Wolff rating: FAIR/GOOD
Plot summary: A servant woman in 1951 Vietnam grows up.
Biased, pithy comments: Zen. This movie is zen. Enchanting, beautiful, touching, and, uh, deliberate. Yeah, that's the word you use when beautiful nothing happens at a stately pace. Threads pick up, they are dropped, characters move slowly around the stage, and generally nothing much comes of it. That said, it's beautiful, and for the patient, action-drugged culture we have, having time to see the myriad tiny wonders of a household in late colonial Vietnam can be a mind-altering experience. For others, it will be trying and obscure. I found myself in the middle; sometimes I was in the swing of small acts spread out over minutes of screen times. Other times, I wanted to sleep. A lot. Your mileage my definitely vary---see split rating above.
Other Notes: This was 1993's official entry to the Oscars from Socialist Vietnam, despite the fact that no frame of film was shot there.
How many times I have seen it: x1
Starring: Tran Nu Yen-Khe, Man San Lu, Thi Loc Truong, Hoa Hoi Vuong.
Directed by: Anh Hung Tran