Search - The Scent of Green Papaya on DVD

MPAA Rating: NR Movie Release: 1993 DVD Release: 12/18/2001 Format: DVD Audio Tracks: Vietnamese Subtitles: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 44 mins Studio: Columbia TriStar Members Wishing: 18 Genres: Drama, Family Drama

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 Yên-Khê), 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, All Movie Guide

Tran Nu Yên-Khê - Mùi
Lu Man San - Mùi
Truong Thi Loc - The mother
Nguyen Anh Hoa - Old Thi
Vuong Hoa Hoi - Khuyen

Tran Anh Hung's award winning The Scent of Green Papaya comes to DVD with a standard full-frame transfer. The Vietnamese soundtrack is rendered in Dolby Digital Stereo. English subtitles are accessible. Supplemental materials include the theatrical trailer. This is a fine release from Columbia/TriStar that will be worthwhile for any aficionado of international cinema. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide