Indochine

In our youth we thought the world consisted of inseparable things: men and women; mountains and plains; humans and gods; Indochina and France...

The longest addition to Apocalypse Now Redux is a sequence when the crew have discovered a French rubber plantation. Despite a fact, that the First Indochina War has finished more than ten years ago and Vietnam is an independent country; the French family will defend this frontier until the last man dies. I have watched Apocalypse Now for several times and The French scene was always my favorite. That is why, I have decided to “fill the gap in my education” and watch Indochine.

In the French Indochine, Eliane Devries adopts a young girl from the royal dynasty called Camille. Because of that, the Devries Planation becomes one of the largest into the Indochinese Peninsula. After ten years, Eliane raises Camille as her own daughter and her plantation runs a huge profit. At the same time, Eliane starts an affair with young naval officer called Jean-Batiste. Everything ges as usual, until Jean-Batiste saves Camille from terrorist attack and they fall in love. Eliane tries to protect Camille and has Jean-Batiste transferred to a remote base. Camille is quickly engaged to another Vietnamese noble and communist sympathizer called Tanh. Immediately after engagement, Camille, with consent of Tanh, escapes from Saigon and goes to the country to find Jean-Batiste.

The film depicts an idyllic colonial life: huge plantation; strict, but fair, Eliane, who never punishes her workers unfairly; peaceful coexistence of French and Vietnamese elite. Nevertheless, this idyll lasts only in the plantation and, to the limited extent, in Saigon. In the wider world starts out a revolution. The first revolutionaries starts out an arsons and sabotages; carries out assassinations of collaborators. Camille after escaping her “golden cage” sees the life of her country and radicalizes.

The French society shown as inert and incapable of preventing the mounting revolution. The only hero, who tries to prevent revolution, is a head of the colonial police Guy, but his work is constantly sabotaged by lack of cooperation from Army and Navy and the Popular Front's decision to liberate the political prisoners completely ruins his work.

Love plays the main role in a film. The one could say, that love plays a vital role in almost all events of Indochine. Love is a blessing and curse. Almost every major event starts with love: love of Eliane to her foster daughter; love of Camille to Jean-Batiste; love of Tanh, and then Camille, to the homeland. In the end, Eliane keeps a piece of the French Indochine in her grandson Etiene – the son Jean-Batiste and Camille – and her love to grandson symbolizes the love to the lost part of the world.

Catherine Deneuve, who used to represent Marianne, again depicts her country. At first, Eliane makes an impression of cold and arrogant woman, but “behind the curtain” there is passionate woman, who is capable of real love. She is capable of brave decisions, she could lead by example, but the historical events break her and she sadly becomes the remnant of the French Empire. Other actors were also brilliant: Vincent Perez as impulsive Jean-Batiste; Jean Yanne as cynical policeman Guy; the list goes on and on.

Indochine is a sad, sincere and beautiful film. I strongly recommend to watch it together with The Last Emperor.

9/10