In colonial Vietnam, dashing French naval captain Jean-Baptiste, wealthy plantation owner Éliane Devries, and her adopted Vietnamese daughter Camillevare the three points of a cross-cultural romantic triangle. As the struggle against European imperialism sweeps Indochina, Jean-Baptiste and Camille have to choose sides and Éliane faces the emotionally difficult challenge of raising the child of her daughter and ex-lover.
Cinematography
Vietnam never looked this lush and heartbreaking
Acting
Deneuve weaponizes maternal possessiveness
Costume
Colonial whites that get progressively bloodstained
Director
Régis Wargnier
Catherine Deneuve
Eliane Devries
Vincent Perez
Jean-Baptiste Le Guen
Linh-Dan Pham
Camille
Jean Yanne
Guy Asselin
Dominique Blanc
Yvette
Alain Fromager
Dominique
Eric Nguyen
Tanh
Henri Marteau
Emile Devries
Carlo Brandt
Castellani
Gérard Lartigau
L'Admiral
Hubert Saint-Macary
Raymond
Andrzej Seweryn
Hebrard
Mai Chau
Shen
Chu Hùng
Mari de Sao
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Catherine Deneuve learned Vietnamese phonetically for her role, though she's barely heard speaking it on screen.
The film sparked controversy in France for soft-pedaling colonial violence while winning the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar.
FR
