The Quiet American
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Movie Reviews of The Quiet American
Movie Review: Great story of love jealousy & revenge & politics
Summary: 5 Stars
I don't know what's wrong with some reviewers who insist on black/white good/bad distinctions in human affairs and the movies about them. Anyway, this movie is less about communism in Vietnam than about the terror of growing old without love and the easy crimes people are capable of committing in order to keep that love. Caine is brilliant, as he often is, as the lonely old European colonial and Fraser (trying to change his screen persona) is pretty good as the brash young American CIA can-do operative who takes away the sole reason for Caine's miserable existence, i.e., the girl. Of course, their relationship symbolizes the larger context. Fraser's penchant to see everything he does as justified because he loves the woman and Vietnam and therefore wants to save it pretty well sums up a lot of the American attitude towards Vietnam... No, unlike other reviewers, I feel the movie, which is a very good rendition of Graham Green's book (and he was no com-symp), is insightful and moving. If anything, it is sympathetic to the romantic view of the American presence in Vietnam. Maybe to get the self-gratifying triumphalist message that they constantly crave, the people who insist on "us right-them wrong" distinctions in their movies should try to find the 1958 Audie Murphy version of the story, if they can find it--it's supposed to be a much more pro-American, "cleaner" version. Maybe it's a Hollywood-Commie plot that it's been disappeared so we can't see the "truth," once more (ala Rambo or The Deer Hunter or Full Metal Jacket), of how noble we were in Vietnam and how vicious those commie bastards were. In any event, the present film is a great rendition of a messy story about how humans, even if they are trying to do the right thing, will usually do its opposite. That's the debatable political part in this film--whether Fraser's character was right or not. Even more devastatingly, it's about how easy it can be for us to hurt or even destroy other people in order to keep what we have. The movie tells a good nuanced atmospheric story as well as informs us of larger moral and political issues, as the book did, and this is the mark of any good book or movie in my mind.Movie Review: Michael Caine Stacks Up Another One
Summary: 5 Stars
Well, Michael Caine's certainly not going to have to make any excuses about his career in the hereafter, because he always manages to do an excellent job of it, no matter what he's in. "The Quiet American" is no exception to this, either.Here, Caine is a British journalist living in Vietnam who apparently hasn't done all that much writing in the past year or so. He keeps a years-younger Vietnamese mistress and seems to more or less like his existence in 1950s Vietnam. Then, things begin to change a bit. First, he gets the feeling that his paper will recall him back to London unless he can get a story to write about, and then he meets a young American man, a quiet friendly chap. Caine, the American, and the mistress go dancing, and quicker than you can say, well, whatever, the American informs Caine that he is in love with the girl and wishes to save her from her relationship with Caine by marrying her. To say any more would get close to spoiling the movie, because it is actually something of a thriller, once Caine gets wind of a story to report and meets the person he least expects to see up there.
I didn't know WHAT to expect at this movie, but I must say I enjoyed myself tremendously. In the past, I've always made a point of steering clear of "Vietnam War" movies, but this movie is filmed on location in that country, and I must say, it's breathtakingly beautiful. Caine, as I've written above, is just aces, and Brandon Fraser, the American, is pretty good too. The one person I'm not so keen on is the mistress, who seems rather passive to me. I didn't get the impression that she loved Anyone, Caine or Fraser. I can understand that perhaps she's a metaphor for the country being fought over by old world imperialists and new word anti-communists, but I just didn't find her appealing. I wouldn't have bothered to strike up a conversation with her, let alone fight over her.
But, there's a lot more to "The Quiet American" than that, so never fear, go see it and be amazed by Caine and scenery.
Movie Review: A Matter of Conscience the Role of the Non-Combatant in Wa
Summary: 5 Stars
Graham Greene, British journalist, novelist and book reviewer, combined his practical need to earn a living with a driven conscience by alternatively writing books for pure entertainment and novels that directly address human dilemmas. "The Quiet American", originally written in 1956 and directed on this DVD by Philip Noyce in 2002, belongs firmly in the latter category.Seen through the eyes of a tired, aging British journalist (Tom Fowler, played by Michael Caine) in what was then called the war in Indo-China, Greene presents a series of moral dilemmas by forcing the journalist out of his comfortable status as an observer. A threat by his employer to recall him to London forces him face up to the fact that his latest love affair--with a beautiful young Vietnamese (Phuong, played by Do Hai Yen)--has turned into genuine love. That prompts him to try and produce more hard-hitting investigative articles, so that he can justify staying in Vietnam. As a result, he learns that his best friend, a young American medic (Mr Pyle, played by Brendan Fraser), is a secret OSS/CIA operative involved with undermining the communist cause by funding a horrendous act of terrorism that is blamed on the communists. (This reflects Greene's original story, where there is no doubt that Mr Pyle is an undercover agent.)
The anguished dilemma faced by the journalist is whether he is justified in helping local Vietnamese insurgents assassinate the "quiet American". Our dilemma is whether the role of journalists and doctors is so important that we should exempt them from normal reactions of outrage and allow them to remain neutral. Are organizations entitled to use such roles as cover for their operatives?
Michael Caine, still one of the best character actors on film, plays his role as the cynical war correspondent as a straight man. He has the discipline not to overplay the role, leaving us to decide whether his character is noble or immoral, self-sacrificing or self-interested, misguided or redeemed.
Movie Review: Caine shines in superb adaptation of Graham Greene novel
Summary: 5 Stars
"The Quiet American" is one of the most beautifully rendered movies ever made from a Graham Greene novel. [The best remains 1949's "The Third Man".] It is immeasurably enhanced by Michael Caine's remarkable acting. The actor, famous for powerful performances, outdoes himself here. It is as though all his triumphs over the last four decades were simply leading up to this one role. Caine is Thomas Fowler, a British journalist covering the war between French colonist rulers and Vietnam Communist rebels in 1952. His lover is a much young Vietnamese girl named Phuong [Da Hai Yen]. Enter Aiden Pyle [Brendan Fraser], a young, idealistic American who thinks he has all the right answers for solving the Vietnam `problem'. [Although Greene wrote the book in 1955, years before America got heavily involved in the Vietnam conflict, he is remarkably accurate about how this country would eventually act in the situation.] Pyle sees Phuong, and it is love at first sight. He vows not to become involved with her as long as she is with Fowler, but, of course, this vow can not hold up. Eventually, Pyle's decision to pursue Phuong leads to dire consequences for everyone involved.
Australian director Philip Noyce is best known for his high profile, big budget movies such as "Patriot Games" and "Clear and Present Danger". His legacy will rest with such `small' movies as this one. "Dead Calm" and "Rabbit Proof Fence".
The theme is the moral ambiguity of both love and war, and the movie, though it strays somewhat from the novel's plot, remains faithful to Greene's point of view. One suspects that he novelist would have approved of the film.
"The Quiet American" is filmmaking at its best. Highly recommended.
Movie Review: A fine transcription of Graham Greene's prescient novel
Summary: 5 Stars
THE QUIET AMERICAN is an example of how excellent film making can translate a novel to the screen without diminishing the impact of the original. Though many consider THE QUIET AMERICAN as more of a memoir than a novel (Graham Greene lived in Saigon in the early 1950's and had first hand information on the trying situation of the French/Communist/Vietnamese patriot poitics and military struggles for power), yet Greene develops his characters with his usual acuity, creating a story with more than mere political drivers. The main character, Thomas Fowler (one of Michael Caine's finest moments on film) is a British journalist/opium-smoking man of the woodwork whose life is given meaning only by his Vietnamese lover (subtly underplayed by Do Thi Hai Yen). His life is given a wakeup call with the arrival of a quiet, unassuming, gentle American (Brendan Fraser, again a fine perfomance)who falls in love with Fowler's lover, and slowly is unmasked as being less than 'quiet' when his connection to the American CIA becomes evident. The theme is discovering what is important, significant and meaningful in a world on the brink and to say more would diminish the impact of this finely wrought movie. Beautifully photographed and scored, the film remains small in its poignancy and never gives in to the seduction of becoming yet another big war movie. The cast is unifromly outstanding: Tzi Ma as Hinh, Fowler's office assistant and confidant, and all the other actors stay credible and multifacted, never becoming stereotypes. A thinking person's film, THE QUIET AMERICAN has much to teach us about how the whole Vietnam debacle began. Bravo to the director!