The Quiet American (2002 film)

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The Quiet American
Poster for The Quiet American.
Directed by	Phillip Noyce
Produced by	Staffan Ahrenberg William Horberg
Written by	Graham Greene (novel) Christopher Hampton Robert Schenkkan (screenplay)
Starring	Michael Caine Brendan Fraser Do Thi Hai Yen
Music by	Craig Armstrong
Cinematography	Christopher Doyle
Editing by	John Scott
Distributed by	Miramax Films
Release date(s)	2002
Running time	101 min.
Country	Australia Germany United States
Language	English French Vietnamese
Budget	$30 million
Gross revenue	$12,988,801
Official website
All Movie Guide profile
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The Quiet American is a 2002 remake of the 1958 film of the same name, which was based on Graham Greene's bestselling novel. It was directed by Phillip Noyce and starred Michael Caine, Brendan Fraser, and Do Thi Hai Yen.

The 2002 version of The Quiet American, in contrast to the 1958 version, depicted Greene's original ending and treatment of the principal American character, Pyle. Like the novel, the film illustrates Pyle's moral culpability in fostering intrigue within the South Vietnamese government. Going beyond Greene's original work, the film used a montage ending with superimposed images of American soldiers from the intervening decades of the Vietnam War.

While acclaimed by some critics, the film was not a commercial success. Some reviewers felt it suffered from overly restrained performances and a heavy-handed moralism that was absent in the novel.

1 Plot summary
2 Academy Awards
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Plot summary

Set in Vietnam during the 1950s, the film revolves around British reporter Thomas Fowler (Michael Caine), his Vietnamese mistress Phuong (Do Thi Hai Yen), and Alden Pyle (Brendan Fraser), the "Quiet American" of the title.

The film starts with Fowler narrating about life in Vietnam. Fowler sits in an office. A French detective asks Fowler if he knows anything about Pyle. The investigator shows Fowler Pyle's corpse, which lies on a table. Fowler admits that he knew the man and that they were friends.

The film then flashes back to the original meeting between Pyle and Fowler in the French-controlled city of Saigon at a cafe. Pyle, who claims to work for the American Economic mission is a proponent of a "Third Force" in Vietnam that is neither French nor Communist.

Fowler then speaks to his informant, Hink. Hink tells Fowler that The Times has sent a telegram saying that they want him to return to London and cease living in Vietnam. Fowler wants to stay in Vietnam, so he decides to follow a lead that Hink gives him about rumours of a Communist attack in the North at Phat Diem.

Fowler desires to stay because he has settled with his Vietnamese mistress, and would have to either abandon her or divorce his Catholic wife back in London. After speaking with Hink, he smokes opium, lies in bed with Phuong, and tells her of the news. He writes to his wife asking her for a divorce.

Fowler arranges to have dinner with Alden Pyle at the L'arc-en-Ciel restaurant. Joe Turney and other Americans want to go to a brothel across the street the same night, and Pyle accompanies them reluctantly. Fowler tells Pyle how to escape from the brothel by pretending to have already chosen a prostitute.

Fowler and Pyle eat at the La Conceil. Fowler introduces Pyle to Phuong and her sister Hai. Pyle dances with Phuong and begins to become romantically and morally interested in her.

Fowler travels to the North where he finds French soldiers firing on a peasant in a boat. The peasant takes off his hat and reveals that he is actually Alden Pyle in disguise. Fowler and Pyle travel into a ruined village and sees the corpses of massacred victims. Fowler is confused because neither the French nor the Communists would have had any reason to have killed them. That evening, Fowler and Pyle hide in the ruins of the village and talk while the French troops fire at enemies.

Back in Saigon, Fowler and Hink run into a parade in honor of General Thế. Alden Pyle plays in General Thế's band, while Phuong watches from a balcony. Pyle is a strong supporter of General Thế. Thomas Fowler, however, believes that General Thế is a megalomanic.

Fowler decides to interview General Thé. He drives down a road along the border between Vietnam and Cambodia which Hink says is controlled by Communists. Fowler attempts to interview General Thé unsuccessfully. At night, Pyle and Fowler hide from fighters. Fowler lies to Phuong and tells her that his wife has accepted his affair and gotten a divorce. Phuong finds out that neither is true. Meanwhile Fowler finds out that Pyle has been giving explosives to the General The. Two explosions caused by these explosives go off in Saigon[1], and Fowler sees Pyle giving orders, speaking in Vietnamese, a language in which Alden Pyle had previously claimed he was not fluent. Enraged by Pyle's deception and complicity in the act, Fowler assists in a Vietminh plot to assinate Pyle. When Fowler returns to Phuong, he informs her of Pyle's death, and wins her back.