Absolutely Fantastic

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

If you like a simple story with a happy ending and beautiful filming, The Scent of Green Papaya is for you. There is an unparalleled aesthetic and soothing quality to the film that traces the life of Mui, a peasant girl sent to Saigon to work for a well-to-do merchant family, and her new "family." Mui is a calm, peaceful soul, filled with happiness and joy. She teaches us to find the beautiful in the everyday and is an interesting contrast to the sons in the family, one who destroys the life around him and another who seeks to torment Mui relentlessly. The story line is simple and the scenery does not change much. Yet, each frame captures the unique details of the objects and people within the frame. This serves as a reminder to look around one's everyday environment and enjoy the aesthetics and life found there. Although obviously filmed on set and not within the natural environment, watching this film was like walking through a hidden botanical garden in a bustling city...full of treasures that delight the eyes and calm the soul.

The storyline of this movie is pretty basic – its follows the coming of age of a girl, who serves as a househelp. What makes the movie really attractive is the whats in the background- the audio and the visuals. Its feels like walking through a Vietnamese museum. I loved the slow languid mellow tones. The roundness of the ceramic pottery, blackness of long strands of hair, chirping of crickets, warmth of wood, ornate carvings, slowness of movement – it all melds in really well. It creates the effect of being in some scented magical tropical garden where there is an occasional cool breeze. It's a very sensuous movie – without having to resort to sexuality for displaying sensuousness.

The tip of film who seduced without a sure cause.A sweet powerful flavor of memories, time's ash, images of other secret age, spell of a subtle shadow.Poem of silence, slice of amazing dream, form of cult for ambiguous god.Wall of a delicate world of small gesture and impressive light.Signs like stairs, warm remember and love like reality's skin.Trip of soul on personal space before the Fall.Is it a masterpiece? No! Is it a beautiful movie? No! It is only prefiguration of self desire, escape in Golden Age.

Even on VHS this looks fantastic, but on the new Blu-Ray, it's just stunning. This is one of the most gorgeous- looking films you'll ever see, extremely aesthetic, with beautiful muted browns and greens. The closeups of the young girl's cute face, and then later as young woman; the closeups of the insects, the house, food, shrubbery, etc, are all very pretty view. The background noises are unique, too. Much of the time you hear birds or insects; it's quite different.The drawback to this movie, one that will turn many people off, is the story is extremely slow, one of the slowest-moving films I have ever witnessed....but "Mui," the lead character is so appealing both as a young girl and then young adult that she makes it an involving story.If you have patience and a love of great visuals, this is a film to treasure.