"Pearl of the Orient" is an unproduced screenplay inspired by a true story-highly dramatized and hyperbolized, of course. It had a shot at Hollywood a number of years ago, being passed on by name-brand directors and such, and since has been collecting dust in the virtual bottom drawer of my laptop. Recently, in a moment of nostalgia for Vietnam, I pulled it up, reread it, and still liked it-a lot. I realized, though, that I bring to my reading of...