The film, Indochine, begins in the 1930s, with the Vietnamese nationalist movement underlying between the numerous love stories. The film depicts the three rising, volatile groups in Vietnam: the French, the Vietnamese Communists and the Vietnamese nationalists. The film shows the power the French had over Vietnam, both politically and culturally. The French are shown as imposing their culture and ways onto the Vietnamese, shown by Camille being taught in a French school, where she was out of place.
The Vietnamese, throughout the movie, are depicted as if they were maturing children. In the beginning of the movie, the French seem to have a tight control over them, as if a parent would to their children. This is depicted when Eliane is whipping the Vietnamese servant claiming that mothers don't like to do that to "their children". Just as a parent is afraid of their children misbehaving, the French were afraid of the Vietnamese uprising. At the end of the movie, when Vietnam is broke up into North and South and it is the end of the French control, this is when Vietnam becomes an adult and is left to venture out and become an individual country with no influence, just how an adult breaks away from their parents and starts their life without them.
When Camille goes to Dragon Island to find Jean-Baptist, who Eliane had sent away to save Camille, Camille sees the Vietnamese like she never had before. She felt close to these people because she was from the same heritage, but she wasn't accustomed to seeing her people because she had lived as an upperclass French would. When the family Camille traveled with to Dragon Island is murdered, Camille goes off the deep end and kills a French officer and is immediately caught up in the war. After being released from prison, Camille refuses to leave because she is a strong force for the Communist force. She tells Eliane to take her baby, Etienne, to France because Indochina is dead. This is meant to represent that the French's influence in Vietnam has ruined Indochina and Camille desires to help free her country.
The film is taking the Vietnamese's side, specifically the Vietnamese nationalists. The French force in Vietnam is depicted negatively, as when they murder the family and through the character of Jean-Baptist. At different points in the film, it seems as though every important character was running from the French. The Communists are displayed as unstable through Camille's desertion of her child to live with a her French mother, a woman Camille was always at odds with. This film shows colonized Vietnam and how the different influences and turmoil were pulling the country and it's people to choose what group they wanted to side with.
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The film, Indochine, begins in the 1930s with the Vietnamese nationalist movement underlying among the numerous love stories. The film depicts the three rising, volatile groups in Vietnam: the French, the Vietnamese Communists and the Vietnamese nationalists. The film shows the power the French had over Vietnam, both politically and culturally. The French are shown as imposing their culture and ways onto the Vietnamese, shown by Camille being taught in a French school, where she was out of place.
ReplyDeleteThe Vietnamese, throughout the movie, are depicted as if they were maturing children. In the beginning of the movie, the French seem to have a tight control over them, as if a parent would to their children. This is depicted when Eliane is whipping the Vietnamese servant claiming that mothers don't like to do that to "their children". Just as a parent is afraid of their children misbehaving, the French were afraid of the Vietnamese uprising. At the end of the movie, when Vietnam is broke up into North and South marking the end of French control, this is when Vietnam becomes an adult and is left to venture out and become an individual country with no influence (so they thought), just how an adult breaks away from their parents and starts their life without them.
Tahn, the character who eventually marries Camille, is a communist. He represents the Communist movement. Tahn fights for independence from the French, and he was expelled in school for demonstrating in favor of the Communist party, which represents French opposition to Communism. The film also shows poor, starving people, which depicts how socialism would work best in Vietnam. Tahn is a recreation of young Ho Chi Minh because he is educated, lived in France, and uses French ideas of liberty against the French, just as Ho Chi Minh did.
When Camille goes to Dragon Island to find Jean-Baptist, who Eliane had sent away to save Camille, Camille sees the Vietnamese like she never had before. She felt close to these people because she was from the same heritage, but she wasn't accustomed to seeing her people because she had lived as an upper class French would. When the family Camille traveled with to Dragon Island is murdered, Camille hits a breaking point, and kills a French officer; after this, she is immediately caught up in the war. After being released from prison, Camille refuses to leave because she is a strong force for the Communists. She tells Eliane to take her baby, Etienne, to France because Indochina is dead. This is meant to represent that the French's influence in Vietnam has ruined Indochina and Camille desires to help free her country.
In an important scene of the film, Camille is walking with her friend when a French policeman shoots a prisoner that is running away. The prisoner falls onto Camille, and his blood gets all over Camille’s white clothing. This symbolizes the idea that the French ruined the Vietnamese culture. Camille represents the Vietnamese culture, and the prisoner represents the French, who destroy Vietnamese culture.
The film is taking the Vietnamese's side, specifically the Vietnamese Nationalists. The French force in Vietnam is negatively depicted through the character of Jean-Baptist, when he kills an entire family. At different points in the film, it seems as though every important character was running from the French. The Communists are displayed as unstable through Camille's desertion of her child to live with her French mother, a woman Camille was always at odds with. This film shows colonized Vietnam and how the different influences and turmoil were pulling the country and its people to choose what group they wanted to side with.