The Scent of Green Papaya
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Movie Reviews of The Scent of Green Papaya
Movie Review: Details
Summary: 4 Stars
Good movie. Deliberately small in scope (it's all about details), it's a cinderella story set in Saigon, right down to the gold shoe reference. The main character, Mui, grows up a servant in a fairly well-off household, and the story follows her from age seven to adulthood, when she becomes the mistress of her own house. But it's as much about ants, papaya, toads, crickets, window-grates, and cooking as it is about Mui.
Movie Review: Yes, this movie is slow
Summary: 4 Stars
I will not lie and say this movie filled with car chases or explosions. If you expect an action flick, look elsewhere. I understand people's reaction to the slowness of this movie because when I saw it, I thought the same thing. However, over time I came to appreciate it. What this movie lacks in plot, it makes up in beautiful scenes and images. There are not many movies that leave you thinking about it years later.
Movie Review: ...Green Papaya ; a poignant movie
Summary: 4 Stars
I already had ... Green Papaya on VHS and was eagerly waiting for the DVD to come out. While the transfer is good, it is not widescreen as advertised (1.66:1)! The end credits are in a modified letterbox but the movie is 1.33:1. It
lessened,somewhat my enjoyment of this film.I wish that the DVD had been in widescreen as it was and still is advertised!
Edd Kerr
iegolden@shaw.ca .
Movie Review: Excellent sensory detail and fine acting. Also boring.
Summary: 3 Stars
This 1993 film has won several awards and was even nominated for an Oscar. Basically it's a snapshot of life in Vietnam in 1951 and then in 1961. It was filmed in France, however, because the upscale household images and way of life no longer exist in modern Vietnam.
The film centers on the experiences of a young servant girl named Mui who comes to work for a prosperous family at the age of 10. She's a beautiful young girl and is wide-eyed with wonder at the world around her. The audience sees the world through her eyes - the plants and the insects and the drops of water. There's a simplicity of the cinematography that is refreshingly lovely and its easy to get caught up in the sensuous nature of the story. Later, when the story jumps ahead 10 years and we meet Mui as a young woman, now a servant in the home of a musician who she has always adored, the story turns into a romance.
I think the theme was good and so was the acting. I could almost smell the soft aroma of the papaya as it was cut from the tree and prepared for dinner. But soon the novelty of this almost dialogue-less film became boring and I kept looking at the clock and hoping it would end soon. Therefore, when the last two scenes of this rental DVD were defective, I was actually glad to not have to sit through the last ten minutes. And I have no intention of having the defective copy replaced and viewing it again.
This is an interesting film because it is different. But it's a just a little too different for my taste. That's why I can only give it a lukewarm recommendation.
Movie Review: A Buddhist Cinderella?
Summary: 3 Stars
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.