Tran Van Lam was foreign minister of South Vietnam during the devastating war with the North. He was a patriot, committed to seeing his country emerge from its colonial history. He was also the father of nine children, who with his wife formed a seemingly privileged family which dined together, had vacations at the beach, learned musical instruments, and were instilled with their Vietnamese identity. As the war intensified, he and his wife made provisions for the children to leave the country. The nine children were dispersed to Australia, France, the US, and Scotland with hopes that they would be educated abroad and bring their talents back to their native country.

That was not to be. Tran Van Lam was betrayed by the United States, his ally against the North. While he was a delegate to the Paris peace talks, Henry Kissinger secretly arranged the pull out with the North. Fortunate to be airlifted out at the fall of Saigon, he and his wife finally emigrated to Australia with one small bag, where they ultimately opened a coffee shop.

The adult children, now in mid-career with families of their own, speak poignantly about their experience of dislocation.They each longed to be reunited as a family and had to struggle to forge a new identity in a foreign land. They were all deeply affected by their father's expectations to become accomplished and "give back." Each one feels "multicultural." All Points of the Compass is at once a gripping portrait of the immigrant experience and a new perspective on the American role in the Vietnam War.

"Recommended... the film ably captures the difficult choices that must be made by those assimilating into different cultures, and how they are perceived by the adopted culture. All Points of the Compass is recommended for its insights into the psychological aspects of cultural choice, culture change, and assimilation." Cliff Glaviano, Coordinator of Cataloging, Bowling Green State University Libraries for Educational Media Reviews Online

"...will be a valuable resource to educators in discussions of political exile, diasporic identity, and multiculturalism...the film would be useful in advanced secondary school classes, college-level courses in history, anthropology, Asian studies and diaspora studies."
Asian Educational Media Service

Best Documentary, ACT Film Awards, 2004
Bilan du Film Ethnographic, Paris, 2005