The Beautiful Country (2004) is the story of Binh (Damien Nguyen), whose mother is Vietnamese and whose father was an American GI during the Vietnam War. Like so many kids like him whose mothers were impregnated by American GIs and soldiers, Binh is an outcast. Bihn and other like him are considered collaborators and endure taunts and abuse. At 17, Binh is forced from his village and decides to go to Saigon to try and find his mother. Then he tries to escape to America with his younger half brother, Tam (Dang Quoc Thinh Tran). Along the way they experience sampan, Malaysian detention camps, and the refugee ship. Once in New York City, Binh discovers an underground, slavery-like economy where immigrants such as himself are exploited. Binh leaves New York to go to Houston to find his father.