Vietgone

In Oceanside, California, Quang smells the Pacific Ocean and takes joy in being so close to the same ocean that touches Vietnam. Nhan doesn’t share this joy and tells Quang that he only came with him to stop him from going through with his plan. He reminds Quang that he was a captain in the Republic of Vietnam’s Air Force that fought with the Americans and therefore will be wanted upon return. Nhan adds that Quang won’t find his family but will either be shot dead or forced into a lifelong work camp. Quang insists that even if he dies, he’ll know he did everything for his family, but Nhan accuses him of being selfish, saying that his actions will only make himself feel better and bring more pain to his family. He commends Quang for saving the lives of all the people on the helicopter when Saigon fell but notes that when they did so, their lives in Vietnam ended, and they must accept it. Quang finally does, smashing his helmet and yelling.

Three months later, in El Dorado, Arkansas, Bobby waits with a flower on the porch as Tong and Huong return from grocery shopping. Bobby offers to help Huong, but she tells him to leave, lobbing insults at him. He asks Tong to dinner that night, saying he has a reservation and something special for her because he likes her so much. She agrees, and when Bobby leaves, Huong tells her that she doesn’t have to settle for him, adding that Tong needs fire and that though she wants Tong to be with someone, it should be someone better than Bobby. Tong insists that she likes him, but Huong believes she’s going with him solely because she thinks it makes her strong; Huong knows that having passion and a connection with someone is essential. She tells Tong that love gives people strength during hard times.

Much to Tong’s surprise, Quang appears and tells Tong that he and her mother are pen pals. He says that he worked in California to earn enough money to fly back to her and that he wants to take her out to eat. She insists that she’s with Bobby and doesn’t want to be Quang’s second choice after his wife. He tells her that she’s the only thing in the world that makes sense to him and that he feels as though they speak the same language and fully understand each other. He only wants time to convince her not to be with Bobby. Tong tells him that she won’t kiss him, but when he grabs her and kisses her, she relents.

In the present, the Playwright appears to help Tong and Quang transform into his present parents.

The Playwright and Quang sit together at a diner with a microphone and computer. The Playwright asks Quang to say something into the microphone, and Quang tries to get the Playwright to sing with him. The Playwright tries to begin the interview, saying that it’s August 7, 2015, but Quang doesn’t cooperate, instead telling a story about how the Playwright pooped in his hand the first time he tried changing his diaper. Quang wants this anecdote in the play, but the Playwright refuses.

Quang resists answering the Playwright’s questions and instead asks if he interviewed his mother. He tells Quang that he did and finally convinces Quang to answer questions. He learns that Quang first came to the US in 1968 to learn to fly a helicopter rather than in 1975 at the end of the war, as he believed. He asks Quang if he ever fought on the ground, but Quang instead talks about when he grounded the Playwright for shoplifting. The Playwright pushes, saying he wants to write something about his father’s life and the Vietnam War. Quang insists that he wants any story to be about raising the Playwright.

When Quang questions why the war is such a big deal to the Playwright, the Playwright insists that it’s because the government made a mistake and because of it so many Americans died when they didn’t have to. Quang disagrees, telling his son that the war wasn’t political to the Vietnamese, that the Viet Cong tried to destroy them, and that the Americans gave them hope and saved the lives of people like him. He doesn’t want the war to be thought of or remembered as a mistake, because of how real and devastating it was to the Vietnamese people. He tells the Playwright that if he wants to know about Vietnam or the Vietnamese, he’ll tell him, but if he wants to know about war, he needs to rent a movie.

The Playwright looks at his father, clicks the tape recorder off and begins singing. Quang soon joins in, and they sing together.