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Summary: I'll keep it short - GO SEE THIS MOVIE!
Review: Extraordinarily timely, completely engrossing and Michael Caine's finest hour. I hope he wins the Oscar - he's blown away the completition on this one. Someone please send a copy to Bush and hurry!
Rating:
Summary: Michael Caine at his world-class best
Review: Michael Caine is an international treasure. His performance as an aging British journalist in 1950s Vietnam brings great depth and emotional gravity to this movie. He makes Brendan Fraser as the American who invades his life, tries to take his young Vietnamese girlfriend, seem shallow. But of course this is appropriate to Fraser's character, who manages to be both arrogant and at the same time naïve. Greene's story, now filmed with its original ending, now seems like a masterpiece of prophecy. The production is beautiful and thoughtful. Overall, this is everything you could ask a movie to be: thought-provoking, a great script, beautifully filmed and acted.
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Summary: Highly effective version of a Graham Greene classic
Review: Michael Caine has managed a large number of superb performances over the years, but this is probably his finest film in many, many years. Although Brendan Fraser and the remarkably beautiful Do Thi Hai Yen are excellent in the other two main roles, this film lives or dies with the character of Thomas Fowler. Thankfully, Caine is stunning. His performance is quiet, nuanced, and remarkably subtle. It is paradoxically one of the most emotional performances he has given in some time, but at the same time one of his more subdued. The film is set in Vietnam during the French war with the Communists of North Vietnam. It is also the time when the United States began their involvement in the country, doing their part to stymie the spread of the Red Menace. The movie does a great job of presenting the emerging complexities of the conflict. There are several stunning scenes, in particular a terrorist bombing, which is one of the most vivid and horrifying instances of onscreen violence that I have witnessed in some time. But the focus of the film always remains on the interplay of the personalities. The politics of the situation is not ignored, but in the end the film is about people. Director Philip Noyce had before 2002 been known primarily as a director of Hollywood action films, but after directing two of the finest films of this past year in THE RABBIT-PROOF FENCE and THE QUIET AMERICAN, he has suddenly emerged as one of the finer directors of serious films. I don't know what his next project is going to be, but I await it with great eagerness. He keeps both the mood and the lighting of this film very, very dark. Most of the scenes take place in shadows, in the evening, or in darkened rooms, as if it were an external manifestation of the internal ambiguity that permeates the film. I have long wanted to see Brendan Fraser take on more serious roles, especially after seeing him in GODS AND MONSTERS. He is good in comedy, but I have sometimes found the congenial idiots he so often portrays to be a little irritating.
This is a wonderfully serious film, and it stands in stark contrast to so many of the films coming out these days. It is a film that takes its time, with the director allowing scenes to develop slowly, never in a rush to tell his story. But I loved his narrative style, and I can't imagine any fan of film not being stunned by Michael Caine's masterful performance.
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Summary: True version of Greene's novel headed for early DVD release
Review: Graham Greene who was living in Vietnam in 1952 saw the emerging influence of American power as French power declined. He viewed it with fear and disgust. His novel THE QUIET AMERICAN is the most prescient book ever written about American involvement in Vietnam--a mix of idealism, romantic and economic imperialism and pure evil. Greene's book rises above the political tract by the subtle way he mixes political and personal motives. This movie is being killed in the United States-I saw it by luck in NYC. It is a Perfect adaptation of the novel. Michael Caine gives the performance of his career. He should win the oscar--though no doubt the Jack Nicholson crowd will have its way. It is easily the best film of the year, towering over everything from garbage to well intentioned productions. I suspect (and in a way hope) it is headed for early DVD release
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Summary: President Bush should see this movie...
Review: This movie tells a stirring love story and also makes a dramatic anti-colonialist political statement. Michael Caine is awesome as a British journalist who is covering Vietnam in the last days of the French colonial "occupation." He is most definitely in love with a young Vietnamese woman who in some ways exemplifies the colonialist themes of the movie. He is also married with a wife at home in Great Britain. President Bush and his cronies should be seeing this movie as the country seems to be back-sliding into a new colonialist period. In this movie, the U.S. is just starting to get interested in the anti-communist campaign that the French are waging and are about to lose. We all know what happened after that. Philip Noyce is the Australian Director who also did Rabbit Proof Fence (another anti-colonialist film with a different sort of "love" story involved (familial love)). If you liked that movie, you will probably like this one as well. Cinematography is by Christopher Doyle... same person who did Rabbit Proof fence and the Chinese film "In the Mood for Love." Doyle does an awesome job. The story is based on a Graham Greene novel and has some Catholic philosophical undertones (in this film, the Catholic "anti-divorce" position is an issue). Brendan Fraser plays an American who falls in love with Michael Caine's beautiful, young Vietnamese woman... I won't tell you more about this character, but pay attention. Both Fraser and Caine are great. Caine has never been better. See the movie.
Rating:
Summary: Big, thick, juicy, challenging entertinament!
Review: How is it that those self-proclaimed "masters" of Academy-Award garnering marketing, Miramax, has screwed the pooch so completely on this one? Are Michael Caine and Brendan Fraser not "cool" enough to warrant Harvey Weinstein's attention? Is it that something less likely to offend - The Hours - is a safer bet for Harvey Weinstein to guarantee himself an invite to Governor's Ball after the big awards ceremony? You too will ask these questions after seeing what is arguably one of the best, most thought provoking films of 2002. Here is a film that dares to ask the audience questions! True, there is a bit of anti-American sentiment in the film, as Mr. Caine's character asks why America feels the need to be everything to everyone all over the world. The sounding board is Mr. Fraser, who's character asks why Britain feels the need to mean nothing to no one all over the world. And both characters imply that France simply runs away when the going gets tough (on the French).Films that have this type of conversation between the characters and the audience without browbeating are few and far between and should therefore be heralded and handled with utmost care. And, here is a film that shows Vietnam not just as a battlefield, but as a country filled with opposing convictions, political intrigue, and every day life! The cinematography is breathtaking, the writing is sharp, the acting is on the mark, the directing is superb! Go indulge and enjoy!
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Summary: Noyce's masterpiece
Review: This superbly crafted adaptation of Graham Greene's novel is easily Phillip Noyce's best work. Everything works here: it's carefully written, exquisitely shot, and perfectly accompanied by Craig Armstrong's score - alternately haunting and stirring, it deftly captures both the beauty and lingering unease of the situation. The casting is spot-on: Do Thi Hai Yen does wonders with minimal dialogue, Caine puts in another superbly understated performance, and the dazzlingly versatile Brendan Fraser proves that "Gods & Monsters" was no fluke. The thoughtful epilogue of news headline is remarkably affecting, right down to its final image. The only thing which slightly grates are some ham-fisted moments when the mysterious power behind "the third force" is rather obviously revealed, e.g. Joe Tunney sticking his head into frame just after Fowler's meeting with General The. It's as if this aspect of the story is being over-explained for the mall crowd, even though the otherwise subtle writing and performances make it perfectly clear what's going on. The audience doesn't need to be told: like Fowler, we can work it out. Still, this movie was tested extensively with American preview audiences, so I assume the explanatory moments proved necessary. (Do some people have difficulty understanding a story in which the Americans aren't unambiguously the good guys?) Completed in 2001, it's a shame that this film had to sit around waiting for tempers to cool after September 11. But it's precisely this kind of story that needs to be told today, so I guess if delaying the release ensures it's more widely seen, all the better.
Rating: 
Summary: (4 1/2 stars) Caine's Best
Review: This movie relies on a great rarity in films these days: an excellent screenplay. The dialog is natural, the storyline is compelling and believable, and the characters are sympathetic. Michael Caine surely deserves Oscar consideration for this role as a jaded journalist trying to maintain a residence in Viet Nam so he can stay with his Vietnamese lover. And Brendan Fraser shows us some real depth and range as the mysterious title character. The cinematography is stunning and evocative, with the style in constant flux to reflect the mood of the scene. The music is beautifully subdued, infusing the scenes rather than dominating them. The movie presents an infrequently depicted era of history: the French occupation and war with the Vietnamese, and the ensuing American infiltration. The facts of this period are definitely food for thought in today's political climate.
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Summary: A Quiet But Powerful Movie
Review: Michael Caine, nominated for an Academy Award for best actor for this role, and Brendan Fraser (GODS AND MONSTERS)star in this riveting film about Vietnam in the early 50's. While we find out in the first few frames of the movie the fate of one character, the plot takes many surprising twists and turns; and the ending completely surprised me. I am not at all convinced that the movie ends like Graham Greene's novel by the same name. On the other hand, it doesn't have to since the movie is not the novel. Caine plays a British journalist and Fraser is a young "quiet" American. The movie-- and I assume the novel which I haven't read-- is prophetic in an eerie way about what later is to come in Vietnam. Something tells me they aren't looking at this one in the White House private screening room. These two actors, along with Do Thi Hai Yen, are outstanding in what had to be one of the best movies of 2002.
Rating:
Summary: Beatiful film
Review: I've always loved both Michael Caine and Brendan Frasier, but I was surprised when I saw them in a film together. 'The Quiet American' contemplates the effects of unbridled passion, jealousy, and war. The violence is not overwhelming, and not over-the-top gorey, but is honest, nonetheless. Besides the Vietnamese war that is omnipresent, the film focuses on the mental anguish that it causes, as well as the relationships that are the product of it. Overall, a wonderfully acted film. I highly recommend!
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