Indochine [DVD] [1992] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

"Your Indochine is no more" replied Camille ... the released prisoner, Communist fugitive, and adopted daughter of Eliane, her mother and wealthy rubber plantation owner. Eliane had gone to the prison to rescue her daughter and try to retrieve their old lifestyle but it had died along with the political changes and rebellions against the French colonialists. Camille had been a spoiled rich young girl. She escaped a traditional Indochinese betrothal and marriage to unwittingly participate in an underground Communist movement, while trying to locate Jean- Baptiste, the French Naval officer with whom she fell in love. The film is haunting and beautiful as it depicts a historical era from the 1930s to mid 1955. The upper class French colonial lifestyle is shown in all its opulence. French ex-patriots gather for social events and celebrations while the Indochinese are second-class citizens doing the back-breaking labor in the fields. The educated Indochinese young people go to Paris for education at Universities. There they develop a taste for freedom and rebelllion, as they understand the exploitation of their country ...

Catherine Deneuve portrays Eliane Devries, the unmarried adult daughter of a wealthy rubber plantation owner ... she has an affair with Jean-Baptiste Le Guen, a Naval officer she meets at an auction. After she discovers he also slept with Camille, her adopted daughter, she uses her political influence to exile him as far as possible, to break off the love affair and influence he has on her daughter. He is sent to Dragon Island ... an exotic location in the South Seas which is also a work colony for the French.

The film appeals on many levels: the sensually exotic location of Viet Nam (former Indochina), the exploration of deep churning divided emotions experienced by Eliane who loves her adopted daughter Camille, despite Camille's innocent awakening to a physical affair and all the complications that arise because it is with the same man her mother desires ... The film feels so real because it occurs during a politically unstable time, Communist grass roots insurgent movements threaten the old establishment, wreaking havoc at unexpected moments. Camille becomes an ordinairy peasant after she elopes from her former life to find her lover, Jean-Baptiste. She walks across the country on foot with a family who are looking to find a better life, their destination also is Dragon Island. Camille experiences the exploitation of her people by the French first hand. In one highly charged scene she murders a French Officer in an emotional rage over an act perpetrated by the French on the family with whom she travelled ... Her innocence is lost forever. Jean-Baptiste is a witness to the act and protects her. They become fugitives ... their life on the run is the stuff great movies are made of ... although eventually the pair are caught. This film has enormous appeal for its complexity. The manner in which the characters deal with the impact of personal and political events on their lives is superbly filmed. Eliane wants to save her daughter Camille from punishment ... she appraoches the local French police administrator to help her find Camille. In the end, the best Eliane can do is to raise the son of Camille and Jean-Baptiste ... When he is old enough to understand, she tells him the history of his birth and the stories and legends about his parents. This is an outstanding film most highly recommended. Erika Borsos [pepper flower]

This film is brilliant on every level and one of the most moving of all time.

The genius of this drama is that starts off as a crowd-pleasing colonial soap-opera and ends up as both a hard hitting political epic and a transcendent love story.

However I strongly urge you to buy the other version sold here on Amazon UK as the subtitling translation especially for the Vietnamese as well as the French, the DVD authoring, the frame-rate and running speed as well as the sound and the colour are all better on the R1 edition.

This movie moved me in so many ways. There's the beautiful landscape of Vietnam. So exquisite in the cinematographer's hands that it makes you forget all those tragic images of American Vietnam war movies. Seeing them makes you understand why so many foreigners invaded this beautiful land. There's the blatant and honest look at the oppresion of the Indochinese under the hands of the French. It's in the background but nothing is glossed over. You will be apalled at the sight of these people being whipped and sold in the name of France. There's the factual depiction of the nationalist movement. The blood, the filth, the brutality...it's there for the audience to see.

But most importantly, there's the excellent performance of the protagonists. All the actors are amazing and convincing in their roles. Deneuve is all elegance and restraint, perfect as Eliane. Vincent Perez is in top-form as Jean-Baptiste. His conversion from rigid military man to someone who finally opens up to what is before him, is utterly convincing. Linh Dam Pham is all allure, innocence and determination. She is a marvelous actress who can convey so many emotions with just a mere look.

The chemistry between the actors are also affecting. There's genuine maternal and filial affection between Eliane (Deneuve) and her adopted Indochinese daughter, Camille (Pham). Lust, decadence and pride dominate Eliane's and Jean-Baptiste illicit affair. Love is in its purest form in the relationship of Camille and Jean-Baptiste. The scenes between Perez and Pham are both tender and sensual, evoking some of the most romantic and unforgettalbe scenes in movie history.

All the protagonists try to avoid the inevitable...the collapse of French control in Indochina...but when fate catches up with them, the events that take place are emotionally wrenching.

The other reviews have pretty much given a thorough synopsis of this movie. But what they forget to mention is that this is a movie driven by two strong female characters. Deneuve and Pham are both stunningly beautiful. Both project an inner strength that convinces the audience that they are not victims, despite all the tragedies they have gone through. Pham's portrayal becomes all the more significant since this is one of those rare movies which shows an Asian woman who is independent and someone who forges her own destiny.

I don't know what else I can say about this movie except that after watching it, it will never leave you. There's beauty, pain, passion and love. What other movie achieves all that.