Indochine

(Movie Review)

Why I Saw This Film:

Even though I’m not myself French, my curiosity in this film was nonetheless aroused when I heard from a couple different sources that this film was considered required viewing for French expatriates in Indochina.

Positives

* Filmed on location in Vietnam—gorgeous scenery.

Negatives

* So, I think a fair amount of this film must be getting lost in translation, but even taking that into account, this film has some of the corniest, cheesiest dialogue I’ve ever heard.

*If the only way for the director to convey the characters' emotions is to have the characters constantly explicitly stating their emotions, then I consider this poor story-telling.

* Portrays the French themselves as the main heroes of anti-French Imperialism in Vietnam.

The Review

            I thought this film was a ridiculous over-the-top melodrama.

            And the dialogue!  All the characters felt the need to constantly be telling everyone else about their emotions!

            I half wonder if my failure to appreciate this film was just because I’m not used to French films, and perhaps it’s a cultural difference?  Maybe.

            The first half-hour of the film was boarder-line unwatchable, but then you just learn to give in to the cheesiness of it, and it’s alright after that.

Other Things I Would Talk About If I Wasn’t Limiting Myself to 100 Words

          My experience travelling in Vietnam, and seeing in person some of the places depicted in the film.

Rating:

2 out of 10 stars

Links:

Growing Up as a French Teenager in Phnom Penh-- One of my sources that all French expatriates living in Indochina have seen this movie.

Also, I’m mostly in agreement with Roger Ebert’s review of this film: The film seems to suggest that the French still do not quite understand what happened to them in Vietnam. Well, they're not alone.

Link of the Day

Noam Chomsky (2013) "Pedagogy of the Oppressed"