Scent of Green Papaya

UPC: 043396077232

Studio: Columbia TriStar

MPAA Rating: NR   Contains:null

Summary: The interior life of a Vietnamese household in the 1950s, as seen through the eyes of a young servant girl, is explored in Tran Anh Hung's placid, but visually intoxicating tone poem, L'Odeur de la Papaye Verte. The film begins in 1951, when the beautiful and inquisitive 10-year-old peasant girl Mui (Lu Man San) is hired to work at the home of an affluent Saigon family. When the father absconds with the family's money, the tireless mother (Truong Thi Loc) is forced to support the family through the slim profits of her tiny fabric store. As the family struggles to make ends meet, Mui becomes attracted to a friend of the family, Khuyen (Vuong Hoa Hoi). The film then shifts to 1961, when the family is in desperate straits. The father has died, and Mui (Tran Nu Yen-Khe), now twenty years old, finds herself working in Khuyen's home. Khuyun has grown into an attractive, sophisticated French-speaking pianist, with his own expensive mistress. Mui serves him as she has served the family -- with perfection and silence. She also loves Khuyen is silence, and gradually Khuyen begins to take notice of Mui's love for him. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Category: Drama

Awards: Best First Film – French Academy of Cinema Best Foreign Language Film – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Camera d'Or – Cannes Film Festival

Features: Digitally mastered audio & video
Full-screen presentation
Audio: Vietnamese
Subtitles: English
Theatrical trailers
Interactive menus
Scene selections

Scent of Green Papaya

Format: Digital Video Disc (DVD)

Release Date: 12/18/2001

Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Pre-1954 Standard

Audio: DD Dolby Digital

Runtime: 104 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Subtitles: English

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Side #1 --
0. Scene Selections
1. Start [4:04]
2. Mother & Father [3:44]
3. Mui [1:57]
4. Cooking Lesson [2:10]
5. Morning Meal [4:36]
6. Daily Chores [3:38]
7. Tin the Mischief Maker [5:42]
8. Mr. Thuan [1:29]
9. Family Histories [3:43]
10. Father Takes the Money [5:22]
11. "I Had a Fight." [7:43]
12. Faulting Mother [2:08]
13. Green Papayas [1:27]
14. Missing Father [5:34]
15. Silent Suitor [2:04]
16. Broken Vase [1:30]
17. Father Returns [2:25]
18. The Doctor [3:21]
19. 10 Years Later [2:42]
20. To's Legacy [4:24]
21. New Employer [3:04]
22. Khuyen's Fianc?e [4:11]
23. Scent of a Woman [5:36]
24. Mui Makes an Impression [4:23]
25. Trouble in Paradise [6:44]
26. Engagement Broken [2:03]
27. Pygmalion [3:20]
28. The Lady Mui [4:35]

Todd Kristel

This is not a movie that you watch for action-packed scenes, scenery-chewing performances, witty dialogue, or convoluted plot twists. Instead, this is a slow-paced film that emphasizes the rhythms, textures, and quiet beauty of daily life. The film is based primarily on appreciating small moments such as juice flowing from a papaya or a lizard climbing out of a vase; the camera lingers to savor these images, then moves deeper into the frame to find further levels of visual detail, just as a child might slowly explore the surrounding world. Meanwhile, the soundtrack reinforces the serene mood through music, which is performed on traditional Vietnamese instruments and piano, and natural sounds such as crickets and rain. The issues raised by the film, such as the effect of French colonialism on Vietnamese culture, are addressed in a relatively understated manner (with a few exceptions, such as the symbolism of a scene in which someone drips hot wax onto a group of worker ants). The Scent of Green Papaya seems to express a yearning for a simpler time when people, particularly women, accepted traditional social roles; some viewers may be put off by this apparent attitude, particularly since the film doesn't compensate for it with in-depth characterization. Also, some viewers are likely to find the film dull because of the languid pace and minimal plot. However, the movie is gorgeous enough to merit viewing if you're in a patient mood and willing to tolerate the film's limitations. ~ Todd Kristel, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Tran Anh Hung  Director 
Tran Anh Hung  Screenwriter 
Christophe Rossignon  Producer 
Ton That Tiet  Composer (Music Score) 
Patricia Petit  Screenwriter 
Tran Nu Yên-Khê  Actor 
Lu Man San  Actor 
Truong Thi Loc  Actor 
Nguyen Anh Hoa  Actor 
Vuong Hoa Hoi  Actor 
Tran Ngoc Trung  Actor 

Country: France,Vietnam