Written and directed with a lyrical, unfussy directness by Stephane Gauger, Owl and the Sparrow tells the simple story of a young, runaway orphan whose resolute, openhearted nature helps forge a bond between two adults she drafts into her life as a sort of replacement
family.

For plucky 10-year-old Thuy (Pham Thi Han), life in her small Vietnamese village is mostly confined to working in the bamboo factory of her cantankerous uncle Minh (Hau Nguyen). All of that changes when she packs her bags, smashes her piggy bank and runs away to the bustling metropolis of downtown Saigon. There, Thuy comes to grips with the challenges of daily survival, getting by initially by selling roses on the street. Striking up individual conversations with beautiful flight attendant Lan (Cat Ly) and gentle, lonely animal keeper Hai (Le The Lu), who tends to elephants at the local zoo, Thuy also finds the sort of adult role models for whom she has been yearning. In the hustle and bustle of the big city, these three individuals are all seeking some measure of greater human connection. But in order to avoid getting sent back to her strict uncle, Thuy will need all of her cleverness and determination.

Owl and the Sparrow is a simply told film, without a lot of bells,
whistles, or narrative head feints and gamesmanship. It’s without guile,
really, and sometimes that’s really charming. The Vietnamese-American Gauger, born in Saigon to an American civilian contractor and his Vietnamese wife, seems to have a unique insight into the delicate nature and frailties of fractured adolescence, the success of which can be measured by his movie’s robust reception in various festival arenas, including Los Angeles, where it picked up an audience award last year. The film wouldn’t succeed to half the degree it does, however, with a lesser actress than young newcomer Pham Thi Han, who projects a captivating innocence. Composer Peter Nguyen’s musical contributions are gorgeous and evocative as well — further evidence of Gauger’s skill at plucking heartstrings without tipping over into maudlin cliché.

Housed in a regular plastic Amaray case, The Owl and the Sparrow comes to DVD presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen, with a Vietnamese language Dolby digital 5.1 surround sound audio track, and optional subtitles in English and Spanish. Its chief supplemental features consist of a feature-length audio commentary track with director Gauger and a seven-minute behind-the-scenes featurette which includes brief interview snippets with cast and crew, as well as some audition tape footage. There are also two deleted scenes, a self-scrolling two-minute collection of production still photographs, cast and crew pictures, and the movie’s trailer. To purchase the DVD via Amazon, click here. B- (Movie) B- (Disc)