Shot in a documentary like manner, with Chon keeping things focused tight on his films subjects on most occasions throughout, Bayou never feels Hollywoodized or materialistic and even while it has a few too many narrative devices that don't feel fully formed or too convenient for dramatic tension, the performances and honesty on show here will keep willing audiences involved throughout its entirety. Based around some confronting home truths occurring in the United States in this present day when it comes to their dealings with long term citizens but not legally recognized ones, Bayou hits fairly hard when its stars align and the chemistry between Chon and Vikander as his long suffering but devoted wife Kathy and her daughter Jessie (a nice turn from young actress Sydney Kowalske) ensures that this intimate and raw humanly centered drama makes for some of 2021's most touching moments as the LeBlanc's try their best to keep their heads above water with the past and present converging to hold them under. Perhaps most well known in popular culture as Eric from the Twilight saga, Korean blooded Chon delivers a heartbreaking performance as down on his luck tattoo artist, one time felon and family man Antonio LeBlanc, who finds his workmanlike life turned on its head when he faces the possibility of being deported from the United States after a run in with the law and a discovery that his adoptive American parents never filed the correct paperwork to legally declare him an American citizen. Sign up for our Events Newsletter.His biggest film yet in a career that still feels as though its only just beginning, actor, Youtuber and director Justin Chon delivers his biggest project yet in the form of the New Orleans set immigration themed drama Blue Bayou, a familiar feeling character drama that is nevertheless an effective and emotionally engaging experience with great performances from the multi-tasking Chon and the radiant Alicia Vikander. Get our top picks for the best events in San Antonio every Thursday morning. The latest turn for the Bijou also comes after an announcement late last year from the city of Balcones Heights that it was spending $5.4 million on a 46% ownership stake in the mall. Those theaters now operate as Santikos Westlakes, which began showing movies again last month, and Santikos New Branfuels, which resumed last summer. The Bijou's reported closure follows a buying spree by Santikos, which absorbed and reopened two of the Austin-based Alamo Drafthouse chain's local outlets. It took over after longtime operator Regal Cinemas shuttered the location, which it also operated as an arthouse property. Santikos has operated the theater since 2003, devoting some of its screens to foreign and art films while bolstering sales with food and alcohol. However, the Bijou no longer appears on the San Antonio-based theater operator's website, which lists 10 other area holdings. The Current was unable to reach Santikos Entertainment for comment. A sign posted Monday at the Santikos Bijou Cinema Bistro, the long-running arthouse theater inside Wonderland of the Americas mall, has announced its closure, news site MySA reports.
The Bijou is located inside Wonderland of the Americas mall.