Movie Night

After I saw "Journey to the Center of the Earth" and admired Brendan Fraser, people started recommending other movies he'd been in. I didn't do so well with "Gods and Monsters," but last night I watched and enjoyed "The Quiet American."

I've never read the Graham Greene novel on which this movie is based, but I have a feeling I would have gotten lost in the politics of it anyhow. It takes place in 1952 Saigon, and I'm more than a little rusty on the Communist vs. French stuff going on there at the time. Anyhow, Michael Caine plays a British journalist who reports from Saigon, where he lives with his beloved, Phuong, played by Do Hai Yen. His wife, back in London, won't grant him a divorce.

Enter the eponymous "quiet American," Alden Pyle, played by Brendan Fraser. He too falls in love with Phuong (and who wouldn't?). Pyle may not be what he seems to be, and I have to admit that there was a wee-bit-too-abrupt moment when I realized who he was. Otherwise, it all felt true to me. Caine was outstanding (which he almost always is)—as Roger Ebert says, it's "a performance that seems to descend perfectly formed. There is no artifice in it, no unneeded energy, no tricks, no effort. It is there."

I can't say you must rush out and see this movie, but if you are a fan of Michael Caine or Brendan Fraser or have a particular interest in this time period in Viet Nam, that it's well worth watching.

Comments

[scott]

I have also thought Fraser is underrated.

[TheNag]

I liked it a lot but my film picks are kind of quirky.