Thanks Xia!

The Quiet American is actually quite good, and a real sleeper of the year despite all its Oscar noms and strong acting. When I first saw it, I kept scratching my head as to how a movie in Vietnam during the war could have so little do do with Vietnam..

Then I firgured the Vietnam War had little to do with Vietnam, so the Quiet American was actually quite true to form. Strong narrative and an interesting exploration of Western projection onto the Indochinese landscape and sexual body. A good bit of tension mixed in around the arrival of the young American (Fraser) and how it unsettled the old Brit (Caine is brilliant in this) who was just hanging out there having an affair with a younger women.

Vietnam War is peripheral and keeps forcing its way into the main frame until it finally over-takes it. Excellent both technically and in content, The Quiet American gets an A from me.

C+



In the case of The Queit American, it's not as much that the movie is flawed, but much rather that it simply didn't strike a cord with me. Technically, it is made with great excellence, but I never bought into the emotional journeys of the characters, maybe except for Michael Caine who deserves the accolades he got for his turn. His sober and embittered Thomas Fowler is a great character and Caine embodies him very well. Same cannot be said of Brendan Fraser who is rather bland here as well as of Do Thi Hai Yen who plays the integral part in the film's proceedings as she becomes the center of the love triangle.

On a technical level, it's a solid job with a good score and nice cinematography to boot. It also tells a rather interesting story, sadly in not a very interesting fashion. It's an ambitious movie, but it didn't end up as thought-provoking as I hoped for it to be. I realze that it atempted to tell a small story with the bigger things happening in the background, but somehow both didn't work all too well for me. So, I compliment its technical achievements and the acting by Caine, but other than that, it wasn't a great film.

{My original review from March 2003: }


The Quiet American is a complex love story set within a complex war story. This movie was at least interestingly structured to compare and contrast the intricacies of love and war. In a way it is the embodiment of the saying: "All's Fair in Love and War", which in my experience is profoundly true. Nonetheless, the overall pace dragged, while Caine and Fraser put in serviceable but not extraordinary performances. I can't recommend rushing out to see this one.

2 out of 5.