Screening Time: Sunday, May 14, 2:30 PM, Charles Theatre 5

Director: Anh Hung Trang

Cast: Tran Nu Yen-Khe, Lu Man San, Truong Thi Loc, Nguyen Anh Hoa, Vuong Hoa Hoi

Country: Vietnam, France
Year: 1993
Running Time: 104:00 minutes
Format: 35mm

“… watching it is like listening to soothing music…I have seen "The Scent of Green Papaya" three times now - the first time in May 1993 at Cannes, where it was named the best film by a first-time director…
like a piece of music it was made of subtleties that only grew deeper through familiarity. This is a film to cherish.” -Roger Ebert, 1994

Set in Saigon, Vietnam, in the 1950s and 60s, before America became engaged in the Vietnam war, this movie shows us Vietnamese life just before the storm. Dealing with issues of class and duty, a story unfolds that is told through careful observation. Fortunately, we see through the eyes of one housekeeper, Miu, because her observational powers are surreal. No detail escapes her, and the result is a film of unmatched visual beauty. As in one of the great film translations of Jane Austen’s work, we learn a great deal about people through manners and gestures. One of the most visually stunning films you’ll ever see, THE SCENT OF THE GREEN PAPAYA is even more remarkable for having been entirely shot- not on location in Saigon- but on a sound stage in Paris.

--Jed Dietz

Presented By: Branford Marsalis

Branford Marsalis, is a Grammy award-winning saxophonist who explores jazz and classical music with gusto. In a bold move, he formed Marsalis Music, and they have released eleven compact discs and two dvds. Three of the DCs- Footsteps of our Fathers, Romare Bearden Revealed, and Eternal -appeared on numerous best-of-year lists. The members of his quartet were recently named Artists in Residence at North Carolina Central University.