Although there are no explicit nudity or sexual activity, a parent should know about the following and be prepared to explain. There is a scene where Lan the beautiful woman, dressed very sexily, meets a man in a hotel room and he plays with her hair and caresses her neck, then she wakes up in bed, with the sheet pulled up to cover her chest but obviously naked. Try explaining that to a child that this woman just had a sexual encounter with a lover. Later in the movie, the lover tries to put a pretty necklace on Lan's neck and she resists, taunting him to give the jewelry to his wife. Try explaining to your child that Lan is the mistress of a married man. For this reason, I would think the movie is more appropriate to an older child.

Adults may not have picked up on this but I thought there were some frightening/intense scenes. For example, when Thuy is running from the city official in the streets: for her, that was a terrifying moment, knowing that she was hunted. She never made a peep but she was terrified. Another scene is when she walks into the orphanage dorm and her most precious possession, the two dolls, are being tossed about by bullies. For a young child, that is a violation of one's boundaries and having to endure the taunting of bullies, and then physically fighting to get her possessions back, that is very intense and frightening. Finally, at the orphanage, when the uncle comes to collect her, she breaks away and runs to Lan and Hai, crying that she does not want to go. The plucky little girl who is usually quiet when things get tough is falling apart from stress and anguish and she is wailing loudly. That is a very intense scene for any tender hearted soul.