC became involved in the internal politics of Java at this time, and fought in several wars involving the leaders of Mataram and Banten.