The Scent of Green Papaya
| The Scent of Green Papaya | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Tran Anh Hung |
| Written by | Tran Anh Hung |
| Produced by | Christophe Rossignon |
| Cinematography | Benoît Delhomme |
| Edited by | Nicole Dedieu Jean-Pierre Roques |
| Music by | Tôn-Thât Tiêt |
| Distributed by | Président Films |
Release date |
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Running time | 104 minutes |
| Country | France |
| Language | 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 1993 Vietnamese-language film produced in France by Lazennec Production, directed by Vietnamese-French director Tran Anh Hung, and starring Tran Nu Yên-Khê, Man San Lu, and Thi Loc Truong.[2]
The film won the Caméra d'Or prize at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival,[3] a César Award for Best Debut at the French annual film award ceremony, and was nominated for the 1993 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.[4] 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.
Plot
A young girl, Mùi, becomes a servant for a family that was once wealthy, but sinking into genteel poverty due to the husband's infidelities. Their only income seems to be from the wife's small business. Her widowed mother, an invalid who seldom leaves her upstairs room, blames her daughter for the situation — ". . . you don't know how to keep a man." The oldest son prefers the company of his friend, and the youngest, who idolizes his father, is wilful, disruptive and cruel. Mùi is notably peaceful and curious about the world. When the husband leaves for his fourth and final time, he steals his wife's meagre savings and jewelry. He returns ill and dies shortly after, the wife sells an heirloom vase to pay for his medical and funeral expenses.
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. The wife, who has considered Mùi one of her own, can no longer afford to keep her, and arranges for her to become a servant for the older son's friend, now a concert pianist. He is engaged to be married, but seems to prefer playing the piano to spending time with his frivolous fiancée. One night, as she chatters on, his piano playing becomes more intense as he strives to ignore her. She leaves, but watches through the window: as Mùi comes into the room, his playing becomes calmer, Debussy's "Clair de lune". Later that night, he goes to Mùi's quarters and closes the door behind him. When the fiancée learns of this, she returns his ring; he calmly pockets it. The pianist starts teaching Mùi to read and write. In the final scene, a pregnant Mùi is reading poetry to him and the wife of her original household.
Cast
- Tran Nu Yên-Khê as Mui Age 20 (as Trân Nu Yên-Khê)
- Man San Lu as Mui Age 10
- Thi Loc Truong as La mère (as Truong Thi Lôc)
- Anh Hoa Nguyen as La vieille Ti (as Nguyên 'Anh Hoa)
- Hoa Hoi Vuong as Khuyen (as Vuong Hòa Hôi)
- Ngoc Trung Tran as Le père
- Vantha Talisman as Thu
- Keo Souvannavong as Trung
- Van Oanh Nguyen as Mr. Thuan
- Gerard Neth as Tin
- Nhat Do as Lam
- Thi Hai Vo as La grand-mère
- Thi Thanh Tra Nguyen as Mai
- Lam Huy Bui as Le médecin
- Xuan Thu Nguyen as L'antiquaire
- Xuan Loi Phan as Musiciens
- Xuan Dung Phan as Musiciens
- Van Chung Le as Musiciens
- Tho Phuong as Le coiffeur
- Long Chau as Clientes
- Thi Van Khanh Truong as Clientes
- Hông Hanh Luguern as Clientes
- Ba Hang Phan as Le livreur d'eau[5]
Reception
Year-end lists
- 4th – Bob Strauss, Los Angeles Daily News[6]
- 4th – David Elliott, The San Diego Union-Tribune[7]
Awards and nominations
- 1993 Cannes Film Festival Award of the Youth French Film (Anh Hung Tran) Won
- 1993 Cannes Film Festival Golden Camera Award (Anh Hung Tran) Won
- 1993 Camerimage Golden Frog Award Nomination (Benoît Delhomme)
- 1994 Academy Award Nomination for Best Foreign Language Film
- 1994 British Film Institute Award Sutherland Trophy (Anh Hung Tran) Won
- 1994 César Award for Best First Work (Anh Hung Tran) Won[8]
See also
- List of submissions to the 66th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of Vietnamese submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
References
- ^ "The Scent of Green Papaya". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
- ^ "The Scent of Green Papaya". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
- ^ "Mui Du Du Xanh". Festival de Cannes. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
- ^ "The 66th Academy Awards (1994) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
- ^ "Full cast and crew for The Scent of Green Papaya". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
- ^ Strauss, Bob (December 30, 1994). "At the Movies: Quantity Over Quality". Los Angeles Daily News (Valley ed.). p. L6.
- ^ Elliott, David (December 25, 1994). "On the big screen, color it a satisfying time". The San Diego Union-Tribune (1, 2 ed.). p. E=8.
- ^ "Awards for The Scent of Green Papaya". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved March 1, 2012.