The occupation of Vietnam is a history unto itself. Their geographic location, rich natural resources and coast line along major trade routes have made them an attractive target for occupation for over 2,000 years. Just in the last century, they have been occupied by many world powers. My most comprehensive study of Viet Nam came in the form of a book by Stanley Karnow titled Vietnam: A History which reflects on the political, national, strategic and religious influences in Vietnam over the past two millennium.
Prior to reading Karnow's book, my understanding of Vietnam was a very American one. It covered the late 1950s through our withdrawal in the 1970s. During the 1980s, it seemed like hundreds of films were made about rescuing POWs or conducting other special operations in Vietnam. OR, they covered the PTSD of returning soldiers. The subject was covered ad nauseum from an American perspective. Indochine presents a French perspective on Vietnam, which is different from our own. It was filmed in 1992, just a few years after the United States let go of our military obsession with Vietnam.
Indochine is set in French Indochina (the southern portion of modern Vietnam in and around Saigon). What sets this film apart from American films about Vietnam is very telling. Because Vietnam was a war for the United States, US films dealt primarily with war topics. France occupied Indochina as a colonial power. From their perspective, Indochina was their protectorate. Their child. They reformed the government, schools and commerce to a European model and cultivated Western values. Although the French were fond of Indochina, they were occupiers nonetheless.
From that perspective, a group of writers (Erik Orsenna, Louis Gardel, Catherine Cohen and Regis Wargnier) create an interesting analogy. The lead character, Eliane (Catherine Deneuve) opens the films with her own narrative. She narrates over a scene where she accompanies the bodies of her Vietnamese friends in a funeral procession. A young Vietnamese girl accompanies her. Eliane adopts the orphaned child, Camille (Linh Dam Phan) and inherits her parents rubber plantations, bringing her land holdings to 15,000 acres. Eliane's adoption of Camille creates symmetry with France's relation to Indochina. They are both loving but tumultuous relationships.
Eliane does not have time for love. Her loveless life is evident to those around her. The closest she comes to love is a very awkward relationship with a Naval Officer, Jean-Baptiste (Vincent Perez). The intense relationship flounders and never seems to grow in spite of what appears to be mutual affection. The film follows several sub-plots, which help explain the many levels of intricacy in the relationship between France and Indochina. Those levels are more fully explored when Jean-Baptiste and Camille end up thrown together by fate. Camille fulfills her role as the embodiment of Vietnam through incredible dialogue and precise writing. The actions of the characters speak volumes. As the film progresses, we find that the narration is being directed toward Etienne (Jean-Baptiste Huhn), the child of Camille and Jean-Baptiste.
There were so many levels of communication in Indochine that I felt consumed by the story. The writers present an intriguing plot filled with many smaller pieces that complement the whole. The levels add dimension to the story beyond the parallel being drawn in the major theme of the film. The story succeeds simply on the merit of drama without looking for the deeper meaning, which is something hard to come by these days. It is a tribute to the outstanding screenplay. The two and a half hour run time may seem lengthy, but this is an epic that explains a lot about the relationship between France and Indochina. The run time seemed shorter because the pacing remained steady throughout the film.
I am unfamiliar with the cast of Indochine, but was favorably impressed. Although Deneuve had the lead role, I felt like Perez provided the passion that helped keep this film interesting. Because the characters were intricately crafted, the actors were able to immerse themselves in their roles. Perez provided an intensity to his character that tipped the balance for me. His performance was stunning. Deneuve has the right stuff for a lead role and conducted her role with authority that made her character credible. Pham's character was minimal at the front of the film but grew into a strong supporting role. That was another correlation and it worked well. Pham brought the right amount of intensity to her part to keep the balance moving in the right direction. She started soft and timid and ended powerful. Indochine was exceptionally well cast.
The version of Indochine that I screened was the unrated version. There were some scenes that contained adult themes but very little in the way of nudity. There were two scenes where Camille's breasts are exposed and neither one is necessarily sensual. The film has violence, to include whipping slaves, which was more disturbing to me than the actual gun-play. There were two gun shot wounds that score very low on the gore scale. In fact, that would be the only factor that I disliked about this film...the special effects on the gunshot wounds lacked realism. Because of the violence and mild sensuality, one might consider limiting the audience to around thirteen. The quality of the story outweighs the questionable material heavily.
Having commented on the special effects, I would be remiss not to address the overall cinematography. The scenery in Indochine is nothing short of remarkable. The landscape is perfectly framed by cinematographer Francois Catonne. The shooting locations in Vietnam and Malaysia provide a beautiful backdrop for the story. The incredible visual aspects of this film are enhanced by a soundtrack that integrated seamlessly with the visuals. This film was only Patrick Doyle's fourth musical score in what has become an impressive list of film score composition. Having been to Vietnam, I can attest that the cinematography captured the exceptional beauty of the country.
I enjoyed Indochine because it appealed to me on many levels. The actual story was accented by the correlations and sub-plots without detracting from the story. Some films try so hard to be cerebral or symbolic that the audience misses the symbolism AND fail to connect with the main story. I enjoy a film that allows me to muse on the symbolic factors but provides me enjoyment even if I miss the hidden meaning. Films like this are rare and should be savored by film buffs. It was recognized by the Academy Awards as the Best Foreign Language Film in 1993 and won a fairly nice haul of other awards as well. This one should not be missed. 8/10.
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