The 8 Ball
03-30-2003, 04:32 PM
The Quiet American (2003) review by Stephen Palke
Cast: Michael Caine, Brendan Fraser, Do Thi Hai Yen, Tzi Ma
Directed by Philip Noyce
Based on the Novel by Graham Greene
Plot: 1950’s Saigon, which is currently war-torn between the French colonialists and the Communists. Thomas Fowler (Michael Caine) is a British journalist, who smokes opium, and has a lovely Vietnamese mistress, Phuong (Do Thi Hai Yen), who is a tax-dancer at a dance club, but Thomas can’t marry her, because his wife in London won’t allow a divorce, due to it being against her Roman Catholic religion. Thomas stalls, writing more articles, so he can stay in Saigon with his beloved Phuong.
Thomas likes to sit at an outside café and watch the streets of Saigon, watches and listen to other people who pass him by. While drinking his tea, which is a daily habit of his being how he is British, he runs into a man named Alden Pyle (Brendan Fraser), who claims he is an optics doctor who was sent from America to cure optics disease in Vietnam.
Thomas goes to Phat Diem, a dangerous area near the border of Cambodia. Where French and Communist troops are fighting. Alden mysteriously comes up to Phat Diem, to Thomas for multiple reasons, one of them having to do with his falling in love with Phuong. But as Thomas and Alden are with the French soldiers, they mysteriously find a small village, that has been massacred, maybe by the Communists Alden thought, but Thomas knew better. He recognized that it wasn’t the work of the Communists, nor the French ofcourse.
It’s a political tale about the pre-mature U.S involvement before the infamous Vietnam War that struck several years later and rocked the world, that still hasn’t recovered from it. It’s a romantic tale about a love triangle between Thomas Fowler, who loves Phuong and couldn’t live without her, and Alden Pyle who fell in love with her at first sight, and now is very worried about Phuong, because without Phuong having Thomas, he fears that if Thomas dies or maybe even leaves her, being how he did leave his wife, that Phuong could end up at The House of 500 Women, being how she is close, or what Alden considers close as being a tax-dancer. Alden thinks he is essential to Phuong, who could probably really bring more to her, so he wants to take Phuong to America and get married. It’s a tale about friendship, betrayal, war, love, and Vietnam.
Review: 10/10
This film was held back a year after September 11 struck America on the face, for it showed Americans in a bad light, as opposed to the adventurous, noble, heroic, valorous, tough and strong American character like Bruce Willis in Armageddon or Vin Diesel in XXX (his Summer 2002 film, not his early debut). But the film covers a truth that is relevant today, as we are at war with Iraq currently. About how the U.S gets involved in others countries, supposedly trying to do the noble thing, trying to get the country a better leader, and sometimes even putting world leaders against each other. America has pre-caused almost every war we have had. America is the reason we have to fight Saddam now, when he should have been killed decades ago. America is the reason Stalin was in power for so long, because we used him against Hitler in WW2. America even almost created the Taliban, which we had to destroy, years later.
Not only is the film relevant and very accurate and well done with the political part of the plot. It also has a strong, interesting, involving romantic plot too. Two very different men, yet they are friends both want Phuong, as they are both madly in love with her. Phuong has been with Thomas for 2 years, but all it takes is for Alden to fall in love with her at first sight to complicate things such as their friendship, and Alden and Thomas’s reasoning.
This film is greatly made with a very nice musical score. Chris Doyle once again proves he is master of his domain, as a cinematoagher. Philip Noyce does a nice job as a director.
Brendan Fraser does good as Alden Pyle, the well meaning optics doctor, who is CIA in disguise. It’s different from his crap films like Monkeybone and Mummy Returns, and I’m sure he liked the change. Do Thi Hai Yen is captivatingly beautiful, as the symbolic Vietnamese mistress of an older European man, and she makes the audience believe well that she loves both Thomas Folwer and Alden Pyle. She does her part as an actress, she doesn’t do a bad job, just the job she is suppose to do. She is a new comer, so maybe she will grow as an actress in years to come, if she gets any jobs after this. But acting wise all the credit should do to the weary British journalist, who just wants to be with his mistress, Thomas Fowler. Michael Caine gives a great Oscar worthy performance.
Come see this well-paced romantic, political drama, that you will come out of the theater, the same way you were, while watching the movie: Greatly intrigued.
Cast: Michael Caine, Brendan Fraser, Do Thi Hai Yen, Tzi Ma
Directed by Philip Noyce
Based on the Novel by Graham Greene
Plot: 1950’s Saigon, which is currently war-torn between the French colonialists and the Communists. Thomas Fowler (Michael Caine) is a British journalist, who smokes opium, and has a lovely Vietnamese mistress, Phuong (Do Thi Hai Yen), who is a tax-dancer at a dance club, but Thomas can’t marry her, because his wife in London won’t allow a divorce, due to it being against her Roman Catholic religion. Thomas stalls, writing more articles, so he can stay in Saigon with his beloved Phuong.
Thomas likes to sit at an outside café and watch the streets of Saigon, watches and listen to other people who pass him by. While drinking his tea, which is a daily habit of his being how he is British, he runs into a man named Alden Pyle (Brendan Fraser), who claims he is an optics doctor who was sent from America to cure optics disease in Vietnam.
Thomas goes to Phat Diem, a dangerous area near the border of Cambodia. Where French and Communist troops are fighting. Alden mysteriously comes up to Phat Diem, to Thomas for multiple reasons, one of them having to do with his falling in love with Phuong. But as Thomas and Alden are with the French soldiers, they mysteriously find a small village, that has been massacred, maybe by the Communists Alden thought, but Thomas knew better. He recognized that it wasn’t the work of the Communists, nor the French ofcourse.
It’s a political tale about the pre-mature U.S involvement before the infamous Vietnam War that struck several years later and rocked the world, that still hasn’t recovered from it. It’s a romantic tale about a love triangle between Thomas Fowler, who loves Phuong and couldn’t live without her, and Alden Pyle who fell in love with her at first sight, and now is very worried about Phuong, because without Phuong having Thomas, he fears that if Thomas dies or maybe even leaves her, being how he did leave his wife, that Phuong could end up at The House of 500 Women, being how she is close, or what Alden considers close as being a tax-dancer. Alden thinks he is essential to Phuong, who could probably really bring more to her, so he wants to take Phuong to America and get married. It’s a tale about friendship, betrayal, war, love, and Vietnam.
Review: 10/10
This film was held back a year after September 11 struck America on the face, for it showed Americans in a bad light, as opposed to the adventurous, noble, heroic, valorous, tough and strong American character like Bruce Willis in Armageddon or Vin Diesel in XXX (his Summer 2002 film, not his early debut). But the film covers a truth that is relevant today, as we are at war with Iraq currently. About how the U.S gets involved in others countries, supposedly trying to do the noble thing, trying to get the country a better leader, and sometimes even putting world leaders against each other. America has pre-caused almost every war we have had. America is the reason we have to fight Saddam now, when he should have been killed decades ago. America is the reason Stalin was in power for so long, because we used him against Hitler in WW2. America even almost created the Taliban, which we had to destroy, years later.
Not only is the film relevant and very accurate and well done with the political part of the plot. It also has a strong, interesting, involving romantic plot too. Two very different men, yet they are friends both want Phuong, as they are both madly in love with her. Phuong has been with Thomas for 2 years, but all it takes is for Alden to fall in love with her at first sight to complicate things such as their friendship, and Alden and Thomas’s reasoning.
This film is greatly made with a very nice musical score. Chris Doyle once again proves he is master of his domain, as a cinematoagher. Philip Noyce does a nice job as a director.
Brendan Fraser does good as Alden Pyle, the well meaning optics doctor, who is CIA in disguise. It’s different from his crap films like Monkeybone and Mummy Returns, and I’m sure he liked the change. Do Thi Hai Yen is captivatingly beautiful, as the symbolic Vietnamese mistress of an older European man, and she makes the audience believe well that she loves both Thomas Folwer and Alden Pyle. She does her part as an actress, she doesn’t do a bad job, just the job she is suppose to do. She is a new comer, so maybe she will grow as an actress in years to come, if she gets any jobs after this. But acting wise all the credit should do to the weary British journalist, who just wants to be with his mistress, Thomas Fowler. Michael Caine gives a great Oscar worthy performance.
Come see this well-paced romantic, political drama, that you will come out of the theater, the same way you were, while watching the movie: Greatly intrigued.