Rating: 
Summary: A Matter of Conscience ¿ the Role of the Non-Combatant in Wa
Review: Graham Greene, British journalist, novelist and book reviewer, combined his practical need to earn a living with a driven conscience by alternatively writing books for pure entertainment and novels that directly address human dilemmas. "The Quiet American", originally written in 1956 and directed on this DVD by Philip Noyce in 2002, belongs firmly in the latter category.Seen through the eyes of a tired, aging British journalist (Tom Fowler, played by Michael Caine) in what was then called the war in Indo-China, Greene presents a series of moral dilemmas by forcing the journalist out of his comfortable status as an observer. A threat by his employer to recall him to London forces him face up to the fact that his latest love affair--with a beautiful young Vietnamese (Phuong, played by Do Hai Yen)--has turned into genuine love. That prompts him to try and produce more hard-hitting investigative articles, so that he can justify staying in Vietnam. As a result, he learns that his best friend, a young American medic (Mr Pyle, played by Brendan Fraser), is a secret OSS/CIA operative involved with undermining the communist cause by funding a horrendous act of terrorism that is blamed on the communists. (This reflects Greene's original story, where there is no doubt that Mr Pyle is an undercover agent.) The anguished dilemma faced by the journalist is whether he is justified in helping local Vietnamese insurgents assassinate the "quiet American". Our dilemma is whether the role of journalists and doctors is so important that we should exempt them from normal reactions of outrage and allow them to remain neutral. Are organizations entitled to use such roles as cover for their operatives? Michael Caine, still one of the best character actors on film, plays his role as the cynical war correspondent as a straight man. He has the discipline not to overplay the role, leaving us to decide whether his character is noble or immoral, self-sacrificing or self-interested, misguided or redeemed.
Rating: 
Summary: Boring and Inept Storytelling
Review: "The Quiet American" is one of the worst films I've seen in quite some time. There are so many things wrong with this movie, it's hard to know where to start. The only conceivable explanations for some of the positive reviews of this awful film are the notions that (a) any film about Vietnam must be good, or (b) any film starring Michael Caine must be good. Believe me, if you suffer from either of these misconceptions, this film will provide the cure. Brendan Fraser is simply awful in this film. We have no reason to see how, why and when he fell madly in love with Caine's mistress, to whom he proposes marriage in front of Caine in Caine's apartment literally one scene after just meeting her with Caine. The romance is nonexistent, and his actions are literally implausible. Worse yet, Fraser is remarkably chatty the entire film -- when he's supposed to be "the quiet American." It would have been best had he remained quiet, for every line of dialogue was tortured and contrived. Next, we have Caine's character -- a lecherous old man cheating on his wife with a desperate Vienamese girl with limited choices in life. He does not love her -- he possesses her. It is a dirty relationship, made all the more dirty by his lies, and his breathtaking lack of consideration for his own wife. We are supposed to be rooting for his divorce to go through so he can make his possession of this plaything a legal right. Oh, he is also an opium smoker. This, ladies and gentlemen, is your protagonist. And our great hope is that he will stay in Indochina, at the risk of losing his job with the London Times, so he can take up space and become a burden to his plaything -- who will now have no hope of escaping her wartorn country. He is a selfish, lecherous character who plots Fraser's murder. Again, this is your protagonist. This film is also extraordinarily boring. It moves at the pace of a cargo ship up the Mekong. With the amount of time it takes to build a plot, you would think that you would get a more coherent result. Think again. In short, this film is simply awful. If you like slow-moving, amoral films with no sympathetic characters, inconceivable plot lines, and lightweight political posturing, this is the film for you. Otherwise, don't waste precious minutes of your life on this thoroughly inane movie.
Rating: 
Summary: 17 Minutes?
Review: Let's consider the average running time of a film... - about 90 minutes for most of them. Now, let's "round-up" the 17 minutes I've referred to in the title, to about 20 minutes. Taking the difference of the two, we are left with a 70 minute film - just over an hour. Wouldn't you feel slightly gyped if you were to pay nine dollars at the theatre to see a one-hour film? This is how I feel about this movie. Although I've written the AFI numerous e-mails about the apparent "missing 17 minutes", (the American release of the film is 17 minutes shy of the international release), they refuse to respond. Initially, imdb.com listed the running-time of this film at 118 minutes - now if you look, it's about 101 minutes. Apparently, the forces that be deemed the content of that 17 minutes, too politically charged to leave in the American release... hmmm - Makes you wonder what else they're changing for the benefit of our fragile constitutions (Yes, I used this word purposely). Here's to censorship for all, and 17 more minutes to gorge ourselves on the worlds fading resources!!
Rating: 
Summary: Shh...Don't tell
Review: My major complaint with this film is the element of surprised was ruined in the marketing/promotional material, probably by someone who did not watch the Quiet American. A lovely vignette about the inception of love and war, and the deception involved in both. Brendon Fraser is excellent, complex and wonderfully cast against type. Michael Caine brings his decades of acting experience and makes a strong story work well. I now want to read more of Graham Greene's writing upon which the film was based. The ending montage was convenient but unnecessary. The story is powerful enough and more information may be satisfying to some, but distracts from the spirit of the previous 100 minutes.
Rating:
Summary: In Certain Respects, Too Quiet
Review: Actually, much of this film is quiet. Set in Vietnam in 1952, it stars Michael Caine as journalist Thomas Fowler who has become quite comfortable, filing occasional articles on the war with The Times in London. Sharing sex and drugs with his young and lovely paramour Phuong (Do Hai Yen), Fowler has no interest in returning home to his wife nor in divorcing her. Then he becomes friends with an American medical missionary, Alden Pyle (Brendan Fraser), and Fowler's lifestyle becomes unexpectedly complicated. Caine received and deserved nomination for Best Actor in a lead role. The cinematography (Christopher Doyle) is first-rate. Credit Rade Serbedzija with a fine performance as Inspector Vigot. However, Phillip Noyce's direction and the screenplay adaptation (by Christopher Hampton and Robert Schenkkan) of Graham Greene's novel are much less effective than I had expected. The key to understanding Greene's Fowler is to appreciate the extent to which he is torn between various loyalties, passions, fears, and ambitions. He feels compelled to defend his carefully constructed status quo even as his conscience refuses to remain silent. Caine has sufficient talent to suggest nuances of Fowler's character and personality which Noyce -- for whatever reasons -- did not deem necessary. As for Pyle, he symbolizes so much that Greene deplored in United States foreign policies regarding Indo China in general, and Vietnam in particular. Under Noyce's direction, Fraser only begins to suggest the menace his character represents in the novel. Had he done so, this film would have had much greater dramatic impact. Noyce also fails to establish and then intensify significant conflicts of values in the relationship between Fowler and Pyle. Moreover, he under-utilizes Phoung whose function in the movie seems limited almost entirely to being a human "toy" whom both Fowler and Pyle wish to possess. What does work so well in this film suggests what it might have been. That is why I was especially interested in the DVD special features which include a "Commentary" by director Phillip Noyce, actors Michael Caine, Brendan Fraser, Tzi Ma, producers Sydney Pollack, Staffan Ahrenberg, William Hoberg, co-writer Christopher Hampton, and interpreter/advisor to the director, Tran An Hua; an "Anatomy of a Scene" Sundance Channel show; an original featurette; a Vietnam timeline; a DVD-ROM study guide; and original book reviews.
Rating:
Summary: A movie based on a book that is actually as good as the book
Review: First off all those people bashing the movie for its story line need to go read the book of the same title by Graham Greene. The story is deep and complex if the viewer would only take the time to pay attention to the details. This movie is not one that you put in then watch in a numbed state with a stupefied glaze over your face. This is one of the few movies out there that stays true to the book for which it is based upon. This is a great movie if you take it for what it is and an even better movie if you understand the history of Vietnam and the political situation of Vietnam in the 1950's. Michael Cain does an excellent job of Fowler a correspondent for the London Times who is in Vietnam to cover the rising tension. He believes it is his job to simply report what he sees and hears; not to put any spin on it. Brendan Frasier plays Pyle a young and naive American economic attaché who believes in a "third force" to run Vietnam. Then there is Phuong who by all means represents Vietnam rising from the ashes. So this is a great movie and an even better movie if you read the book.
Rating:
Summary: What are you gonna do, Brother?!!!
Review: If you like The Quiet American, I strongly suggest the similar lessons in "Mr. Nanny." It is rich with metaphor. Hulk Hogan babysits. At first he thinks his confidence and power will be no match for the kids. But alas, he is on their turf. Because of their tenacity, the Hulkster soon finds himself "pinned down" in a quagmire. He finds it increasingly difficult to extricate himself from the situation honorably. But his intentions are always the best! And he is no more naive than prior, professional babysitters. It sure would have helped Hulk if the parents (and nearby relatives) had done a better job in the first place, so he didn't have to try to do so much!!!. If you like the Quiet American (and I didn't get it, really), check out Mr. Nanny -- You'll love it!
Rating: 
Summary: Classic Noyce.
Review: The Quiet American (Phillip Noyce, 2002) Phillip Noyce, fresh off the stunning success of Rabbit-Proof Fence, returns to the word of the quiet thriller, a genre in which he's already proven himself a number of times over (Dead Calm, The Saint) Based on the early-fifties Graham Greene masterpiece, The Quiet American details the ongoing friendship of two men in Vietnam, Pyle (Brendan Fraser) and Fowler (Michael Caine).The two are linked not only by their foreignness, but also by their love of the same woman, Phuong (relative newcomer Do Thi Hai Yen, in her third film).The trick here is that in the movie's opening scene, we see the death of Pyle, and Fowler's subsequent questioning as to his involvement in it; the mystery of the film resides in whether Fowler did, in fact, have anything to do with it, and why. As with most of Noyce's films, The Quiet American is beautifully shot, taking great advantage of the Vietnamese countryside (much of the movie was shot on location, including Noyce's recreation of the 1952 bombing that was the catalyst for much of what happened in the twenty-three years that followed it. Another hallmark of a Noyce thriller is that it's deadly slow to start, one of the reasons why the opening fifteen minutes of Rabbit-Proof Fence were such a shock to the system; here, again, Noyce goes back to the slow and steady approach. We spend most of the first half of the film getting to know the three principals and the characters who surround them (Holmes Osborne [Donnie Darko, Identity], as Granger, is a wonderful character who should've gotten more screen time, especially) before the action kicks in. The central subplot of the film revolves around the rise to power of General The (Quang Hai, another newcomer), formerly of the Vietnamese Army, who has broken with the communists and set up his own militia, opposing both the French colonialists and the communists trying to overthrow them. Most of the film's action comes from Fowler trying to figure out who General The actually is, and who's behind his rise to power. A good film, and Caine's performance was easily deserving of his Best Actor nomination. Just be expecting the leisurely pace. Established fans of Phillip Noyce should love this; newbies might want to start with Dead Calm before progressing to this one. ***
Rating:
Summary: Pretty Good!
Review: It is a very engaging movie set during the Viet Nam war. I don't want to give out details because you should watch and see but Brendan Fraser, whom I know from mostly mediocre comedies, actually does a good job. Michael Caine is of course brilliant. It is a good story line, some romance, more mystery and a lot of thinking on the Quiet Americans...
Rating:
Summary: Great Movie!
Review: I loved this movie. Michael Caine is amazing, Brendan Fraser does a great job, and that vietnamese girl is so beautiful! So is the scenery and everything. What a great movie. I can watch it over and over again and I still love it.
|
