Blog 4

The purpose of the film Indochine is to illustrate the divide in Vietnam between the French and the Vietnamese Communists. These sides are paralleled by a mother, Elaine, and her adopted daughter Camile. Elaine is a very well off French woman, who owns and operates a large rubber plantation in Indochina. Camile, a Vietnamese girl, whose parents died was adopted and assimilated into the French lifestyle by Elaine. Elaine's great power and relations with her Vietnamese workers is very symbolic of the French Colonists. The French believed they were to rule the Vietnamese, as Elaine ruled her workers, but also that the Vietnamese needed to learn from the French, as demonstrated when Elaine calls her workers her "kids" and nurtures them. The French were harsh rulers as shown on the plantation when workers were whipped, and also in the streets when a French officer shot dead a prisoner trying to escape. The film also depicts the movement of the Vietnamese Communists, as shown when Camile after being freed from prison, joins the Communists to fight for her country's independence. Camille continues to be active in working to free her country participating in the Geneva Conference as a Vietnamese delegate.

In the film's final scene the audience learns that French Indochina is now independent, splitting Vietnam into the North and South. It is clear the movie takes the side of the Vietnamese people and their right to independence. The French are shown as brutal and oppressive rulers, poorly treating the innocent Vietnamese, as evident on Dragon Island when Camile's companions are killed in fear that they may incite an uprising.