Our Favorite Foreign Films: Ky Nam Inn

Director: Leon Le | 140 minutes | Vietnam

In post-war Saigon, a young translator and an older widow find mutual comfort in each other's company.In post-war Saigon, Khang, a young man tasked with writing a new translation for The Little Prince, arrives full of hope and eager to work. In his new apartment, he meets his neighbor, Ky Nam, a widow who cooks for a living, and spends her days anxiously hoping to hear from her son, who has run away. When she injures her wrist, Khang offers to help her around the house in exchange for meals, and soon they begin long, meditative dialogues which slowly grow into love. Gorgeously literate, Ky Nam Inn is at once a film of love and grief—both personal and national—and the ways in which we seek solace.

What People are Saying:

The movie is so evenly measured that every single change feels momentous. I was at the edge of my seat waiting for any little glance the two main characters might share. – Le Noir Auteur

“Ky Nam Inn” belongs to the tradition of romantic cinema that believes love is as much about what it speaks and what it leaves unsaid. – The Movie Buff

The most striking element of Ky Nam Inn is its visual beauty, captured on 35 mm film by cinematographer Bob Nguyen. Each frame appears suffused with radiant and otherworldly light, highlighting the colours and textures of post-war Vietnam. The result is a splendid and eye-catching film that offers up a deeply nostalgic and romantic peek into a different time and place. – The Asian Cut

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