IndoChine

Indochine is a film about Colonial Vietnam which wonderfully depicts the three different groups of people in the French colony. The main character Eliane Devries, although French, identifies herself as Vietnamese and belongs to the Capitalist Vietnamese. Camille, Eliane's adopted daughter, is Vietnamese and is raised a capitalists but eventually leaves home and tranisitons into a communist. The third group of people depicted in the movie are the French colonialists who are solely in Vietnam to exploit its resources and do not feel a love for Vietnam.
It becomes apparent that Eliane wants independance for Vietnam when she discusses with Tanh's mother how important it is for him to study in France and to become a part of the "Vietnamese Elite". However, a question that kept coming to my mind throughout the film was whether Eliane would have treated her "slaves" the same way if they were French and not Vietnamese. The film does not show many affluent Vietnamese and when Camille leaves her privileged and protected home and family to search for love, she witnesses for the first time the poverty, suffering and oppression of her people.
Later,Tanh becomes a nationalist(communist) and encourages Camille to join him as she has become a legend in the nation being the first to protest against the French.
I believe the film demonstrates very well how communists and nationalists on the whole are brainwashed to put their country first as in the end Camille chooses her country over her son.
What's more many scenes in the film show how the French underestimate and even denounce the small build of the Vietnamese people, considering themselves invincible which may have been their weakness.