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A sniff at 'The Scent of Green Papaya'

Servants are commonly known to us as people who undergo immense hardships and suffering throughout their life. No doubt you might call a particular story a Cinderella story if you hear a poor servant girl later gets happily married to a well-to-do person. Vietnamese director Ann Hung Tran's debut film 'The Scent Of Green Papaya' is such a beautiful piece of work that portrays a servant girl come to riches from rags. Set in Saigon of 1950s, the movie was nominated for the award of Best Foreign Language Film in prestigious Oscar awards in 1994.


A scene from the movie

'The Scent Of Green Papaya' opens with a little girl, Mui, around 8 years then, entering a house for employment. The housemaid and the other servants are very kind and fond of her. The housemaid has lost her little daughter who'd been unless in Mui's age. Little Mui is a quiet, sensitive girl and she's so observant of the life and environment around her. Gradually, Mui develops and secures the affection and faith of her housemaid and becomes a beautiful young woman. The housemaid begins to treat her as her own daughter. But later because of a sudden financial crisis strikes the family, the housemaid hands Mui over to a well-to-do relative of their family-a pianist to whom Mui had a concealed affection from her childhood. But unfortunately for young and lively Mui, this man is engaged to another woman.

One day this young man picks up a statue of Buddha and stares at it, and suddenly realizes the Buddha's face and smile are something he has been seeing everyday-on Mui. From there onwards, both of their lives transform. The man teaches Mui literacy and eventually they get happily married.

'The Scent Of Green Papaya' is in fact an evocative exploration of typical Vietnamese servant and village life. It has a memorable Vietnamese rustic local colouring. It also depicts Vietnamese's religious faith and trust quite effectively.

The film not only traces the growth and development of Mui's life. It also portrays a slice of daily Vietnamese life. Even though the movie takes all of its visual cues from Mui's point of view, it clearly has its share of impartiality as well.

'The Scent Of Green Papaya' is so evocative and evokes many responses in the audience's mind. It creates a soothing effect on the audience. Rustic innocence and mildness runs throughout the film. Yet it is obvious that the movie is very much realistic in its portrayal of Mui's rags to riches journey. It shows that hard working and devotion always earn you success. The director's presentation of all these issues is remarkable for its captivating simplicity. His originality as a budding genius is conspicuous in every aspect of the film.

Purity vs potentialities

The film is full of subtle symbols and imagery. We come across the central image itself very early in the film in a fresh morning- an unripe papaya fruit which bears immature seeds inside representing the purity, innocence and the potentialities of little Mui.

This should not be overlooked as well, the entire movie is set (or cast) in a soundstage in Paris, yet the scenes and sounds are so convincing that you'll hesitate for hours to believe that it had been cast in an artificial soundstage. Credit once to the director!

Well, you may not call 'The Scent Of Green Papaya' a cinematic masterpiece, but it'll be a cool and calm breeze for you. I am sure its mild language, innocent flowing and slowness will altogether enable you to enjoy this soothing and life-affirming 2 hour ride in a tropical Vietnamese village sharing their joys and sorrows. Don't forget to inhale the scent of green papayas in the journey.

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