Mùi du du xanh

Plot synopsis:
A young girl, Mùi, becomes a servant for a rich family. Mùi 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 Mùi one of her own, Mùi 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 fiancée. One night, as the fiancée chatters on, his piano playing becomes more and more stormy as he ignores her. When she leaves she watches through the window. As Mùi comes into the room, his music becomes more harmonious. Later that night, the pianist goes to Mùi's quarters after dark and closes the door behind him. When the fiance learns of this, the engagement is broken. The pianist starts teaching Mùi to read and write as well as comport herself as a lady. A pregnant Mùi reads poetry to her husband, her unborn child, and the wife of her original household.

Tags: romantic

Review:
She quietly goes  through her ordinary life, giving every tiny moment all her attention  and invisibly enriching the lives of all those around her, until near  the end of the picture she is given off to a family friend whom,  coincidentally, she has fancied since she was little.
Even more astounding than the richness and beauty of this film, is the  feat of finding two wonderful actresses 10 years apart, to play the  same very unusual girl, both identically beautiful and graceful and  having the Buddha smile.
In Tran Anh Hung's debut film The Scent of Green Papaya, Mui (Lu Man San) is a ten-year old girl who comes from a small village to the home of a wealthy Saigon merchant to work as a servant in 1951.
The first Vietnamese film ever nominated for an Academy Award as Best Foreign Language Film, Scent of Green Papaya captures the natural beauty of pre-war Vietnam, even though it was filmed on a set constructed in a Paris studio.
She observes her natural surroundings in great detail: ants carrying a small piece of bread, a frog sitting on a leaf, a cricket jumping at night, and the seeds of a green papaya.
In one scene, the mother stands over Mui while she sleeps and weeps silently for the loss of her daughter and perhaps for a Vietnam that she knows will soon disappear.Her husband (Ngoc Trun Tran) is a drinker and womanizer who has run off with the family's money.
Her leaving triggers in the mother a profound sense of loss for her "daughter" and a sense that the old way of life in her country is coming to a permanent end.In her new house, Mui must contend with the musician's Westernized fiancé who personifies the artificiality of modern society.
Though the film may try the patience of Western audiences, The Scent of Green Papaya, in its simplicity and awareness of the natural world, reminds us of the power of cinema to reach artistic heights..
This is one of the most gorgeous- looking films you'll ever see, extremely aesthetic, with beautiful muted browns and greens.
Much of the time you hear birds or insects; it's quite different.The drawback to this movie, one that will turn many people off, is the story is extremely slow, one of the slowest-moving films I have ever witnessed....but "Mui," the lead character is so appealing both as a young girl and then young adult that she makes it an involving story.If you have patience and a love of great visuals, this is a film to treasure..
One of the purest films ever made, this movie captures a sense of utter peace and spirituality, drawn from the main character's constant sense of wonder, awareness of her surroundings, and the pleasure she is able to take in simple daily tasks.
It is also an expression of the true nature of the medium, since there is no forced tension or plot points, and the camera explores its world in perfect freedom, and with perfect curiosity (to suit the main character, who is filled with curiosity for the world around her, often taking time to simply stare at the objects around her, as an ideal camera should).
Some say that the "problem" with this film is that it lacks tension, which to me seems to be an odd attitude--why should a movie "require" forced dilemmas in order to be considered good?
(particularly when film is such a good medium for expressing both every-day reality AND for expressing states of mind--in this case, the filmaker wanted to express a sense of quietude, which is perfectly legitimate, very real, and is well suited to the medium).
And it goes without saying that this is a perfectly constructed "poem" paying tribute a particular feeling and state of being (a state of being which is tied to the true nature of the camera medium), and that its plot is not the focus (nor should it be, in a film attempting to simply portray reality and express ideas/emotions in a way that is suited to the medium).
Also needless to say, every shot is beautiful, carefully framed, and the flow of the movie (in editing, acting, and music) is natural, expressive, musical, and in a word, "perfect".We should all seek to be more like this main character, and this camera, in our awareness of the world around us and our ability to find peace with the reality of everyday life.
One of the greatest things film can do for us is to make us reconsider the basic nature of the reality that surrounds us, and allow us to consider different ways of viewing it, allow us appreciate its inherent texture.
(note: I'm not claiming that tension is inherently bad, or that great films can't be made that way, but in most films the tension and dilemmas are forced, and in most films they goes against the camera's natural "state of being", and in many films this tension has no artistic purpose, even in films that are actually trying to say or express something).Regarding this filmaker's other film, "The vertical ray of the sun": visually it is even more beautiful than this film, and in parts it expresses an even purer sense of peace...
however, it does contain some overly strong moments of tension and dilemma that seem totally out of place within its calm style; also, although I have downplayed story and character in the above discussion, Green Papaya does have a well drawn and beautiful story that even has some mythic resonance (or more importantly, the main character has these things).
In any case, it's a well-filmed art-house movie, beautiful in its aesthetics (and thinking about it retrospect, a very close-up shot film to hide the fact it's all a studio set!) Unfortunately the movie suffers terribly in more ways than it's good.
An ordinary servant girl goes to live with a family at age 10.
What impresses most about the movie is, it tells the story of a family girl and how she identifies her in the surroundings, with the family he is living and more importantly with his emotions.
Slow pace of the movie helps the calm effect and suddenly takes the viewer by surprise the way story unfolds.
The video case for this film reads "a story of beauty, passion, and forbidden fruit".
They can't be, as the film I just saw was beautiful, but there was no passion and as for the fruit, this is all hogwash meant to entice the potential viewer to see this movie.
Instead, it was an agonizingly slow paced and not particularly interesting film that I would definitely not want to see again.
There was no great sense of excitement, mystery or anything--just a rather unexciting story about a young girl who becomes a servant and spends the next 10 years of her life working as a maid..
The tip of film who seduced without a sure cause.A sweet powerful flavor of memories, time's ash, images of other secret age, spell of a subtle shadow.Poem of silence, slice of amazing dream, form of cult for ambiguous god.Wall of a delicate world of small gesture and impressive light.Signs like stairs, warm remember and love like reality's skin.Trip of soul on personal space before the Fall.Is it a masterpiece?
Mui is the servant girl of a prominent family, but when times get tough she is sent to work elsewhere.
Despite the occasional feuds between Mui and the master's younger son, the director establishes a tranquil atmosphere through the use of jungle ambiance, soothing riffs from citars and flutes, mis-en-scene, and transcendence from the ordinary things of life.The predominant community established and focused on is of servant-hood.
Beautiful close-ups and slow motioned effects show Mui washing her hands and face in a rather spiritually ritualistic way.
However, the life of a servant, by definition, is still one of entrapment.The camera itself acts like a trapped servant for the majority of the film.
The community presented is also one that has a deep appreciation for the ordinary things in life.Immaculate close-ups of bugs, frogs, lizards and plants all help illustrate the love the people, and more particularly, the director, have for the beauties in nature.
As most writers here have not failed to point out, "The Scent of Green Papaya" is a slow-moving film.
But the strength of the film is sufficient to keep its flaws from sinking it.The emphasis on simple human kindness (as well as on sorrows and worries that all of us must face at some point in our lives) is refreshing; no larger-than-life characters here, just believable human beings.And yes, it's slow!
I'm glad there are also movies like "The Scent of Green Papaya" for those of us who sometimes enjoy the luxury of quietly and leisurely savoring sights, sounds, and thoughts..
Also all of it is filmed too close up.I got sick of the little boy who keeps farting at Miu or pouring hot wax over ants...also do Vietnamese spend all their time sitting on their haunches?
Kind of gross looking at least the way this movie depicts it--one close up of it would have been plenty not a dozen or more.Then finally comes part two...
a chick flick for Vietnamese girls with the perfect handsome rich man who spends all day playing the piano (He is cultured).
I was expecting beautiful shots of the coastal mountains of Vietnam or something when I heard it was a visual gem.I wanted to like this movie.
the scent of green papaya movie mention of about fifty years ago in the Taiwan region of the film's history.
Ten year old girl Mui arrives to work in an upper class troubled family.
Mui becomes a servant of the oldest son's pianist friend.The story is intriguing at first but it's a little slow.
A little girl, Mui (Man San Lu), goes to a house as a new servant.
Ten years later Mui (now a young woman, played by Tran Nu Yên-Khê) is sent to another family, a young pianist and his fiancé.The plot and characters aside, this film must be praised for its beautiful colors, especially the vibrant green (making the title most appropriate).
Very understated and slowly paced, it is the story of a 10 year old Vietnamese peasant girl who must work as a servant in a home full of dishonesty and pain.
The story is good, but it could have been told in an hour but runs 1 hour 40 minutes and about 1/3 of the film is just drawn out shots giving (in my opinion)us more detail than we really need..
Mui loves little beings like insects and frogs; she always works hard; she is so meek that everyone loves her.
It's the life story of a servant girl & has a wonderful ending.
If you really love films and you like art, you'll love this movie; if you don't, watch it anyway because it might change your opinion.
Since this movie I seek out quality foreign films.
Beautifully photographed, subtle film of the life and the sexual awakening of a servant girl who grows into a mesmerizing woman.
The Scent of Green Papaya is the sort of film that repays patient observation, and lends itself to repeated viewings.
Like many Asian films, TSOGP is instead driven by inter-action between characters and observation.
After seeing the entire film, I became aware that it had become a part of my mental furnishings; I realised I was spending quite a lot of time thinking about it in the following days.
I'm told by those who live with me that the highest compliment I can give a film are the words, "I need to see it again." And I do--I need to buy a copy and see it several more times.Ten year old Miu is sent from her home village to Saigon to work as a servant in a cloth merchant's household.
Her employer's wife soon sees her as a surrogate daughter, someone to fill the void of her own daughter's death and her own loveless marriage to a spendthrift husband who abandons the family for weeks at a time and comes home empty handed.Ten years later, Miu is sent to work for a family friend, a young man she has long admired.
The Scent of Green Papaya is one of those films that is easy to enjoy no matter where you're from.
Since the visuals tell most of the story, we're left with a very deep film that isn't tedious or overbearing so that we can focus without trying to read lots of subtitles or follow ten different things on screen at once.
The simple but elaborate set style adds to the "film as a universal" feeling that I got while watching it.
Without the great acting (especially by the actresses that play Mui), the film falls flat on its face.
It's one of those movies that seems to (and this happens at least once or twice a year for me) completely reshape my idea of what a film can and can't be.
I have a hard time believing that it could work.*Very Mild Spoilers In the Third Paragraph* To me, the best films are ones that are deep enough that they require multiple viewings to truly understand, but not so deep that I feel lost and turned off from (see: Goodbye South, Goodbye).
The jets flying over the house in the second part of the film adds to the setting even more because there is no need to mention it- we are too caught up in Mui's transformation into a woman to care about wars and such.
He's the anti Godard in a sense (no way can I actually back up that statement as I've only seen a couple of Godard's older movies- but from what I know, this seems like a logical jump).The Scent of Green Papaya isn't necessarily one of the best movies I've ever seen, but it sure is one of the most original.
Finally we have a bit of tension!This, then, is an 'art house' movie in which director Anh Hung Tran tells the story primarily with images and symbolism, and that he does very well.
The central image of the film, the green papaya with the immature seeds inside representing the potential of the little girl is however not to be forgotten.What carries this slow-moving extended vignette of ante-bellum Saigon, and saves us from abject boredom are the beautiful sets nestled in greenery with the Buddhist artwork, the wooden Venetian-slotted doors, the partitions, the lattice work, the vases, the statues, the charming music, both eastern and western, the intensively focused cinematography, and the charm of ten-year-old Man San Lu. Many viewers, however charmed, will not stay for the finale, which will be too bad because it is in the later stages of the film that the fairy-tale quality of the film is fully realized.
Mùi of course has come of age, and the developing love affair is revealed purely through camera work without any dialogue.Incidentally, I was somewhat surprised to learn that this beautifully rendered film was shot not on locale in Saigon, Vietnam where the action takes place, but in a Paris studio!
Take the movie as it comes and when you feel like it..
This movie is not just about Mui's work experience as a maid in a wealthy house, nor about her feelings for her new Master ten years later (a ten-year gap in the story), neither about Vietnam itself.
The movie looks like it's taken slices of Mui's personal story, so that people would have a private "look" at a few events that marked her life, a form of autobiography, as the ending demonstrated, by Mui talking directly to the viewer.
I actually love all the washing shot because I think it's one of the rare things in this movie that looks and feels like VN.
A beautifully filmed but rather ordinary life.
Definitely not the movie to see if you are looking for escapism or like Hollywood style movies.SPOILERS AHEADThe movie centres around the life of Mui, an illiterate servant girl (who eventually learns to read), when she is 10 years and 20 years old.
Her real daughter, who would have been the same age, died many years ago of disease.About two thirds of the way through the movie, Mui's life jumps abruptly 10 years into the future.
Mui has become a beautiful young woman, still very much the servant but with the strong curiosity that comes naturally with a developing intelligence.
A zen, slow movie and very beautiful decorated scenes.
If you like foreign films and listening to foreign languages while watching a movie that gives a peek into another culture, then this is one of the best movies ever made.
If you like a simple story with a happy ending and beautiful filming, The Scent of Green Papaya is for you.
There is an unparalleled aesthetic and soothing quality to the film that traces the life of Mui, a peasant girl sent to Saigon to work for a well-to-do merchant family, and her new "family." Mui is a calm, peaceful soul, filled with happiness and joy.
She teaches us to find the beautiful in the everyday and is an interesting contrast to the sons in the family, one who destroys the life around him and another who seeks to torment Mui relentlessly.
The Scent of Green Papaya is a Vietnamese drama and love story with a young lady who is a servant to a wealthy family consisting of a mother, father, three sons and a grandmother in her care.
Mui, the servant, goes to work for a pianist who is engaged to be married.
The scenery is beautiful as is Tran Nu Yen-Khe in the lead as Mui and The Scent of Green Papaya is a better than average love saga..