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If there is a verb meaning "to move harmoniously" it should be used here.
Director Anh Hung Trân’s lyrical debut film, "The Scent of Green Papaya," earned a Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film, won the Camera d’Or at Cannes and a César for Best First Picture. All with justifiable reason. It is a Cinderella-like tale revolving around two stages of the life of a young Vietnamese girl, named Mui, ( played at age 10 by Lu Man San and by Tran Nu Yen-Khe at age 20 ). It combines warmth and visual splendor with long, painfully thought out, choreographed tracking shots and meticulous artistic balance. In my mind, very close to a flawless film. |
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The Scent of Green Papaya by Anh Hung Tran Review of the film and DVD by Gary W. Tooze |
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Synopsis: From her home village, Miu walks all day to reach a family in Saigon where she learns to work as their housekeeper. Here, we are introduced to their lavish home, the mother, father, elderly housekeeper and the three sons. Mui learns very innocently about love and loyalty from a distance, as well as the heartbreak of abandonment and infidelity. Mui fills the Mothers' void of her deceased child and imbues a wholesome contentment with her position in the household. We are witnessing the events of the family through her deep, smiling eyes intimating that education can be a very simple process. |
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Jumping from naturalistic glimpses of frogs, plants, insects , fruit and birds, often in the rain, Tran balances exquisite background sounds with traditional music and modern classical pieces (Claire De Lune). The actress Tran Nu Yen-Khe is actually the directors wife (fiancée while shooting, I believe) and she plays the part quite adeptly, so much so that she has appeared in Tran's other two films; Cyclo and The Vertical Ray of the Sun. His excessive efficiency in the most minute detail becomes apparent with each passing scene. |
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The film is filled with feeling and social commentary from desertion to illiteracy... but for myself, the art direction (on what very large set in a studio in Paris) and graceful camera movements are the major attributes. Bravo... after also watching Cyclo and
the The Vertical Rays of the
Sun, I feel that I may have found a new
favorite director in
Anh Hung Trân. This film is a rare masterpiece: |
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DVD and Film Details |
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Unfortunately,
the Region 1 DVD is Pan and Scan. I understand the correct aspect ratio
of this film is 1.66:1 which is how the Region 2 DVD is presented. I am
quite surprised and also disappointed as Columbia/Tristar usually sticks to OAR (original
aspect ratio). The positive thing about this is the colors remain
vibrant and clear. There are no extras worth mentioning but I'm still
giving the DVD presentation an enthusiastic  out
of  |
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| Full Cast and Crew for Mui du du xanh (1993) Directed by Anh Hung Tran Writing credits Patricia Petit Anh Hung Tran Cast (in credits order) verified as complete Tran Nu Yên-Khê .... Mui Age 20 Man San Lu .... Mui Age 10 Thi Loc Truong .... The Mother Anh Hoa Nguyen .... Old Thi Hoa Hoi Vuong .... Khuyen Ngoc Trung Tran .... The Father Vantha Talisman .... Thu Keo Souvannavong .... Trung Van Oanh Nguyen .... Mr. Thuan Gerard Neth .... Tin Nhat Do .... Lam Thi Hai Vo .... The Grandmother Thi Thanh Tra Nguyen .... Mai Lam Huy Bui .... The Doctor Xuan Thu Nguyen .... The Antique Dealer Vuong Hoa Hôi .... The pianist Lu Man San .... Mui (10s) Produced by Adeline Lecallier .... associate producer Alain Rocca .... associate producer Christophe Rossignon .... producer Original music by Tôn-Thât Tiêt Non-original music by Frédéric Chopin (from "Les Préludes") Claude Debussy (from "Clair de lune") Cinematography by Benoît Delhomme Laurence Trémolet Film Editing by Nicole Dedieu Jean-Pierre Roques Production Design by Eric Dangremont Alain Nègre Costume Design by Jean-Philippe Abril Makeup Department Laurent Blanchard .... hair stylist Amélie Vinson-Rouffio .... makeup artist Second Unit Director or Assistant Director Nicolas Cambois .... first assistant director Art Department Alain Nègre .... set designer Claude Suné .... set designer Sound Department Joel Fauve .... sound mixer Michel Guiffan .... sound Special Effects by Cléo Daran .... special effects |
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