Maika: The Girl From Another Galaxy, a Vietnamese film with English subtitles released by Well Go USA Entertainment, is the most delightful, family-friendly film I’ve seen this year. I was surprised to find this children’s film completely held my interest throughout its runtime of one hour and 48 minutes.
The two main characters are Maika (Diep Anh Chu), a purple-haired alien girl whose space ship crashes in a Vietnamese lake during a meteor shower, and Hung (Phu Truong Lai) a lonely 8-year-old who’s grieving his mom’s death. After witnessing the crash, Hung tries to rescue the alien by sending his drone plane to search for her. He falls into the lake instead, and is rescued by Maika, who demonstrates amazing superpowers.
Hung becomes Maika’s tutor, teaching her how to dress like and imitate a human, and some of the film’s most hilarious moments result from these lessons—with giggle-inducing adolescent humor. The children quickly become best friends, and Hung promises to help Maika return to her planet. Director Ham Tran elicits wonderful, realistic performances from these two adorable young actors, and it’s impossible not to root for them.
Maika and Hung
The new BFFs encounter numerous adversaries, including a billionaire scientist who’s searching for Maika for his own murky purposes, and two ridiculously clumsy buffoons trying to force Hung’s father and other relatives to sell out so their boss can build a high rise on the property. The storyline, as written and adapted by Director Tran, is a simple tale of good vs evil, sci-fi style. The children are able to outwit the bad guys who try to stop them, and save the day for Hung’s family while–similar to Spielberg’s classic E.T.–sending the heroic alien back home.
Maika: The Girl From Another Galaxy, debuts on digital September 6 with an all-new English dub from Well Go USA Entertainment. Rated PG, it’s the perfect film for everyone in the family to enjoy together.
