This story is set in 1930, at the time when French colonial rule in Indochina is ending. An unmarried French woman who works in the rubber fields, raises a Vietnamese princess as if she was her own daughter. She, and her daughter both fall in love with a young French navy officer, which will change both their lives significantly.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I feel like if you mention "Vietnam" to the average American, you would have them thinking about our country's role in the Vietnam War. Specifically, how it affected our veterans. Rarely would you get anyone thinking about the country itself. And also, it may not be well-known (though it should be) that France had a far deeper history in the region than the United States ever did.

This film looks great, and may have some of that glamor that is not realistic, but it does attempt to show the interaction of the French and the Vietnamese (in what was called French Indochina). Anyone interested in Vietnam or colonialism ought to check it out.

Throughout the past forty years, much has been written about the Vietnam War. Less has been told about the history of Vietnam before the US got involved. Regis Wargnier's "Indochine" does a really good job.

Catherine Deneuve plays Eliane Devries, the owner of a rubber plantation in 1930s Vietnam. Eliane has raised a Vietnamese girl (Lin Dam Pham) as her own and named her Camille. But then, two things change the course of the mother-daughter relationship. One is that Camille falls for French soldier Jean-Baptiste (Vincent Perez). The other is Vietnam's budding independence movement, with which Camille gets involved. Jean-Baptiste's relationship with Camille makes him suspect in the eyes of the colonial government.

At the very least, this movie is a fine focus on the events that led up to the US's tragic involvement in Indochina. But it's also a good look at Vietnamese culture (I like it when movies show us a culture that we don't usually get to see),not to mention the Vietnamese landscape. To be certain, I have always considered it important to understand as much as possible about regions such as Indochina, if only to understand why the US got involved there. Definitely a great one. I recommend it.

And yes, two weeks ago, I'd never heard of a coxswain (which they mention during the boat racing scene). I only first learned the word while watching the Beijing Olympics.

Éliane Devries (Catherine Deneuve) adopts her Vietnamese best friends' orphan daughter Camille. She becomes one of the biggest rubber plantation owner combining both properties. Her father keeps a young Vietnamese girlfriend. She has a secret affair with French officer Jean-Baptiste Le Guen. After a dangerous incident, Camille believes that Jean-Baptiste saved her and falls in love with him.

This won the Oscar for foreign film and Deneuve was nominated. It's a sprawling melodramatic romantic epic. Despite the Oscar love, I don't completely share the feeling. The epic setting is beautiful. It is grand in scale and personal in scope. I can't really get into Eliane. The most compelling character is Camille although the actress is a newcomer struggling to rise to the occasion. The romance with Jean-Baptiste is the heaviest of melodrama. It's all melodrama and not really to my taste.