A great film from a mysterious world
In colonial Vietnam, dashing French naval captain Jean-Baptiste, wealthy plantation owner Éliane Devries, and her adopted Vietnamese daughter Camillevare form the three points of a cross-cultural romantic triangle. As the struggle against European imperialism sweeps Indochina, Jean-Baptiste and Camille have to choose sides and Éliane faces the emotionally difficult challenge of raising the child of her daughter and ex-lover.
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- CinemaSerfon TMDB · Apr 20247/10
This is a sort of French equivalent of the British Merchant Ivory films that showcases the decline of a colonial influence in the early 1950s tempered with a bit of inter-racial romance. This time it the wealthy "Éliane" (Catherine Deneuve) who owns a large rubber plantation and adopts young local "Camille" (Linh-Dan Pham) whose powerful parents were her friends before her father was assassinated, purportedly by the communist insurgents. The arrival of the handsome young naval officer "Le Guen" (Vincent Perez) sets the cat amongst the pigeons as he takes a shine to the mother whilst the impressionable young daughter takes a liking to him. Now set against the increasingly turbulent environment, the story develops slowly illustrating how this trio must adapt to the increasingly dangerous political and emotional situation that was emerging. This is a little too long and the pace can be glacial at times, but Deneuve exudes a sophisticated plausibility with her character. As local as the locals by birth, but then again, a part of the oppressing ruling class whom the people increasingly wanted rid of. Perez is every inch the handsome and charming sailor who comes along just as both women
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Cast
- Catherine DeneuveEliane Devries
- Vincent PerezJean-Baptiste Le Guen
- Linh-Dan PhamCamille
- Jean YanneGuy Asselin
- Dominique BlancYvette
- Alain FromagerDominique
- Eric NguyenTanh
- Jean-Baptiste HuynhEtienne (Adult)
- Henri MarteauEmile Devries
- Carlo BrandtCastellani
Crew
- Régis WargnierDirector
- Régis WargnierScreenplay
- Erik OrsennaScreenplay
- Louis GardelScreenplay
- François CatonnéDirector of Photography
- Patrick DoyleOriginal Music Composer
- Geneviève WindingEditor
- Agnès SchwabEditor
- Jean LabadieProducer
- Éric HeumannProducer
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