Foreign Movie Review: THE SCENT OF GREEN PAPAYA (1993) A to D

Available from Netflix

This film was rated 100% by the  Critics.   See http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the-scent-of-green-papaya/

Personally,  I could not get through the movie and had to quit at about the half way point.  Sandy liked it.  My opinion is best expressed by one review from rottentomatoes.

"This film is exactly why I don't like independent films. The director focuses more on the so-called "aesthetic" details of the film and they consume all aspects of it. He stuffed SO MUCH SYMBOLISM about how pure Mui (the young girl lead) was he practically beat us over the head with it. The characters are flat and ugly and speak maybe 1/8 of the time. I hated the music - it was SO repetitive and I was really glad when the dad ran away so I wouldn't have to listen to him strum on his stupid qin again. I'm being nice by giving it two stars because I liked the one scene where Mui cracks open the papaya and touches the seeds. Otherwise, blegh.

And here is another (positive) review by the critic Emanuel Levy:
"Toronto Film Festival 1993–I would like to single out “The Scent of the Green Papayas,” which I missed in Cannes Film fest (in May) and rushed to see in Toronto.

Almost wordless, and marked by great pictorial visuals, “The Scent of the Green Papayas” is one of the most beautiful films I have seen in years.  Directed by Hung Tran Anh, this Vietnamese-French co-production is set in Vietnam in the 1950s, when the country was under the French occupation. The film’s heroine is Mui, a 12-year old servant, who frames the sensitive tale with her delicate presence–and consistent point of view.

One of the picture’s great achievements, other than its gorgeous painterly tableaux, is that politics remains in the background and its impact is felt in a most subtle way.

 A major contribution to the cinematic literature of coming of age and growing pains, “The Scent of the Green Papayas” also provides a wry commentary on life’s unexpected twists and turns."

Another positive review:
"Little things mean a lot in the world of 10-year-old Mui, a girl who's trained to be a house servant in 1950s Vietnam. This film follows Mui as she grows up in pre-war Saigon, and finds quiet love with a family friend. Dialogue seems almost tertiary in this film that celebrates the senses, as the young girl discovers the world around her and marvels at every new sight, sound and scent she experiences while going about her workday life."