Indochine

"A great film from a mysterious world"

1992 2h 39m FR

👍

7.0

SOLID

★7.0TMDB · 242

DramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In colonial Vietnam, dashing French naval captain Jean-Baptiste, wealthy plantation owner Éliane Devries, and her adopted Vietnamese daughter Camillevare form the three points of a cross-cultural romantic triangle. As the struggle against European imperialism sweeps Indochina, Jean-Baptiste and Camille have to choose sides and Éliane faces the emotionally difficult challenge of raising the child of her daughter and ex-lover.

“A great film from a mysterious world”

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Cast

Catherine Deneuve
Eliane Devries
Vincent Perez
Jean-Baptiste Le Guen
Linh-Dan Pham
Camille
Jean Yanne
Guy Asselin
Dominique Blanc
Yvette
Alain Fromager
Dominique
Eric Nguyen
Tanh
Jean-Baptiste Huynh
Etienne (Adult)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Régis Wargnier
Writers: Catherine Cohen, Erik Orsenna, Régis Wargnier
Languages: Vietnamese, French
Countries: France, Vietnam, Malaysia

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Clocks in at 159 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

34 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Vietnamese, French.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: France, Vietnam, Malaysia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Régis Wargnier, shot by François Catonné. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Patrick Doyle. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Geneviève Winding shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Catherine Deneuve and Vincent Perez and Linh-Dan Pham carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Régis Wargnier directs. François Catonné behind the camera. Patrick Doyle scores. Geneviève Winding cuts. Produced in France, Vietnam, Malaysia. Dialogue in Vietnamese, French.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Clocks in at 159 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.
234 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Vietnamese, French.
4International production across 3 countries: France, Vietnam, Malaysia.
5Directed by Régis Wargnier, shot by François Catonné. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Patrick Doyle. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Geneviève Winding shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Catherine Deneuve and Vincent Perez and Linh-Dan Pham carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "A great film from a mysterious world".
10IMDB entry: tt0104507 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 34 themes, including "vietnam", "civil war", "love of one's life", "parent child relationship".

The technical file

Cinematography: François Catonné
Original score: Patrick Doyle
Editing: Geneviève Winding
Production design: Jacques Bufnoir
Costume design: Gabriella Pescucci
Runtime: 159 min · 2h 39m
Status: Released
Box office: $29,600,000
Original language: FR
IMDB: Indochine (1992)

Awards

Golden Globe Award for Best Non-English Language Film
César Award for Best Cinematography
National Board of Review Award for Best Foreign Language Film
César Award for Best Sound
César Award for Best Production Design
Goya Award for Best European Film
Academy Award for Best International Feature Film
César Award for Best Supporting Actress
César Award for Best Actress

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Régis Wargnier

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-04-21
★ 7/10
This is a sort of French equivalent of the British Merchant Ivory films that showcases the decline of a colonial influence in the early 1950s tempered with a bit of inter-racial romance. This time it the wealthy "Éliane" (Catherine Deneuve) who owns a large rubber plantation and adopts young local "Camille" (Linh-Dan Pham) whose powerful parents were her friends before her father was assassinated, purportedly by the communist insurgents. The arrival of the handsome young naval officer "Le Guen" (Vincent Perez) sets the cat amongst the pigeons as he takes a shine to the mother whilst the impressionable young daughter takes a liking to him. Now set against the increasingly turbulent environment, the story develops slowly illustrating how this trio must adapt to the increasingly dangerous political and emotional situation that was emerging. This is a little too long and the pace can be glacial at times, but Deneuve exudes a sophisticated plausibility with her character. As local as the locals by birth, but then again, a part of the oppressing ruling class whom the people increasingly wanted rid of. Perez is every inch the handsome and charming sailor who comes along just as both women are experiencing different sorts of vulnerability and the young Linh-Dan Pham also delivers well as her innocent young eyes are opened to the harsher truths of love, her past and her future. The cinematography captures really well the poverty and the luxury, the brightness and the beauty of the community as it emerges into a new phase of self-control and determination. It can be delicate and it can be brutal, and it does demonstrate just how cynically we from the West managed to keep these benign cultures under the thumb for so long.

Production companies