Summary
During the pre-communist period of Vietnam, there lived a fisherman family that depended on robbery as their main financial source. The head of the family was Ong Hai Chanh, who was an ex-thief. Along with his brother, Ut Truc, the two became fishermen after an unsuccessful robbery years ago. One of their member was captured and killed. Hai Chanh adopted the member's sons Son and Lam.

Growing up, Son and Ngoc (Hai Chanh's daughter) fell in love with each other. Son followed his father footstep and aided Hai Chanh in all the robberies. Did not have a clue about this side business, Ngoc only knew of her father and Son as fishermen. In an attempt to rob a jewelry store that was owned by the traitor, whom reported Hai Chanh and Son's father years ago, Son and Hai Chanh were caught by the local officers. The leak was a trusted member, Hai , who reported them because he wanted to make an impression with the police chief and as a way for him to ask to marry the chief's sister.

Ut Truc didn't participate in this mission and his responsibility was to take Ngoc and Lam away from that town if Hai Chanh and Son didn't make it back at the pre-determined time. It was this incident that Ngoc learned about her father's real identity. Never heard of them again, Ngoc focused on raising Lam and led a single life. Sadly, Hai Chanh died not long after being in jail and Son was sent away to a prisoner island where he met another sworn brother of his father's.

Years later, Lam grew up to be a lawyer. Considering that it was time, Ngoc asked him to check into the old robbery case of Son and her father. It was when they learned that Son didn't get the release because Hai had cooperated with the town police chief to imprison him for life. As Lam tried to make a court appeal for him, Hai came to their place and intended to kill the entire family - finishing up a job that he didn't do back then. Luckily, his wife reported him and he was caught. Son and Ngoc reunited after years of separation; they went back to the fisherman village and led a normal life that they had long desired when younger.

Review
An interesting story that emphasized much on human's values and ethics. In this film, the writer presented not a black and white universe. Instead, the world of reality is a composition of gray areas where it is always difficult to draw the line between good and bad. While many might say that Hai Chanh, Son, and Son's father didn't do anything bad and cursed Hai for his evil plans, they can't truly justify such statements. Yes, Hai was evil but as robbers - Hai Chanh, Son, and Son's father were not that innocent. Son's father's death was a payment of his wrong doings, Hai Chanh died for all the sins he had committed after years of leading a thief life. After the death of Son's father, he should have stopped there. Yet, he learned nothing from this incident and still proceeded with unethical life. Son spent all those years in jail to pay for his debt as well - the irresponsibility of an adult to differentiate right and wrong. While I did not approve any of Hai's actions, I still see him as a sentence ignititiator whose was put into the world to make sure that these robbers pay for the crimes they had committed.

What else did I like about this movie? The theme songs - totally loved them. Plus, TL and VL were quite cute in the beginning of the film.