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Tran Nu Yên-Khê,
Tran Nu Yên-Khê,
Chu Hung,
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Tran Anh Hung,
Tran Anh Hung
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: Columbia TriStar
: Drama, Foreign, Southeast Asia
: 112 min.
: English
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This title is currently out of print.
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From the director of Cyclo and The Scent of Green Papaya comes this tale of three sisters who live in close proximity in present-day Hanoi. Lien (Tran Nu Yen Khe), the youngest sister, shares an apartment with her younger brother Hai (Ngo Quang Hai) and works at a cafe run by oldest sister Suong (Nguyen Nhu Quynh). Suong is the wife of Quoc (Chu Hung), a photographer with whom she has a son. The middle sibling Khan (Le Khanh) is married to Kien (Tran Manh Cuong), a writer in the midst of finishing his first novel. Over the course of one month, the family is convened for the anniversary of the death of the sisters' mother and when reminiscing about their departed matriarch, they bring up the memory of a mysterious man who seems to have been part of their mother's past. Kien begins to look for clues about Toan's identity, and Suong reveals that she has been involved with another man. Lien is sharing sleeping quarters with her brother Hai while keeping track of her flighty boyfriend, and fantasizes about being pregnant. During their husbands' absences, Khan and Suong have a deep conversation about fidelity and reveal secrets they have kept inside for some time; when their husbands return, they begin to question their faithfulness and dedication to them. The Vertical Ray of the Sun screened at the 2000 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide
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| Now he's got it right
by johnnyclock
December 30, 2004 - 7:03 PM PST
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0 out of 1 members found this review helpful
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| Take all the best of The Scent of Green Papayas, and get rid of all that was wrong with that film, and you get this exquisite film. The visuals and audios are beautiful as always with Tran Anh Hung. But this time we are not lost in them -- there are several plots going on in and through all the beauty. There are at least six or seven characters with whom we are intimately involved, and there is growth, through pain and joy, in each of them. Tran Anh Hung appears to be deeply in love with the sights and sounds and people of Vietnam, and we are invited to love them too. As before, the camera contemplates, and the movement is slow and stately, like a fine dance. But there is none of the overly camera-entranced or self-consciousness of the Scent of Green Papayas. It is full of humor and sorrow and joy, all in abundance. |
| May Take Two Viewings But...
by squad
December 21, 2004 - 11:06 PM PST
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2 out of 2 members found this review helpful
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| Everyone agrees the cinematography of this film is of the highest order, just beautiful. The problem is that the story was for me quite difficult to follow. A second viewing would be necessary, but not enough happens in the movie to warrant the time. Anyway, the three sisters and I think their mother are seen in nonsequential scenes of various rendezvous with males that are quite similar in appearance as are the women. So who is who and why they are having these liaisons is not easy to fathom. Many people are not bothered by such trifles, and if you want to bathe in nearly two hours of languid sensuality then this bubble bath of a film may suit you just fine. |
| perfect chicken
by hamano
September 13, 2003 - 1:38 AM PDT
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7 out of 8 members found this review helpful
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Three gorgeous Vietnamese sisters (and one brother) gather to cook up a memorial day feast for their late mother. The sisters sit in a circle caressing/plucking a chicken ever so tenderly in order to keep its skin perfectly unblemished, while talking about chopping up and eating a man's privates! Yowie! The brother, who is an actor, is annoyed with the youngest sister who is still single and lives with him, because every morning he finds her sleeping next to him! Wow! After he falls out of bed he puts on a slow ballad by Lou Reed, and he and his sister do sensuous morning exercises and stretches. Ooooh! They live in Hanoi, which, if not the most beautiful, is then certainly the wettest city I've ever seen in a film.
There's a lot of sexy stuff going on here (nothing explicit and no nudity) but for all the talk of penis stir fry the film is really a stately reflection on how love and marriages begin and end. The pace of the film is leisurely, with long contemplative conversations punctuated by scenes of exquisite wordlessness. The main characters are all wonderfully acted, sympathetic, and beautiful in his/her own way. This film is clearly a direct descendant of the films of Yasujiro Ozu and Eric Rohmer so if you love the works of those two like I do, you must rent this beautiful film. Three lovely sisters, weenie a la carte, and a perfectly plucked chicken...What more can you ask for? |
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 7.42)
60 Votes
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