"They say you come to Vietnam and understand a lot in a few minutes."The rest has got to be lived.
"They say whatever it was you were looking for you will find here."
It is the year 1954. The Indochina war is drawing to a bloody close in Vietnam and the seeds of US involvement in Vietnam are being sown. Michael Caine plays Gordon Fowler, a Brit correspondent stationed in Saigon, who has the breathtaking Phuong (Do Thi Hai Yen) as his mistress. Caine himself has called this role one of his finest. He conveys sadness and loss with poise and reckless abandon. I wish I could ask Tony Leung if he has been influenced by this Brit. Brendan Fraser finally shows he can act as Alden Pyle, an idealistic US aid worker. A love triangle forms between the three which is mirrored by the triangle between the Communists, the Americans and the people of Vietnam. Chris Doyle, ever watchful behind the lens ensures that you don't miss a single color in this wonderful palette.
The movie is based on a novel by Graham Greene. I have to say I enjoyed both tremendously. After my recent South East Asia trip I can identify more with Fowler doing the Saigon Flip. The easy paced life with a goddess by your side and opium to numb ones brain plus the warmth of the common man can bewitch most people.
The movie at its close left me with this feeling... What matters the most at the end of the day is the one you love...
Rating: * * *
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