- The Scent of Green Papaya
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The Scent of Green Papaya 
Directed by Tran Anh Hung Produced by Christophe Rossignon Written by Tran Anh Hung Music by Tôn-Thât Tiêt Cinematography Benoît Delhomme Editing by Nicole Dedieu
Jean-Pierre RoquesDistributed by Président Films Release date(s) June 8, 1993 Running time 104 minutes Country Vietnam
FranceLanguage Vietnamese Box office $1,700,992[1] The Scent of Green Papaya (Vietnamese: Mùi đu đủ xanh, French: L'Odeur de la papaye verte) is a Vietnamese-language film produced in France by Lazennec Production, and directed by Vietnamese-French director Tran Anh Hung.
The film won the Caméra d'Or prize at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival,[2] a César Award for Best Debut at the French annual film award ceremony, and was shortlisted for the 1993 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. The Scent of Green Papaya is Tran Anh Hung's first feature film and stars his wife, Tran Nu Yên-Khê. The film is also the director's first collaboration with Vietnamese composer Tôn-Thât Tiêt who would subsequently write the music for two more films: Cyclo and Vertical Ray of the Sun.
Although set in Vietnam, the film was shot entirely on a soundstage in Boulogne, France.
Contents
Plot summary
A young girl, Mui, becomes a servant for a rich family. Mui is notably peaceful and curious about the world. The family consists of a frequently absent husband, a wife, an older son, two younger sons, and the husband's mother. When the husband leaves for his fourth and final time, he takes all the household's money. He returns ill and passes away shortly after.
Ten years later, the family falls on hard times. Two sons have left and the wife has taken the place of the grandmother upstairs, rarely seen and tragic. Although the wife now realizes she considered Mui one of her own, Mui changes homes. She becomes a servant for a pianist who was a friend of the older son when they were younger. That man is engaged to be married, but he prefers playing the piano to spending time with his fiance. One night, as the man's fiance chatters on, his piano playing becomes more and more stormy as he ignores her. When she leaves she watches through the window. As Mui comes into the room, his music becomes more harmonious. Later that night, the pianist goes to Mui's quarters after dark and closes the door behind him. When the fiance learns of this, the engagement is broken. The pianist starts teaching Mui to read and write as well as comport herself as a lady. A pregnant Mui reads poetry to her husband, her unborn child, and the wife of her original household.
Cast
- Tran Nu Yên-Khê - Mui Age 20 (as Trân Nu Yên-Khê)
- Man San Lu - Mui Age 10
- Thi Loc Truong - La mère (as Truong Thi Lôc)
- Anh Hoa Nguyen - La vieille Ti (as Nguyên 'Anh Hoa)
- Hoa Hoi Vuong - Khuyen (as Vuong Hòa Hôi)
- Ngoc Trung Tran - Le père
- Vantha Talisman - Thu
- Keo Souvannavong - Trung
- Van Oanh Nguyen - Mr. Thuan
- Gerard Neth - Tin
- Nhat Do - Lam
- Thi Hai Vo - La grand-mère
- Thi Thanh Tra Nguyen - Mai
- Lam Huy Bui - Le médecin
- Xuan Thu Nguyen - L'antiquaire
References
- ^ http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=scentofgreenpapaya.htm
- ^ "Festival de Cannes: The Scent of Green Papaya". festival-cannes.com. http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/2620/year/1993.html. Retrieved 2009-08-23.
External links
- The Scent of Green Papaya at the Internet Movie Database
- The Scent of Green Papaya at AllRovi
Cinema of Vietnam Actors • Directors • Films A-Z • Films shot in Vietnam • Chronology of films
Films directed by Tran Anh Hung 1990s The Scent of Green Papaya (1993) • Cyclo (1995)2000s The Vertical Ray of the Sun (2000) • I Come with the Rain (2009)2010s Norwegian Wood (2010)Categories:- Vietnamese films
- French films
- Vietnamese-language films
- 1993 films
- 1993 in Vietnam
- 1990s drama films
- Films directed by Tran Anh Hung
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