blog 4

The film Indochine developed many ideas that do relate to the Vietnam war. The film explored the complex lives of both the French and Vietnamese people previous and during the war. Elaine and her adopted daughter Camille were of mixed French/Vietnamese/bourgeois class. Elaine, although French in heritage, identifies herself as a Vietnamese civilian.
The status of people is significant in the film because it relates to their reactions to the outbreak of war. In the beginning of the film, Elaine is portrayed at a wealthy but benevolent rubber estate owner. She employs many lower class Vietnamese people, but she does her best to treat them justly. Her adopted daughter Camille does not really have a sense of identity until she witnesses a shooting on the street. Elaine finds herself directly affected because of the communist actions of her daughter. Jean-Baptist serves in the navy and ends up switching his view of the war after his experiences loving and traveling with Camille.
The characters in this story are not soldiers, government officials or American, but they still have a position in the Vietnam War. The overall tone of the film opposed the war though the lessons learned by the characters. Jean-Bapstist is moved first by the child’s face on the boat he burns and then is more impacted by Camille’s actions. His ideas of war and even French nationalism chance when he understands how justified Camille was in shooting the officer who wrongly murdered Sao. By the end of the film, he also views himself as Vietnamese and connects his new roots though the efforts he undergoes to feed his son in different villages.
The Vietnamese people were portrayed as smart, innocent and community oriented people. Had this been a film that opposed the Vietnamese side in the war, the civilians would not have been shown in such a positive light. When they are gathered after reaching the sea, they are wrongly convicted of Even communism was shown as a source of salvation. Camille became known as the “Red Princess” after she fled French punishment and was released from prison with a strong following. The fact that she was able to turn away from her son and husband for a greater effort and struggle is symbolic of the communist cause.
The final scene of the movie is really only the beginning of intensity of the war. However, the whole movie was meant to show the history of the changing relationship between the French and Vietnamese as tensions in political movements increased. The personal relationships between the characters did represent the beginning of the war.