Tranh Anh Hung's debut film, The Scent of Green Papaya (1993), is an extraordinary film. It won the best new direcrtor award at Cannes in 1993. The cinematography is stunning in the tiny details of daily life and the natural world that fascinates the good-natured Miu who comes to a troubled merchant family as a servant and acts as a substitute for the dead daughter of the matriarch of the family. These scenes are from the point of view of the 10 year old Miu and sets the tone for the first two thirds of the film. 10 years later the family continues to fall on hard times and Miu moves on to be the servant of a family friend of the oldest son. He is a cosmopolitan and classically-trained musician engaged to a modern girl, but soon falls under the spell of lovely Miu and his fiance finally admits defeat and the film concludes with a sort of fairly tale ending, that feels earned rather than tacked on. There is very little dialogue, but it is an entertaining film despite the lack of action and dialogue. A sensual step back in time, taking place from 1951 up to 1961 before things would get really trouble din Vietnam.
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I wonder is this a bit like a Wong Kar-wai movie? (Perhaps a simplistic comparison, but then I have very limited movie watching experience.)
Posted by: Edward | March 12, 2014 at 07:27 PM
It's not like Wong Kar-wai, but worth searching out. It's a different style distinct and perhaps less modern than Wong Kar-wai.
Posted by: MC | March 13, 2014 at 02:39 AM