Quoc Dung Nguyen

In the French harbor city of Le Havre, fate throws young African refugee Idrissa into the path of Marcel Marx, a well-spoken bohemian who works as a shoe-shiner. With innate optimism and the tireless support of his community, Marcel stands up to officials pursuing the boy for deportation.

Adopted by a well-off Swiss couple with slightly older son and daughter, Vinh never cut off links with his country of origin. Postcards from the adoptive family regularly conveyed to Vinh's mother in Vietnam reassurance about the warmth and nurturing environment that she always wished for her boy. Now grown up, Vinh is getting married; after so many years, the wedding is the ideal opportunity for his mother, accompanied by uncle Dac, to visit the adoptive family. Nothing would cause a greater consternation among its members. The parents underwent a less than amicable divorce, the father is bankrupt, the sister estranged, the elder brother brooding, the model family broken up. What can be done to prevent the unavoidable and profound disappointment of Vinh's mother and uncle Dac when they discover the fiasco?