Rating: 
Summary: Opens your eyes to the beauty of nature
Review: My dog woke me up just before the sun came up on August 5th. I took care of his needs and decided to watch FoodTV. Instead, "The Scent of Green Papaya" was playing. I didn't see the beginning, but I was captivated.The portrayal of the child (later the woman), was so incredibly beautiful. She was portrayed as a hard working, sensitive, compassionate and incredibly sensual creature. Even watching her clean her employer's shoes was (as another reviewer put it), poetic. I don't think that I have ever seen a more beautiful film. I was sorry when it was over, but I left the house and sat on my porch and listened to the song birds and the crows and the occassional quiet. I walked into the yard bare-footed (as she almost always was) and observed. This film was such an inspiration.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing movie
Review: Normally, I don't mind movies that use visuals instead of dialogue to tell the story as long as the visuals give a good insight into the character. I also don't mind if the plot is simple as long as it is revealed in a compelling way. However, the visuals seem to give a sense of the environment around the characters than revealing anything about the characters especially in the second half. Nothing in the movie compelled me to feel anything for the character even when she finally got the guy. This movie was a waste of my movie-viewing time.
Rating: 
Summary: Simply beautiful
Review: The Scent Of Green Papaya is a beautiful picture that takes place in very simple settings. No lush greenery expected of films set in Vietnam. I really enjoyed the lack of speech in this movie but the increased importance of the music. I've never seen a movie quite like that. It catches you from the very beginning with the symbolism and stark contrasts that point out the world of a servant girl and her compassion as compared the the uncompassionate and mischievious boys. It also brings into question the way Vietnamese society and religion is like and how women, especially wifes, are of a lower status and are bound strongly by traditions. Ultimately, the unspoken intimacy and gradual love for the pianist and Mui really was attractive. Apart from the fact that they are both gorgeous looking and very well matched but also because there is so little talking going on. At the end, you go like wow, how on earth did this director sustain it for so long? Is there are soundtrack cos it should be very good.
Rating: 
Summary: A Sleeper.
Review: The visuals I admit were very intriguing in this film. But the dialog was BEYOND boring. I recommend "To Live" over this.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent sensory detail and fine acting. Also boring.
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: A Relaxing Ambient Film
Review: This film reminds me of my vast collection of Ambient CD's I listen to in order to relax and meditate. It is calming, beautiful, and I will never tire of watching it. Today, I have finally purchased it and will probably wear it out. No need to add to the wonderful descriptions already stated. If you are looking for something to bring your blood pressure down, get this film. If someone knows of other films like this one, write me and let me know.
Rating:
Summary: Familiar, slow-moving story beautifully presented
Review: This is a kind of Cinderella tale set in Saigon during the 1950s in which the yin and yang principles of the masculine element and the feminine are played out once again. We find ourselves in the airy, beautifully-appointed house of a well-to-do merchant family that has just hired a new servant. She is ten-year-old Mùi, played with grace and a kind of magical innocence by Man San Lu, who bestows her beatific little smile on all the little wonders of the world she sees around her. She learns her job quickly and works hard, always with a positive attitude. She loves all living things including insects and frogs. She tolerates the boorish behavior of the youngest son of the household who directs some indelicate gestures in her direction. Like a Taoist monk she just observes, judges not and says nothing. Well, we know somebody is going to take notice of this splendid jeune fille, some wise young man, and when she comes of age, marry her and elevate her station in life. Meanwhile the head of household squanders the family's funds and ten years pass. Now the family is almost broke and Mùi is sent to be the housekeeper and cook for Khuyen, played attractively by Hoa Hoi Vuong. She is now played by Tran Nu Yên-Khê who falls in love with the young man who is a classical pianist. Unfortunately he has a girl friend, a stylish woman of the city from a well-to-do family. Finally we have a bit of tension! This, then, is an "art house" movie in which director Anh Hung Tran tells the story primarily with images and symbolism, and that he does very well. But the disjunction of the two very slight plots is never overcome, and the startling lack of any tension until near the end is disappointing. The central image of the film, the green papaya with the immature seeds inside representing the potential of the little girl is however not to be forgotten. What carries this slow-moving extended vignette of ante-bellum Saigon, and saves us from abject boredom are the beautiful sets nestled in greenery with the Buddhist artwork, the wooden Venetian-slotted doors, the partitions, the lattice work, the vases, the statues, the arresting music, both eastern and western, the intensively focused cinematography, and the charm of ten-year-old Man San Lu. Many viewers, however charmed, will not stay for the finale, which will be too bad because it is in the later stages of the film that the fairy-tale quality of the film is fully realized. Mùi of course has come of age, and the developing love affair is revealed purely through camera work without any dialogue.
Incidentally, I was somewhat surprised to learn that this beautifully rendered film was shot not on locale in Saigon, Vietnam where the action takes place, but in a Paris studio! This makes me imagine that the trees, especially the papaya tree in the central courtyard, and the little animals, the frogs and geckos were shipped in. It also makes me realize that the ants that the one boy drips hot candle wax on, the ants that Mùi admires and her cricket in a cage are most likely Parisians!
Rating:
Summary: Ozu woulsd have loved this!
Review: This is a spectacular debut by the Vietnamese-French director Tran Anh-Hung. This is one of the rare films that left me with a happy warm feeling inside. But this is not a cheese melodrama, not unless that is the way you choose to describe works by the great Japanese master Ozu. This film is goregeous collage of experiences in one Vietnamese girl's life. The story is told with minimal dialogue. tran does not force the emotions upon the viewer but lets us experience the characters' world with them. Movies do not get much better than this!
Rating:
Summary: The Slowest Movie Ever Made
Review: This is the slowest movie ever made, and also one of the least meaningful movies I have ever seen. There is nothing redeeming about any of the characters, as they are not fleshed out to any degree. Why? Because the director was obsessed with bombarding the viewer with silent, mind-numbing, atmospheric cinematography, at the expense of everything else. It therefore explains nothing about the most important element: its characters--the PEOPLE!
I hated this movie; so did my wife. So should you. It was a complete waste of time.
Rating:
Summary: The Fruits of Kindness
Review: This lovely and subtle film washes over you like a gentle tropical rain. The dialog is sparse and the beauty dense in director Anh Hung Tran's portrait of a young servant girl in 1951 Saigon and those she serves. There is an intimacy to this film seldom if ever seen on screen. The simple beauty of nature and it's effect on living can actually be felt by the viewer. We can hear the birds chirping and the sound of crickets all through this film just as though we are there. Man San Lu portrays young Mui as she first comes to serve this family. She learns to cook and do her other tasks from an older servant who has been with this family for many years. You can almost smell the dishes as Mui learns the craft, the film itself a delicious study in our senses. Young and pretty Mui finds beauty in the world around her and Tran's camera captures both her delight and the joy of nature itself. Mui watches milky nectar drip onto leaves of small trees and we see through her eyes what we sometimes take for granted. This beautiful photography is used to capture more than just nature though. Mui's Mistress (Thi Loc Troung) has lost a daughter in the past who would now be Mui's age. When her husband runs away from his family and takes the money she has saved from her small business in Saigon selling fabric, more of the past is revealed. This is not the first time this has happened and he has run off with the money and a woman. It is heartbreaking when we overhear her mother blaming her for what he has done. Mui has come to care for the Mistress and she has begun to look upon her as the daughter she lost, hoping her oldest son will grow up and take her for his wife. But it is not to be as times become even harder and the Mistress has to release Mui in a scene filled with kindness and sadness. The film has affected us in such a way that this moment takes on a true intimacy because we know the sweetness of Mui and the dignity of her Mistress who can no longer hide her heart. Tran moves forward in time 10 years and beautiful Tran Nu Yen-Khe is now Mui, now serving a young and upper class French conservatory student. He is more modern and successful and contrasts the old and new of a changing Saigon. His rich girlfriend is perfect for his life but as we have watched the joy and sweetness of Mui we understand completely why he drops her and breaks tradition by taking Mui instead. It will lead to happiness and one more thought about nature, both floral and human. This is a gentle film of great and wondrous beauty you will find yourself thinking about for some time afterward. This truly great director has taken a simple story with little dialog and created an emotionally rich film like no other. It is something you must see for yourself, and soon....
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