Alamo Bay (1985) Full Review

Film Scene Investigation

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Transcript

00:12Hey guys, how's it going? It's me, Beau, here on the Film Scene Investigation channel.

00:18Hope you're all doing really well. It's a new week, so of course, there's a new review.

00:24And today, I'm going to be taking a look at the 1980s American drama, Alamo Bay.

00:33Just before we get into the review, guys, if you haven't already, please do consider subscribing to the channel.

00:40I really do appreciate all the support.

00:43So, Alamo Bay from April 1985 was a film directed by the French filmmaker Louis Mal and was written by

00:55the screenwriter Alice Arlen.

00:57Now, a few months ago, I reviewed the film Damage on this channel.

01:05And yeah, it was another drama. I really enjoyed it.

01:09And so, after taking a look at that, I delved into Louis Mal's filmography and discovered Alamo Bay.

01:19And knowing some of the cast that were featured, yeah, I thought I'd check it out.

01:26As for the narrative, it focused on the local fisherman, Shang Pierce, who was played by actor Ed Harris.

01:35This was a man who lived and worked in Alamo Bay, a small fishing town where he caught shrimp for

01:44a living.

01:45It was a fairly hard job, but that's all that Shang ever knew.

01:52We were then introduced to a Vietnamese man called Din, who showed up in Alamo Bay looking for work.

02:03He, like so many others from Vietnam, traveled over to America to seek new opportunities.

02:13Din, who was played by actor Ho Gaiyan, was clearly not accustomed to American culture.

02:23But that didn't stop him from trying to assimilate and, you know, get involved with the locals.

02:31Now, given there was such a large Vietnamese community already in Alamo Bay, it wasn't hard for Din to find

02:40work and start earning money.

02:43While initially things seemed to be going well, eventually the presence of Din and the other Vietnamese started to cause

02:54alarm for the others in the community.

02:57There was only so much shrimp to catch, so once the Vietnamese started getting involved and, you know, started fishing,

03:08not just during the day, but also at night.

03:12Well, eventually, yeah, people like Shang Pierce and his friends, they started to lose money.

03:20All of these issues would eventually lead to Shang losing his boat and furthermore, his livelihood.

03:32While religious leaders tried to intervene and keep the peace, the people of Alamo Bay, you know, the long-term

03:42residents, yeah, pretty much they had had enough.

03:47And they weren't going to stand back and allow this Vietnamese community to take money from them.

03:56Now, while all of this was going on, separately, we had a subplot that involved Shang and his kind of

04:07long-term love interest, a woman called Glory, who was played by actress Amy Madigan.

04:15Now, she had just returned to Alamo Bay to help her ailing father with his business.

04:23And very quickly, she became romantically involved again with Shang.

04:30He himself was having personal problems.

04:35You know, he was clearly unhappy with his life and with his marriage.

04:40So, when Shang suddenly saw Glory back again, you know, in his life, all of that, you know, it rekindled

04:51his feelings.

04:53So, yeah, they got it together.

04:56And it was quite clear that Shang felt no guilt.

05:02He was quite ready to up and leave his family and fully commit to Glory.

05:10But things became complicated because Glory's father was the businessman who was basically hiring all the Vietnamese.

05:21He was the man that had triggered all of this communal uproar in the first place.

05:29Now, after watching Alamo Bay, my main takeaway was how the film represented the white community.

05:38You see, the residents had legitimate concerns over this new wave, you know, this new population coming in of Vietnamese.

05:48And yet, once they raised their concerns, it was perceived as racist and unwelcoming.

05:57You know, of course, there's no condoning racial hatred and violence towards people.

06:05Absolutely not, you know, but I'm not talking about that.

06:09What I'm talking about is the overall sentiment the film had towards the white residents of Alamo Bay.

06:19You know, there's a lot that can be said, but ultimately the fact is an influx of immigrants coming into

06:28a place can and will eventually change the social makeup of that community.

06:35So, you know, it's pretty clear to me that the white residents of Alamo Bay, you know, they had a

06:45right to be vigilant.

06:47And it's just one of those things that I picked up on when I was watching the film.

06:53And that subsequently made me go online and do some more research into the backgrounds of this production.

07:03And I discovered that Lewis Mao was indeed an immigrant himself.

07:10So, you know, I shouldn't be surprised, really, that this film carried a pro-immigration message.

07:22Now, I wanted to take a moment to talk about the film's score that was composed by musician Rai Kuda.

07:33He provided several tracks for the film.

07:37And I must say, I really liked it.

07:39There was a couple of acoustic, you know, really kind of slow tracks that all of that, you know, that

07:48material really kind of heightened the somber mood that, you know, the film was going for.

07:56Yeah, I guess you could kind of describe the music as kind of stripped back, not overly produced.

08:03And that was definitely the right direction, I think, to take for a film like this.

08:11I also found out that Rai Kuda has provided scores for several other movies, some of which are on my

08:19watch list that I plan to review.

08:21So, yeah, after hearing this score for Alamo Bay, I look forward to hearing more of Kuda's work in the

08:30future.

08:30When it comes to the performances, actor Ed Harris was truly brilliant in his performance as Shang Pierce, the Anglo

08:43fisherman working in Alamo Bay.

08:47This was a stoic performance.

08:50It was very intense at times.

08:53And, yeah, Harris really impressed me.

08:56We saw the journey of a man who ended up losing everything thanks to the government's complacency and just general

09:09lack of support.

09:10No matter what this guy did, it just never went right for him.

09:15And thanks to Ed Harris's ability, you know, he really did make you care for what happened to the character.

09:27Yes, Shang wasn't perfect, but he was pushed into a really bad situation.

09:36And, you know, I could kind of sympathize with him because he represented the old guard.

09:46You know, he represented the old ways.

09:49And he was a man that was, you know, trying to cling on to those old traditions.

09:55When it all went away, you really could feel, you could feel Shang's heartache and despair.

10:07So, yeah, quite a compelling performance.

10:11Harris is known for his supporting roles.

10:15So, it made a nice change to see him in the lead for Alamo Bay.

10:21And I must say, I'm kind of surprised that the actor never received any award recognition for his performance.

10:29Because, as I said, you know, he really did impress me.

10:33Amy Madigan, Ed Harris's real wife, delivered a very solid performance playing the character Glory.

10:40She was someone that did her best to keep the peace while, you know, all the tensions flared around her.

10:51At the end of the film, Glory was pushed into a situation where she had to choose a side, which

11:00led to some deadly consequences.

11:03Now, knowing Ed Harris and Amy Madigan were indeed a couple.

11:08They married, I believe, in 1983.

11:11It comes as no shock that the two actors had some amazing on-screen chemistry.

11:19Of course, with them being a real-life couple, all of the, you know, love and affection, it felt so

11:28natural and believable.

11:29So, yeah, that was definitely a major positive for the film.

11:34You know, I'm not too familiar with actress Amy Madigan.

11:38I understand that she recently won the Oscar for her performance in Weapons.

11:44But with Alamo Bay, she was solid.

11:47She was very good.

11:48And from seeing that, I'll definitely have to look into her filmography and see what other kind of films she

11:57starred in.

11:58And so, dislikes for Alamo Bay from 1985.

12:05My biggest dislike for the film would have to be the whole subplot that involved the KKK, which to me

12:15seemed in poor taste.

12:17So, as the tensions flared, some representatives of the KKK showed up, basically trying to muster support.

12:30All of their racist rhetoric ended up convincing Shang to join them in terrorizing and harassing the Vietnamese community.

12:41Now, I didn't like this because I just didn't think the story needed to go there.

12:49I was actually enjoying the, you know, personal drama that was unfolding between Shang and Glory.

12:57But when the KKK were suddenly, you know, involved, I don't know, I just became disinterested.

13:05You know, I think you could still have had all of the conflict, you know, that you wanted.

13:12I just don't think you needed some hillbillies in white cloaks to show up.

13:19It just felt very cliche and unoriginal.

13:24And, you know, ultimately, I'm just kind of done with Hollywood bringing the Christian faith into disrepute.

13:32Yeah, I've watched this film and it's quite clear that Alamo Bay conflated the two, you know, the KKK and

13:43the Christian religion to, you know, basically, you know, criticize it.

13:48And, of course, being a Christian myself, I found it very distasteful.

13:54You know, we have to remember here that the Vietnamese were Christian.

13:59Christian, okay, they were a Christian community.

14:04So, I don't know, to me, it just was kind of silly seeing these racist KKK members being or terrorizing

14:16their fellow Christians.

14:18It just seems silly to me.

14:20You know, I guess I was confused because the KKK, from what I understand within this story, were Christian.

14:30So, for them to, you know, basically fight their fellow Christians, it just, that's just not obviously not the way,

14:41that's not the Christian way to engage in such behavior.

14:43So, yeah, I just didn't like, I just didn't like the two being conflated and making Christianity some sort of

14:53racial thing.

14:56Yeah, I don't like it.

14:58You know, we also saw the burning of a giant cross, which was obviously used for dramatic effect.

15:09I understand that the director, Lewis Mao, wanted to portray this movie, you know, with the lens of an immigrant,

15:20you know, from that kind of perspective.

15:22But to me, it just felt kind of, kind of one-sided.

15:26It was like, you know, white people, bad, immigrants, good.

15:30You know, when there's far, far more nuance and context to be taken into account.

15:38I think we also should remember that Alamo Bay was a fictional story.

15:46Yes, it's, this was loosely based on some events that happened in the late 70s and early 80s.

15:52But ultimately, this wasn't a story about that.

15:58You know, this wasn't a historical recreation or a biopic or anything like that.

16:05No, this was a story that Lewis Mao created with the screenwriter.

16:11And obviously, it was his decision to insert the KKK.

16:16And in my eyes, unless you are doing a exact retelling of that story, it just was kind of unnecessary

16:25to bring them in.

16:26Because ultimately, you're just, for me, criticizing the Christian faith.

16:30You know, I wouldn't be that bothered about it if we weren't seeing Burning Crosses and, you know, the KKK

16:39doing all this stuff in the name of, you know, Christ and the religion.

16:44And to me, it's just, obviously, that's, you know, ridiculous.

16:48And the KKK should never have been taken seriously in the first place.

16:53And, you know, are they even around now?

16:55You know, probably not.

16:56I don't even know.

16:58But, yeah, I just, yeah, to me, it didn't need to go there.

17:03But, you know, what's also interesting is that after doing some research, I found out that the director, Lewis Mao,

17:12is, well, I'll just say that he's not a believer, not a follower of the Christian faith.

17:21He's a non-Christian.

17:24That's a fact.

17:25You know, look it up if you don't believe me.

17:27And so, once again, yeah, kind of makes sense that this guy is okay with basically criticizing the Christian faith

17:40since he's not a believer in the first place.

17:45And so, ratings for Alamo Bay from 1985.

17:52I'm going to be rating this film a 4 out of 10.

17:57Alamo Bay was an intriguing 80s drama that still kind of feels very contemporary, given the themes that, you know,

18:07was featured.

18:08The fact is, immigration is a hot-button topic.

18:14And, you know, given the effects that we see today in the 21st century, especially in the Western world, especially

18:22in places like Texas, where this film was based, you know, it's, uh, it can't be ignored anymore.

18:32When this film was released back in 85, it failed to make an impact at the box office.

18:41And that doesn't really surprise me.

18:44Alamo Bay did feature some great acting performances from Ed Harris and Amy Madigan.

18:52But, I think the underlying tone and sentiment, you know, this anti-patriotic, anti-American kind of theme, a message,

19:08for me personally, that, uh, certainly dragged down my enjoyment.

19:13If you've seen Alamo Bay, then please let me know your thoughts and memories in the comment section below.

19:21For those out there who haven't seen this one yet, it's a minor recommendation from me.

19:28Is it worth your time?

19:31I think so.

19:32But that's basically due to Ed Harris.

19:36His performance was a standout, and, yeah, I'm glad I saw it for that reason alone.

19:43But, as I said, yeah, I mean, ultimately, this was a kind of slow-paced American drama.

19:55So, if you're not really into those types of films, then, uh, you know, maybe give this one a miss.

20:02And, well, that is all from me today, guys.

20:06I do hope you've enjoyed this review of Alamo Bay from 1985.

20:11I'll be back next week, of course, with yet another cult movie review.

20:17If you haven't already, guys, please do consider subscribing, like, and, of course, share this video.

20:24And take care.

20:48I'll be back next week.

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