Estranged bedfellows fall in/out of love and war. The two halves of this film, political espionage and a love triangle offer little new on their own, but joined in unison here I felt worked well.
With Graham Greene as its source, I anticipated a lean film. I admired his dedication to writing as a craft, allegedly one who hit the typewriter as a master athlete hits the gym. On a side note, I've recently read "The Comedians" (a take on Papa Doc era Haiti with a requisite trying triangle of love).
I'm not a Greene thesis candidate, but it does seem in the books and movies I've seen, betrayal is never so much a surprise as it is a given. An anti-hero is presented to us, some sort of jaded burnt-out case. While he will swear no allegiance, no involvement; inevitably and inexorably he is drawn in. And often he's drawn in through a woman serving as a sort of beacon of purity.
Well purity is a bit strong, but she's nowhere near as jaded as our hero. When he's with her, through something more than sex (but certainly including sex), redemption is found. But that redemption is in a precarious position. A writer with a Catholic block indeed!
Well it works for me. I suspect most men will either love this or hate this, likely hinging upon if they fancy Do Thi Hai Yen as the love interest. Her halting English, and fallen "princess" in distress role may put others off. I found her the very essence of grace and enchantment.
Sorry if that seems sexist, I just wonder if women might resent the fact that she is often seen as an adornment, even twirling before our eyes in one lovely dance sequence. If we can glean anything from her placid yet powerful beauty, it is in the subtitles between herself and her sister.
More of those scenes would have been welcomed. However, it would be an entirely different film if we were allowed to drift away from Caine's/Fowler's strict perspective, and see the two sisters alone. Or see Fraser/Pyle alone with Hai Yen/Phuong. Their relationship hits an accelerator pedal during a voice-over that made some of the later set-up seem out of place to me.
But again, I did enter the triangle with Fowler as my touchstone. Without that, you are left with a thriller that is not meant to be a thriller (indeed we are presented the deceased in the opening scene). Or you are left with the politics which alone will upset certain viewers as being painfully true or preposterous propaganda. The left and right drift further apart, more lies ahead on both sides...hopefully no more My Lai's. To Greene's great credit, he was committed to characters as complicated as the crises they are embroiled in.
Anway, this garnered a
7/10
out of me. It was lean, and moved along at a nice pace (and I tend to round up a bonus point for "exotic" settings)
With Graham Greene as its source, I anticipated a lean film. I admired his dedication to writing as a craft, allegedly one who hit the typewriter as a master athlete hits the gym. On a side note, I've recently read "The Comedians" (a take on Papa Doc era Haiti with a requisite trying triangle of love).
I'm not a Greene thesis candidate, but it does seem in the books and movies I've seen, betrayal is never so much a surprise as it is a given. An anti-hero is presented to us, some sort of jaded burnt-out case. While he will swear no allegiance, no involvement; inevitably and inexorably he is drawn in. And often he's drawn in through a woman serving as a sort of beacon of purity.
Well purity is a bit strong, but she's nowhere near as jaded as our hero. When he's with her, through something more than sex (but certainly including sex), redemption is found. But that redemption is in a precarious position. A writer with a Catholic block indeed!
Well it works for me. I suspect most men will either love this or hate this, likely hinging upon if they fancy Do Thi Hai Yen as the love interest. Her halting English, and fallen "princess" in distress role may put others off. I found her the very essence of grace and enchantment.
Sorry if that seems sexist, I just wonder if women might resent the fact that she is often seen as an adornment, even twirling before our eyes in one lovely dance sequence. If we can glean anything from her placid yet powerful beauty, it is in the subtitles between herself and her sister.
More of those scenes would have been welcomed. However, it would be an entirely different film if we were allowed to drift away from Caine's/Fowler's strict perspective, and see the two sisters alone. Or see Fraser/Pyle alone with Hai Yen/Phuong. Their relationship hits an accelerator pedal during a voice-over that made some of the later set-up seem out of place to me.
But again, I did enter the triangle with Fowler as my touchstone. Without that, you are left with a thriller that is not meant to be a thriller (indeed we are presented the deceased in the opening scene). Or you are left with the politics which alone will upset certain viewers as being painfully true or preposterous propaganda. The left and right drift further apart, more lies ahead on both sides...hopefully no more My Lai's. To Greene's great credit, he was committed to characters as complicated as the crises they are embroiled in.
Anway, this garnered a
7/10
out of me. It was lean, and moved along at a nice pace (and I tend to round up a bonus point for "exotic" settings)