Green Dragon (2002)

It's 1975, Saigon is falling, and Vietnamese refugees are ''relocating'' to Southern California's Camp Pendleton in shell shock and despair. But ''Green Dragon,'' the latest film by brothers Timothy and Tony Bui (''Three Seasons''), is ultimately about regaining lost hope, albeit with a little too much emotional rescue from top-billed Americans Swayze (as a caring Marine) and Whitaker (as a kindly cook). The Buis are far more compelling when they stick to the refugees' stories, many inspired by the memories of their own mother. Those interweaving subplots form a quietly moving portrait of a culture violently displaced.