I'm grateful for movies like "The White Silk Dress" because they offer insight into a country and culture that I don't otherwise have much contact with. This film, Vietnam's submission for the foreign-language category at the Oscars, wades through some 20 years of the country's turbulent political and social history, as seen through the eyes of a peasant family. The story is epic-length, if not quite epic in scope; it's also sometimes beautiful in its depiction of its sad, noble characters.

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Grade: B

Not rated, probably R for some violence, some sexuality, partial nudity

2 hrs., 22 min.; Vietnamese with subtitles