The Scent of Green Papaya is one of those films that is easy to enjoy no matter where you're from. A visually striking film that utilizes setting and cinematography over dialogue, it's easy to see why it did so well internationally. I can't think of many films that can totally relax me and clear my mind- something that is only possible when I'm completely engulfed and not bothered by massive amounts of dialogue. Since the visuals tell most of the story, we're left with a very deep film that isn't tedious or overbearing so that we can focus without trying to read lots of subtitles or follow ten different things on screen at once. The simple but elaborate set style adds to the "film as a universal" feeling that I got while watching it.
Focusing on one thing in Papaya is rather hard as it really works well as a sum of its parts. Without the incredible cinematography, the story would probably be lost on most audiences. Without the beautiful sets that the actors mesh with so well, you'd be pulled out of the reality of the film. Without the great acting (especially by the actresses that play Mui), the film falls flat on its face. It's one of those movies that seems to (and this happens at least once or twice a year for me) completely reshape my idea of what a film can and can't be. It's kind of like pot for the eyes. It seems that most movies these days (and this is a broad generalization) are just glorified plays. If you could find someone that would sit through this as a play for 90 minutes, well, they're just stupid. Maybe that's a little bit harsh, but at the least they'd have to be pretty patient people. I have a hard time believing that it could work.
*Very Mild Spoilers In the Third Paragraph* To me, the best films are ones that are deep enough that they require multiple viewings to truly understand, but not so deep that I feel lost and turned off from (see: Goodbye South, Goodbye). The first thing I noticed about Papaya was the wonderful use of background noise. I originally thought it was a bit annoying, but as the film pushed on, the cricket in a cage theme fleshed out as a major part of the story. When Mui opens the door on the little cage right before she leaves the house she spent half her life in, and the cricket sticks to the door I saw the connection to her life. It's wholly depressing that the mother is in fact losing her surrogate daughter and Mui seems very uncertain about what her future holds when she leaves. She is the caged cricket that is scared to leave its home. The transformation she makes in her new surroundings is only possible because she took that step- she leaves the nest. Also, the background noise plays an important part in what is going in the film, but only in that it's never discussed. The jets flying over the house in the second part of the film adds to the setting even more because there is no need to mention it- we are too caught up in Mui's transformation into a woman to care about wars and such. Not resorting to explanatory dialogue when most filmmakers would is something that makes Tran Anh Hung an exciting and original filmmaker. He's the anti Godard in a sense (no way can I actually back up that statement as I've only seen a couple of Godard's older movies- but from what I know, this seems like a logical jump).
The Scent of Green Papaya isn't necessarily one of the best movies I've ever seen, but it sure is one of the most original. I think that pretty much anyone could make at least a decent film with the proper training, but films like Papaya are a testament to true vision and talent. You give this script to anyone else and you'd end up with a vastly different film. If that's not voice, I don't know what is.
Focusing on one thing in Papaya is rather hard as it really works well as a sum of its parts. Without the incredible cinematography, the story would probably be lost on most audiences. Without the beautiful sets that the actors mesh with so well, you'd be pulled out of the reality of the film. Without the great acting (especially by the actresses that play Mui), the film falls flat on its face. It's one of those movies that seems to (and this happens at least once or twice a year for me) completely reshape my idea of what a film can and can't be. It's kind of like pot for the eyes. It seems that most movies these days (and this is a broad generalization) are just glorified plays. If you could find someone that would sit through this as a play for 90 minutes, well, they're just stupid. Maybe that's a little bit harsh, but at the least they'd have to be pretty patient people. I have a hard time believing that it could work.
*Very Mild Spoilers In the Third Paragraph* To me, the best films are ones that are deep enough that they require multiple viewings to truly understand, but not so deep that I feel lost and turned off from (see: Goodbye South, Goodbye). The first thing I noticed about Papaya was the wonderful use of background noise. I originally thought it was a bit annoying, but as the film pushed on, the cricket in a cage theme fleshed out as a major part of the story. When Mui opens the door on the little cage right before she leaves the house she spent half her life in, and the cricket sticks to the door I saw the connection to her life. It's wholly depressing that the mother is in fact losing her surrogate daughter and Mui seems very uncertain about what her future holds when she leaves. She is the caged cricket that is scared to leave its home. The transformation she makes in her new surroundings is only possible because she took that step- she leaves the nest. Also, the background noise plays an important part in what is going in the film, but only in that it's never discussed. The jets flying over the house in the second part of the film adds to the setting even more because there is no need to mention it- we are too caught up in Mui's transformation into a woman to care about wars and such. Not resorting to explanatory dialogue when most filmmakers would is something that makes Tran Anh Hung an exciting and original filmmaker. He's the anti Godard in a sense (no way can I actually back up that statement as I've only seen a couple of Godard's older movies- but from what I know, this seems like a logical jump).
The Scent of Green Papaya isn't necessarily one of the best movies I've ever seen, but it sure is one of the most original. I think that pretty much anyone could make at least a decent film with the proper training, but films like Papaya are a testament to true vision and talent. You give this script to anyone else and you'd end up with a vastly different film. If that's not voice, I don't know what is.