Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful
Review: This movie has no action, very little dialog, and a very simple plot, but I was riveted to the television until it was over. It wasn't the anticipation of "what will happen next?" but "what will I see next?" that kept me interested. I believed I was in Viet Nam in the fifties observing a real girl's life.This is a very unique film. The most amazing thing about it is the cinematography. The way the director follows action in each scene is wonderful. The scenes are often filmed through windows and doorways or through the decorative lattice of a window. Normally, with the camera in the same room as the actors, the viewer experience is unnatural; the viewer feels that he is imposing on the characters which is not something he might normally do, so the experience feels artificial. However, the remote vantage of this director's technique makes it feel as if the viewer is actually watching a real life drama being played out. The characters are unaware of his presence and so their behavior must be natural and unaltered. Of course, it is the job of actors to behave as if the camera is not an imposition, but this additional overtly serendipitous view makes the viewer feel even more invisible. The sets are carefully designed and the motion of the action carefully choreographed so that this filming technique can be used for amazingly long intervals. The first such sequence when little Mui is admitted to the house and then delivered to the servant gives the viewer a nearly complete tour of the house and wets the his appetite for similar sequences to occur later in the film. A second unique quality of the cinematography is the scene to scene transitions. These are wonderfully choreographed. Often as a scene nears its end, in the background, perhaps through a window or a fence, the viewer can see the initial action of the next scene. Or sometimes it is the end of a previous scene that the viewer will see in the background. In this way many scenes are linked seamlessly by concurrent foreground and background action. This director is a genius. The soundtrack should not be overlooked. All the sounds that one might take for granted in life are in this soundtrack. The sounds of birds and insects are almost always present. The sounds of life in this city are also abundant--airplanes passing overhead, a radio playing somewhere, someone practicing piano next door, etc. (I often go to sleep with this movie playing just to experience the sounds.) Finally, the performance of the young Mui is amazing. There is very little dialog in this movie, but the face of this young actress is so expressive that the lack of dialog is not even noticed. Though never voiced, the crush that the young Mui has on the eldest brothers friend is very obvious; her face just glows when he is present. Her intense interest in ants gathering crumbs is obvious as she pauses whilst chewing her food.
Rating:
Summary: Stop to smell the flowers
Review: This movie is a kind of gift for your eyes. The story is very simple and maybe you won't be any worry about it: You'll just let it pass. However, the camera does an excellent, beatiful work showing you children's feelings, an old man's smile, a mother's prayings... Moreover, the soundtrack music is played with traditional Viet Nam instruments and piano; both give melodies you would like. But it is not just music and dialogues, it also gives you a nice sound background from the chirping of insects, the songs of birds and childrens... even the broking sound of a vase is not disgusting. This is a movie for people who "stop to smell the flowers."
Rating:
Summary: Exquisite
Review: This movie is great for those who enjoy excellent character development. Not many people my age appreciate such films and I must admit that some of its like do not keep my attention but on the contrary, this film moved me greatly.
Rating: 
Summary: A pretty postcard and nothing more
Review: This movie is visually beautiful with its idyllic set and soft lighting. But, please, if you want to keep my interest, try adding a story to the mix. The movie has the thinnest plot, if you can call it that, and has minimal basis in reality. If you want to see pretty moving pictures and nothing else, then this video is ok.
Rating: 
Summary: Deliciously bad !
Review: This movie really ...[very very not nice]! I watched it in disbelief and can't imagine what would prompted any company to finance this "picture". This simpleton of a plot, if you can all it a plot at all, did not stir anything but yawns from this viewer. Sure, the scenery is pretty, but the acting is atrocious and overly done. It's awkwardly directed and does not deserved such nauseating "good" reviews. A rousing thumbs down on my part. What a waste of my times and money !
Rating:
Summary: Orientalist Tripe
Review: This movie was a great disappointment. It was poorly plotted, limply directed, and the acting (especially in the "grown-up" second half) stiff and unconvincing. The main actress grins dumbly as she blissfully goes about her chores... ugh. An Asian "Pretty Woman." I suppose that the occasional curfew klaxon and roar-of-jet was a (snif) "poignant reminder" of the tragic politics unfolding over the wall of the sound stage. But the movie felt like elite Vietnamese and wistful French colonialist nostalgia. Bah! Overrated! Avoid!
Rating:
Summary: Peace & Serenity
Review: This story filled my heart and soul with peace and goodness. I see through that little girl's eyes what I missed as a little girl and so it seems I have finally found it for myself. This movie will find a place amongst my treasured movies and books.
Rating:
Summary: Unique and Ethereal
Review: Tran Ahn Hung manages to make Vietnam seem exotic to Western eyes even when he is filming in a studio in Paris. He does this by capturing a tranquility similar to that of a Buddhist painting. He achieves this through brilliant cinematography, which shows a girl (later a woman) who never loses her sense of wonder for the world. Plot is secondary. In the early '50s, a servant girl of ten, Mui, comes to work in the house of an affluent, but troubled, family. The father periodically takes all the money in the house to go whoring, and the mother has lost her only daughter, for whom Mui becomes a substitute. Yet these sorrows are nearly forgotten as we are enchanted by Mui's observations of crickets, the green skin of a papaya, and rain falling off a leaf. Ten years later, 20 year old Mui (Tran Nu Yen Khe)is sent to work for a family friend, an unmarried musician who Mui has known on and off. Mui's quiet, gentle womanhood is contrasted with her employer's frivolous fiancee. The transition from the child Mui to an adult with a childlike eye could have easily resulted in a woman with arrested development. But Tran Nu Yen Khe plays adult Mui with gentle shyness, yet still manages to be womanly. "The Scent of A Green Papaya" is a must for someone interested in modern Asian film and culture, and would be entertaining to anyone who wants to see a thoughtful movie.
Rating: 
Summary: A beautiful movie
Review: Watching "The Scent of Green Papaya?is just like listening to a harmonious song. There is not much dialogue in this movie but you will not feel boring. I enjoy the tranquil, elegant, graceful mood of the movie. It uses many simple melodies and close-up shots in the film to reflect the frame of mind of the characters. The visual and hearing beauty brings you comfort when watching it. The first part of the film takes place in 1951, it is when the French authority almost came to an end. French has occupied Vietnam for more than 30 years prior to 1954. During the French administration, people in Vietnam had been influenced by the French. In the first half of the movie, Mui was living in a traditional family as a child servant. The grandmother lost her husband when she was still a teenager and she insisted on praying for her husband every morning and stay faithful to him. The father left home with another woman and took along all the money a few times but the mother would never blame him. Instead, the grandmother blamed her for not knowing how to please her own husband. In the second half of the film, Mui moved to a musician's house also as a servant. The musician, who is also her master, named Khuyen, has been influenced by the French and knows how to play piano. His house was decorated all in French style, colorful and bright. Unlike the previous family, simple, antique, and all in wood. Khuyen was engaged but later then he found out that Mui was actually very attractive after she dressed up. He fell for her and afterwards he broke up with his fianc?and married Mui. This film shows the difference between a traditional Vietnamese family and a modern westernize family. Not only the living environment have big difference but also the perception of relationships.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful and Intriguing
Review: What a wonderful story! A major change for the tragedies of most Asian filmwork.
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