MA¹i du du xanh - L'odeur de la papaye verte (1994)

"Watching it is like seeing a poem for the eyes." That's how Chicago Sun-Times critic Roger Ebert described this exquisite, Oscar-nominated, French-Vietnamese film from 1993, which begins in the 1950s and ends more than a decade later during the early years of the Vietnam war. The story is set almost entirely in a Saigon house where a 10-year-old orphan girl named Mui arrives to work as a servant. As she grows into a beautiful young woman, Mui is quietly and carefully observant of everything around her, from the scent of green papaya (hence the title) to the relationship between her employers. The film takes its visual cues from Mui's observations--it's a placid, soothing film that lingers over the physical and emotional details of its setting and story.

What's really astonishing about this beautiful film is that director Anh Tran Hung shot it entirely on a soundstage in Paris, but the sights and sounds are so completely convincing that you'd swear the setting is an actual home in Saigon. This remarkable craftsmanship remains invisible to the viewer, and the seductive progression of the story unfolds with exacting visual precision. It's a film about Mui's growth and development, but also about her benevolent effect on the world around her. As such, it's a movie to savor like no other, life affirming and glorious in the memorable depth of its captivating simplicity. --Jeff Shannon Amazon.com

A quiet, meditative film

This beautiful film may not be for everyone, but it's quiet attention to the details of home life, indoors and out, through the eyes of a young girl starting work in a household in 1951 Vietnam, and then the young adult girl 10 years later, is somehow sublime. The beauty of the setting, the sheer humanity of the people portrayed, and the girl's state of consciousness, for want of a better way to put it, add up to a fascinating experience. Some call it a Vietnamese Cinderella. It's that and more. I loved it. March 8, 2008

Please bring this movie back out on DVD

Used to have this on VHS (probably needed a new copy even then as I watched it so much) and have waited to see it return to DVD as I didn't buy it in time before it went out of print in DVD. It is a splendid, haunting, hyper-realistic film and deserves a huge following. I'm not Vietnamese but can't see that one needs to be to recognize that this film is a hit you will not forget and will want to see repeatedly. I can't believe it wouldn't sell well so print it again and let's have more high quality DVDs to choose from, eh? July 21, 2007

A Buddhist Cinderella?

I beg to differ from those who rated this movie 5 stars. There's no doubt that this movie is beautifully filmed and produced. The sight, the sound and the implied scent of nature produce an astounding mix. It is a feast to our senses. But film is ultimately compromised by a lack of dialogue and dramatic content. I guess one can argue that the film is self-contained within the director's minimalist framework. But there's a big gap in our suspense of disbelief to have the young master to stumble upon his servant girl secretly trying out his fiance's lipstick, and realizing how beautiful (both outward and inward) she is, then follow her trail back to her room and inpregnate her. All this without them ever speaking single a word to each other (or at least not anything meaningful that I can recall), is just not quite convincing. And how do we know that this young master is any better than the good-for-nothing head of the house from the previous family? Both of them are musicians after all. I think the second part of the movie is particularly weak. I can accept the main character being shy and reticent when she was a little girl in the first part of the movie. But the fact that she stays that way after she has growup is disappointing. I also expect something to be said about the 2 little brothers in the second part since their different personalities were so painstakingly portayed in the first part. They just disappeared from the second part of the movie. February 9, 2007

Super Movie! Beautiful, Dreamy, Sensual, Sad, and Funny

This is a fantastic film. Unlike many Asian films, it has a plot and characters that are understandable. The cinematography is superb. The director's wife stars in this movie (as the grownup Mui) as well as in Cyclo, and Vertical Ray of the Sun. It is hard to take your eyes off her. The little girl who plays Mui as a child is terrific as well. Little Tin is funny when he tries to torment little Mui. My wife is Vietnamese and I recognize the family structure where the father (and other men) mostly does what he pleases and the wife takes care of the entire family. That is the way this movie plays out. I have seen reviews where the music was said to be bad. I disagree entirely. I thought it worked very well throughout the film. Too bad this DVD movie is currently out of release in the US. I had to buy mine from England. Used DVDs are going for $90. Mine was new and cost $44 with shipping. It's a keeper. If you enjoy movies like this, also try 3 Seasons (Ba Mua). You will love it. January 7, 2007

Sensitive Portrayal of Unexpected Love

This film captures beautiful images as seen by the naked eye when the camera hones in on such natural wonders as a frog on a large green leaf, an ant carrrying a crumb or a papaya tree with green ripening fruit located outside one's window. Or when the camera scans the the interior of the home and captures oriental lattice work on a porch railing or a screen wall divider or porcelain vases on a credence. These images are impressed both on the viewer and on the mind of Mui, a nine year old Vietnamese girl from a small village who gets a job as servant in the household of shopkeepers. The artistic use of cinematography leaves the viewer with a sense of wonder and anticipation, expecting to be spellbound by even more mysterious oriental imagery - the viewer will not be disappointed! This feeling and tone is mesmerizing as so much beauty and such a wonderful love story unfolds ... with a minimum of dialogue.

Mui learns the household routine from an older servant ... She awakens early to make breakfast, cleans the floors on her hands and knees, and learns to prepare delicious and colorful meals using a wok....The family has three sons, one is older, almost an adult, two are younger - the middle son is about 11 or 12 years old, the youngest is about 5 or 6 years and very mischevious. The family business is selling textiles. Mui is treated kindly and later learns the family had a daughter who would be exactly Mui's age. She died of a mysterious disease. There is slight tension within the family regarding the business. The wife runs the business impeccably. She keeps accounts accurately and locks up the cash in a safe. Her husband often spends his time daydreaming and playing an oriental stringed instrument, sometimes accompaned on a flute by the eldest son. In the past, the husband had abruptly left the household, taking all the cash and likely gambling away their savings. After one such episode, his baby daughter became ill and died exactly the day before he returned. This event haunts him ...

One day, the servants were awaiting his return for dinner but he does not show up. The wife was notified. She checked his room and then went to the safe only to discover all the household cash and savings were gone. He did not break his gambling habit. His wife gave some gold earrings to pawn to have enough money to buy rice for the meals. She sold some of her antique vases to make ends meet. Eventually, he returned but was ill. Despite the best Oriental medicine, including acupuncture and moxibustion, his health deteriorated and he died. Ten years passed and the textile business was waning. Mui was still employed by the same family who were contemplating sending her to work for a wealthier family since they could not afford to keep her any longer.

Mui accepted the news sadly and received a pearl necklace and gold bracelet as parting gifts from her former mistress. The mistress tearfully bid her good-bye, telling Mui how much she appreciated having her live in their home, feeling Mui was like her own daughter. Mui became the only servant to a bachelor musician/composer who was engaged to be married. His fiance intimated and teased him about having a young pretty servant but he ignored her jibes. The fiance was a modern VietnaMmese woman for the 1950's. She felt secure in her position and looked forward to an upper class lifestyle. Her confidence gradually eroded into jealousy as she suspected the musician had feelings for Mui and even possibly a physical relationship ...

Mui discovered a sketch of herself in a drawer in the musician's bedroom. She also found a tube of lipstick left there by his fiance . Despite her shyness, one day, when the musician was not at home, she dressed up in a silk dress and Vietnamese silk pants, putting on the lipstick and viewing herself in the mirror, dreaming of a lifestyle outside of the one she lived. That very day, the musician came home early. He wandered around his house, trying to find Mui. They were playing hide-and-seek, a cat-and-mouse game with each other. She deftly hid behind a door as he came around the corner and did not find her. She darted into her room and took off her fine clothes and lipstick. He silently tip-toed to her part of the house,gingerly opened her door ... and his fiance's greatest fears became realitiy. The film very sensitively portrays the unraveling of their engagement and delicately intimates the growing love between the musician and his servant. All of it is shown naturally, yet without any explicit scenes. By far, this is among the best oriental love stories ever shown on film. Erika Borsos (pepper flower) January 6, 2007

More reviews at Amazon.com ...