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IMDbPro

The Scent of Green Papaya

Original title: Mùi du du xanh
  • 19931993
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 1h 44m
IMDb RATING
7.3/10
9.1K
YOUR RATING
The Scent of Green Papaya (1993)
Home Video Trailer from First Look
Play trailer1:36
1 Video
51 Photos
DramaMusicRomance
A Vietnamese servant girl, Mui, observes lives within two different Saigon families: the first, a woman textile seller with three boys and a frequently absent husband; the second, a handsome... Read allA Vietnamese servant girl, Mui, observes lives within two different Saigon families: the first, a woman textile seller with three boys and a frequently absent husband; the second, a handsome young pianist with his fiancée.A Vietnamese servant girl, Mui, observes lives within two different Saigon families: the first, a woman textile seller with three boys and a frequently absent husband; the second, a handsome young pianist with his fiancée.
IMDb RATING
7.3/10
9.1K
YOUR RATING
    • Anh Hung Tran
    • Anh Hung Tran
  • Stars
    • Nu Yên-Khê Tran
    • Man San Lu
    • Thi Loc Truong
    • Anh Hung Tran
    • Anh Hung Tran
  • Stars
    • Nu Yên-Khê Tran
    • Man San Lu
    • Thi Loc Truong
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 55User reviews
    • 47Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar

    Videos1

    The Scent of Green Papaya
    Trailer 1:36
    Watch The Scent of Green Papaya

    Photos51

    The Scent of Green Papaya (1993)
    The Scent of Green Papaya (1993)
    The Scent of Green Papaya (1993)
    The Scent of Green Papaya (1993)
    The Scent of Green Papaya (1993)
    The Scent of Green Papaya (1993)
    The Scent of Green Papaya (1993)
    The Scent of Green Papaya (1993)
    The Scent of Green Papaya (1993)
    The Scent of Green Papaya (1993)
    The Scent of Green Papaya (1993)
    The Scent of Green Papaya (1993)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Nu Yên-Khê Tran
    • Mui Age 20
    • (as Trân Nu Yên-Khê)
    Man San Lu
    • Mui Age 10 #orphan # a little girl
    Thi Loc Truong
    • La mère
    • (as Truong Thi Lôc)
    Anh Hoa Nguyen
    • La vieille Ti
    • (as Nguyên 'Anh Hoa)
    Hoa Hoi Vuong
    • Khuyen
    • (as Vuong Hòa Hôi)
    Ngoc Trung Tran
    • Le père
    Vantha Talisman
    • Thu
    Keo Souvannavong
    • Trung
    Van Oanh Nguyen
    • Mr. Thuan
    Gerard Neth
    • Tin
    Nhat Do
    • Lam
    Thi Hai Vo
    • La grand-mère
    Thi Thanh Tra Nguyen
    • Mai
    Lam Huy Bui
    • Le médecin
    Xuan Thu Nguyen
    • L'antiquaire
    Xuan Loi Phan
    • Musiciens
    Xuan Dung Phan
    • Musiciens
    Van Chung Le
    • Musiciens
      • Anh Hung Tran
      • Anh Hung Tran
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      This was the first Vietnamese film nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It lost to Belle Epoque (1992) from Spain. It was also the first film to be submitted by Vietnam for the award and as of 2017, it is still the only Vietnamese movie ever to be nominated.
    • Goofs
      There's no ring on Mui's finger towards the end of the movie even though they are married.
    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: Blue Chips/Midnight Cowboy/Reality Bites/The Critic/The Scent of Green Papaya (1994)
    • Soundtracks
      Prélude no 23
      Music by Frédéric Chopin (as Chopin)

      Performed by Geneviève Ibanez

    User reviews55

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10
    A society of grace and harmony
    In Tran Anh Hung's debut film The Scent of Green Papaya, Mui (Lu Man San) is a ten-year old girl who comes from a small village to the home of a wealthy Saigon merchant to work as a servant in 1951. The first Vietnamese film ever nominated for an Academy Award as Best Foreign Language Film, Scent of Green Papaya captures the natural beauty of pre-war Vietnam, even though it was filmed on a set constructed in a Paris studio. Mui personifies the innocence of a Vietnamese society where grace and harmony has not yet given way to bombs and destruction. Mui accepts her place with patience, serving the meals, preparing the vegetables, scrubbing the floors, and polishing the shoes.

    True to the Buddhist ideal of being in the present moment, Mui studiously carries out her tasks, refusing to be affected by the torments of the younger son Tin (Gerard Neth), upset over his father's desertion of the family. She observes her natural surroundings in great detail: ants carrying a small piece of bread, a frog sitting on a leaf, a cricket jumping at night, and the seeds of a green papaya. The mother (Thi Loc Truong) is distraught over the recent death of her young daughter To and looks upon Mui as her replacement, perhaps even her reincarnation. In one scene, the mother stands over Mui while she sleeps and weeps silently for the loss of her daughter and perhaps for a Vietnam that she knows will soon disappear.

    Her husband (Ngoc Trun Tran) is a drinker and womanizer who has run off with the family's money. The mother is stoic and we only hear about her problems through the elderly grandmother (Thi Hai Vo) who mourns her dead husband alone in her upstairs room. The second part of the film shifts ten years into the future. Mui (Tran Nu Yen-Khe) has become a young woman. Because of the family's financial condition she has moved to the house of Khuyen, a professional musician and composer (Vuong Hoa Hoi). Her leaving triggers in the mother a profound sense of loss for her "daughter" and a sense that the old way of life in her country is coming to a permanent end.

    In her new house, Mui must contend with the musician's Westernized fiancé who personifies the artificiality of modern society. Annoyed with the insensitivity of his fiancé, Khuyen sees Mui with fresh eyes and begins to realize how much she embodies the traditional values he has left behind. Though the film may try the patience of Western audiences, The Scent of Green Papaya, in its simplicity and awareness of the natural world, reminds us of the power of cinema to reach artistic heights.
    helpful•36
    8
    • howard.schumann
    • Feb 21, 2005

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 28, 1994 (United States)
      • Vietnam
      • France
      • Vietnamese
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Paris, France
    • Production companies
      • Les Productions Lazennec
      • SFP Cinema, La
      • La Sept Cinéma
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour 44 minutes
      • Color
      • Mono

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