Blog 4

The film Indochine is set in the 1930's, when the french influenced Vietnam, and the Vietnamese nationalist group was rising up slowly. One of the main ideas in this film is how French culture overpowered the Vietnamese people, to the point that some Vietnamese didn't even care to speak their own language, but to just speak French. Eliane takes responsibility of representing the French in the film and when Eliane tries to put her foot down and not let Camille run away to Jean-Baptiste, Camille goes anyway, signifying a separation of the Vietnamese people from the French "motherland". Even though Vietnam culture was influenced by the French, it wasn't completely transformed and there were still some of those Vietnam people that believed in their country and the Nationalist and Communists fought for their independence from the French. This idea of Camille representing the Vietnamese struggle with the french as a group of people is continued with her killing a French officer to escape. All these events make a struggle for independence evident with each event, and each event growing more and more violent. I don't think throughout the film Jean-Baptiste was a French icon, but with his murder suspected to be by the communists it could represent the Vietnamese communists finally killing the French and earning their independence. There was a reason that the Vietnamese icon of Camille was not finally brought together with a French man in the end because French and Vietnam were never meant to be together. The Film definitely takes the side of the Vietnamese people and their quest for independence from the French and their colonization. A film that would side with the French would not show how Vietnam finally earns their independence and they would show more French dominance other than culture influence. I mean there is evidence of the French after they and their impact will always have an effect on the Vietnam people, but the film wants viewers to support the Vietnamese and support Camille on her quest to find her love and then ultimately fight for her freedom so her child would not have to go through what she went through. The goal of all parents: to give their children and better life than they had.