Lost in Paradise

Ho Chi Minh City can be a very cold place. And yet this pulsating urbane megacity spells hope and desire for Khoi, who has escaped from his rural background. This is the place where this twenty-year-old embarks on a classic journey of initiation from innocence to experience and maturity. His search for somewhere to live brings him in contact with Dong, a smooth operator who agrees to take him in. At Dong’s apartment Khoi meets Dong’s boyfriend, Lam. The two men steal everything the newcomer owns and disappear. Dong dumps Lam, who goes back to life as a streetworker. Khoi earns a crust as a carrier. Then one day Khoi happens to run into Lam, who is keen to make good after having stolen Khoi’s belongings. A fragile love affair ensues. But Dong is determined to destroy the tender romance between these two lost souls … This earthly tragicomic limbo is also inhabited by Cười, a mentally retarded savant naïf who makes friends with a prostitute – a move that incurs draconian punishment from her pimp.