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| ACTORS: | Michael Caine, Brendan Fraser, Do Thi Hai Yen |
| CATEGORY: | DVD |
| DIRECTOR: | Phillip Noyce |
| THEATRICAL RELEASE DATE: | 07 February, 2003 |
| MANUFACTURER: | Miramax Home Entertainment |
| MPAA RATING: | R (Restricted) |
| FEATURES: | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby |
| TYPE: | Feature Film-drama |
| MEDIA: | DVD |
| # OF MEDIA: | 1 |
| UPC: | 786936219760 |
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Customer Reviews of The Quiet American
A Superb Film & A Gripping Performance By Michael Caine! Rarely does a novel translate well into a screen production. "The Quiet American" proves to be the exception to the rule. Philip Noyce and his team have brilliantly adapted Graham Greene's historical novel about Vietnam, during the waning days of French colonialism and the beginning of American intervention, into a powerful film. The book was published in 1955 and foreshadowed America's war in Vietnam. Kudos go to Michael Caine, who certainly deserves an Oscar for his spectacular performance.
The movie is set in Saigon during 1952. Thomas Fowler, (Michael Caine), a cynical, veteran correspondent for The London Times is our narrator. Fowler has "gone native." He has fallen in love with Vietnam and with Phoung, a one-time bar hostess who is young enough to be his daughter. Enter Alden Pyle, (Brendan Fraser), a seemingly innocuous, somewhat bumbling American who supposedly works for the US Economic Aid Mission, specializing in eye diseases. The two men meet and become friends until Pyle intrudes on Fowler's love affair.
Tension builds as this triangle becomes more intense, and as the war between the French and the Communists is joined by a third party, a Vietnamese general, backed by the Americans. Fowler, who has long remained indifferent to the conflict is finally forced to take sides. Pyle is drastically transformed from a "quiet" American to a skilled CIA operator, willing to condone the deaths of innocents for long term political interests.
This is an intensely passionate film. The love both Fowler and Pyle feel for Phuong, (played by the incredibly lovely Do Thi Hai Yen) transforms both men. In one scene, when Fowler realizes his potential loss, he says, "The fear of losing Phoung is more terrifying than any bullet. If I lose her, it would be the beginning of death." And it is a film passionate about the war being fought on the streets of Saigon and in the villages. Director Noyce is able to portray the conflict in simple enough terms without taking a strong political stance. This film is anti-war not anti-American.
Graham Greene's haunting and elegant narrative comes to life here. The photography eloquently captures the steamy beauty of Saigon, the glorious tropical countryside, the serenity of Phoung's face in close-up, the chaos of a bomb-torn street and the horror of a village massacre. One of the best films I have seen in a long time. Highly recommended!
JANA
Be Still, My Foolish Heart
Set against the war between the French and the Communists for control of Vietnam (French Indo-China) when America was just beginning to get involved, "The Quiet American," even with all the inherent political intrigue, is basically the story of a love triangle between British newspaperman Thomas Fowler (Michael Caine), American Health worker Alden Pyle (Brendan Fraser) and a Vietnamese girl Phoung (Do Thi Hai Yen). It is a film that prefers to make love, not war: Love is the battlefield on which the fate of all three is decided.
There is much on which the eye can concentrate in this film: the gorgeous manner in which the film is shot looks remarkably like color films shot in the fifties with saturated color, slightly faded and the beauty of Saigon and it's restaurants and women. In the middle of all this strides Caine's Fowler a man who has seen it all both on and off the battlefield yet can still extend his heart and his love to Phoung with whom he is living. Fraser's Pyle is a newcomer: he is everything that Fowler was 30 years before; young, brash, hopeful. He falls in love with Phoung as well.
How all of this is resolved is done in a rather perfunctory, though proficient manner. The performances on the other hand are the highlight of this film. Michael Caine, carrying the burden of his 100+ films and the world-weariness of Fowler on his faces vibrates here with intelligence and horse sense, but also a genuine sensuality; an awareness and appreciation of his attraction for Phuong. Brendan Fraser plays Pyle in his usual stalwart manner but he is very effective nonetheless. And Do Thi Hai Yen does very well with the femme fatale role: she's beautiful and mysterious and genuine in her feelings for both men.
"The Quiet American" recalls an era long gone. One in which the world seemed united against the "Red Horde." But this film shows that despite the guns, uniforms, and ideologies, these were real people: looking, finding, losing and regaining love and romance despite the odds against it. It's the force of a heart that can never be stilled.
Beatiful film
I've always loved both Michael Caine and Brendan Frasier, but I was surprised when I saw them in a film together.
'The Quiet American' contemplates the effects of unbridled passion, jealousy, and war. The violence is not overwhelming, and not over-the-top gorey, but is honest, nonetheless. Besides the Vietnamese war that is omnipresent, the film focuses on the mental anguish that it causes, as well as the relationships that are the product of it.
Overall, a wonderfully acted film. I highly recommend!