Alamo Bay
Alamo Bay is a 1985 American drama film about a Vietnam veteran who clashes with Vietnamese immigrants who move to his fictitious Texas bay hometown. The film was directed by Louis Malle, and stars Amy Madigan and Ed Harris. Future Texas A&M and Dallas Cowboys linebacker Dat Nguyen, who was 9 at the time has a small role as a Little League ballplayer. The title soundtrack "Theme from Alamo Bay" by the artist Ry Cooder can be found on Music by Ry Cooder, a compilation album of Cooder's soundtracks from movies released between 1980 and 1993.
Alamo Bay | |
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Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Louis Malle |
Produced by | Louis Malle |
Written by | Alice Arlen |
Starring | Amy Madigan Ed Harris Ho Nguyen |
Music by | Ry Cooder |
Cinematography | Curtis Clark |
Edited by | James Bruce |
Distributed by | TriStar Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 98 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $380,970 |
Plot
The despondent Vietnam veteran in danger of losing his livelihood is pushed to the edge when he sees Vietnamese immigrants moving into the fishing industry in a Texas bay town. He teams up with other fishermen and the KKK to terrorize the vietnamese fishermen in a campaign of violence and intimidation based on true historical events that took place in Texas in the late 1970s and early 1980s.[1][2][3]
Cast
- Amy Madigan as Glory
- Ed Harris as Shang
- Ho Nguyen as Dihn
- Donald Moffat as Wally
- Truyen V. Tran as Ben
- Rudy Young as Skinner
- Cynthia Carle as Honey
- Martin LaSalle as Luis
- William Frankfather as Mac
- Lucky Mosley as Ab Crankshaw
- Bill Thurman as Sheriff
Reception
In his review, Vincent Canby of The New York Times said "Like many other movies that have their origins in a general idea, which characters and their story, Alamo Bay is almost shamefully clumsy and superficial - it's manufactured 'art.' Watching it is an unhappy experience that never becomes illuminating."[4]
References
- Smith, Laura (2017-11-06). "The war between Vietnamese fishermen and the KKK signaled a new type of white supremacy". Medium. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
- Tsai, Tim; Filmmaker, Documentary. "Decades After Clashing With The Klan, A Thriving Vietnamese Community In Texas". NPR.org. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
- Taylor, Paul (1984-12-26). "Vietnamese Shrimpers Alter Texas Gulf Towns". Washington Post. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
- https://www.nytimes.com/1985/04/03/movies/alamo-bay-ethnic-strife-in-texas.html