Blog 4: Indochine

In the film Indochine, the director presents many ideas about what life in Vietnam was life before the Vietnam War occurred. The main idea that is presented through the film is that the French were overbearing and ruthless in their attempts to control Vietnam. This is seen through the way Elaine treats her workers cruelly and as though they are inferior in every way, as well as when a Vietnamese man is tortured for information. The French felt that they were in control of Vietnam and were willing to do whatever it took to maintain that control, including being oppressive and forcing the Vietnamese to adopt their culture. While the French may have been able to in force the Vietnamese to adopt parts of French culture, what they failed to realize was that they were still not accepted as part of Vietnam. They were still seen as a cruel, unwanted presence.

Another idea that is explored in the film is the way that the Vietnamese went about gaining their independence from the French. The Vietnamese are seen as smart, community oriented people who are fighting for what they believe is right. Yet at the same time there were willing to fight against and kill their own people (the ones who were friendly with and had the same ideas as the French) in order to gain their independence.

Overall, the film seems to takes the side of the Vietnamese. It shows some of the struggles and hardships that the Vietnamese had to face in order to get their independence while at the same time, depicting the French in a more negative light. The film supports Vietnam's struggle to become independent and showcases a few of the many ways that the French tried to prevent this from happening, such as killing the family Camille was traveling with out of fear, and nothing more.