DVD MUST ALERT: The Quiet American


This is a wonderful film offering a glimpse into Saigon, pre-Vietnam War

This is a quality picture through and through. I was engaged and intrigued from the opening scene to the credits, and there are a few good reasons why.

1. This film offers a glimpse into the events leading up to the Vietnam War. Vietnam in the 50's and early 60's is not something I knew a lot about, and this film gave me a story in broad brush strokes. It never felt pedantic or like I was watching a staid documentary. Nonetheless I felt enlightened and educated.

2. Two great performances. Michael Caine is tremendous. At first you want to believe he's just another aging European/American man coveting a submissive Asian companion, but he makes you buy that there is real love and real risk involved for him. And you better have that belief as you watch the lengths to which he goes to preserve his relationship. Brendan Fraser continued to be very under-rated, considered just an action or goofy comic book type character. But his work in "Gods & Monster", also opposite an esteemed, older British actor, and this movie validates his acting skills.

3. It's a love story with a murder mystery. It's a story of intrigue and romance. It's a story of revenge, redemption and revelation. There are a lot of big themes at work here, and this movie manages to keep them all tightly reigned and tautly paced.

I'm known to be a bit impatient; I'm known to be a bit hard to please in the movie department. This movie really satisfied me from all perspectives.

Buy "The Quiet American" DVD at Amazon.com
Buy the Graham Greene book upon which it is based at Amazon.com

Posted: Wed - March 17, 2004 at 06:30 PM       EmailFeedback

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