The Scent of Green Papaya (1993)

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.

Director:

Anh Hung Tran (as Tran Anh Hung)

Writer:

Anh Hung Tran (as Tran Anh Hung)

Stars:

Nu Yên-Khê Tran, Man San Lu, Thi Loc Truong

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 4 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

A little girl, Mui, went to a house as a new servant. The mother still mourns the death of her daughter, who would have been Mui's age. In her mind she treated Mui as her daughter. 10 years later Mui (now a young woman) was sent to another family, a young pianist and his fiancee. The musician fell in love with the peasant, he taught her literacy and they eventually married. A movie about a girl's life.

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Plot Keywords:

animal abuse | insect cage | polishing a shoe | sadness | talking in one's sleep | 

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Genres:

Drama | Music | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

France Vietnam

Language:

Vietnamese

Release Date:

28 January 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Scent of Green Papaya

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Box Office

Gross USA:

$1,910,763

Company Credits

Production Co:

Les Productions Lazennec, SFP Cinema, La, La Sept Cinéma

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although the cast and crew of the film are mostly Vietnamese and the film takes place in Vietnam, it was actually filmed completely on a sound stage in Boulogne, France.

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Connections

Featured in Cold Showers (2005)

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Soundtracks

Prélude no 23
Music by Frédéric Chopin (as Chopin)
Performed by Geneviève Ibanez

User Reviews

Magnificently Filmed With Appealing Female

Even on VHS this looks fantastic, but on the new Blu-Ray, it's just stunning. This is one of the most gorgeous- looking films you'll ever see, extremely aesthetic, with beautiful muted browns and greens.

The closeups of the young girl's cute face, and then later as young woman; the closeups of the insects, the house, food, shrubbery, etc, are all very pretty view. The background noises are unique, too. Much of the time you hear birds or insects; it's quite different.

The drawback to this movie, one that will turn many people off, is the story is extremely slow, one of the slowest-moving films I have ever witnessed....but "Mui," the lead character is so appealing both as a young girl and then young adult that she makes it an involving story.

If you have patience and a love of great visuals, this is a film to treasure.