The Quiet American

Director: Phillip Noyce Phillip Noyce

Overview

Graham Greene's allegorical novel about America's role in the Vietnam conflict, and how it was perceived by the rest of the world, is brought to the screen for the second time in this adaptation directed by Phillip Noyce. Thomas Fowler (Michael Caine) is a British journalist who in 1952 is covering the early stages of the war in Indo-China for the London Times, not a demanding assignment since few in England are especially interested in the conflict. When not filing occasional reports, Fowler spends his time with Phuong (Do Thi Hai Yen), a beautiful woman who shares lovemaking and opium with Fowler and is willing to accept the fact the married journalist will never make her his wife. Fowler becomes friendly with Alden Pyle (Brendan Fraser), a cheerful and articulate if seemingly naïve American who is in Saigon as part of a medical mission. As Fowler and Pyle develop a closer friendship, Pyle is introduced to Phuong, and the American soon becomes infatuated with her. When Fowler's editors suggest he return to London, he responds by digging himself deeper in covering the war, and Pyle attempts to take Phuong away; she soon rejects him. Undaunted, Pyle continues with his work, but Fowler discovers that medical help is not what the American is bringing to Vietnam. Pyle is in fact a CIA operative who is helping to organize and finance a "Third Force" who will battle Ho Chi Min's forces as well as the French and their allies. Fowler also learns that Pyle is behind a series of bombings which are believed to have been carried out by Communist extremists, and faces the ugly fact that his American friend is in fact a terrorist killing in the name of Uncle Sam's political interests. While completed in the fall of 2001, The Quiet American went unreleased until late 2002; after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the film's producers felt the film's critical view of America's role in the Vietnam war might be considered especially offensive.

Product Details

Release Date:	07/27/2021
UPC:	0191329202760
Original Release:	2002
Source:	Miramax
Language:	English
Time:	1:40:00
Sales rank:	16,953

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Michael Caine	Thomas Fowler
Brendan Fraser	Alden Pyle
Do Thi Hai Yen	Phuong
Rade Serbedzija	Inspector Vigot
Tzi Ma	Hinh
Robert Stanton	Joe
Holmes Osborne	Bill
Quang Hai	General The
Ferdinand Hoang	Mr. Muoi
Pham Thi Mai Hoa	Phuong's Sister
Mathias Mlekuz	French Captain
Kevin Tran	Watch Tower Soldier
Lap Phan	Watch Tower Soldier
Thi Hai Yen Do	Actor
Do Hai Yen	Phuong
Craig Armstrong	Composer

Technical Credits

Christopher Hampton

Robert Schenkkan

Phillip Noyce	Director
Christopher Hampton	Screenwriter
Robert Schenkkan	Screenwriter
Staffan Ahrenberg	Producer
William Horberg	Producer
Mortiz Borman	Executive Producer,Executive Producer
Guy East	Executive Producer
Anthony Minghella	Executive Producer
Chris Sievernich	Executive Producer
Sydney Pollack	Executive Producer
Nigel Sinclair	Executive Producer
Steve Courtley	Special Effects
Christine King	Casting
Douglas 'Rocky' McDonald	Stunts
Lisa Anne Morris	Special Effects
Guntis Sics	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

Best known in the United States for such big-budget thrillers as Patriot Games, Australian director Phillip Noyce shows his more thoughtful side with this superb, beautifully photographed adaptation of Graham Greene’s novel The Quiet American. Set in Vietnam in 1952, the story follows the adventures of British journalist Thomas Fowler (Michael Caine), who is stationed in Saigon, covering the war in Indochina. Hardly a hot topic back home, the ongoing assignment leaves him plenty of time to devote to his gorgeous, much younger Vietnamese mistress, Phuong (Do Thi Hai Yen). Their sybaritic idyll is shattered when Fowler befriends a genial young American named Alden Pyle (Brendan Fraser), who is in Vietnam on a medical rescue mission. Pyle quickly becomes a rival for Phuong’s affections, but later Fowler realizes that is not the only threat he poses: The American, it turns out, is not as politically naïve as he seems and may be behind the terrorist bombings that have ripped through Saigon. The always-excellent Caine outdoes himself here, creating with deft and subtle strokes a magnificent portrait of a politically uncommitted man who is forced by circumstances into a position of social consciousness. Fraser is well cast as his foil, a sunny, open-faced Yank whose idealism is revealed to have a sinister side. The weak link in the triangle is Phuong, who is less a character than an Orientalist symbol and, as a result, the most glaringly dated element in the story. Yet the rest of The Quiet American is surprisingly -- and perhaps uncomfortably -- resonant today, casting both a dark eye on the American involvement in Southeast Asia and offering insight into the psychology of a terrorist. One of the best political dramas to emerge from Hollywood in years, The Quiet American earned Caine a much-deserved Oscar nomination for his splendid turn as Greene's reluctant hero.

Barnes & Noble - Kryssa Schemmerling

The Quiet American could be considered both a murder mystery and a political thriller. But its main emphasis isn't on clever plot twists or nail-biting suspense, although it does offer danger and intrigue. Instead, this deliberately paced and intelligently scripted film places its main emphasis on how the personal and the political intersect in the lives of the main characters. Michael Caine gives a nuanced, affecting performance in the lead role as world-weary British journalist Thomas Fowler. Caine is very effective at conveying how Fowler is torn between his cynicism and his nobler values as he struggles with difficult decisions and motives that aren't always pure. Brendan Fraser does a generally good job with his role as the American Alden Pyle; his measured performance could be more layered, but he does manage to suggest that there is more to this character than immediately meets the eye. Unfortunately, the film loses some of its emotional impact because the friendship between Fowler and Pyle doesn't seem quite as intense as the story demands. This problem is exacerbated by Do Thi Hai Yen's inability to do much with her underwritten role as Phuong, the woman in the middle of the love triangle; often she seems less like a full-fledged character than a depersonalized object of affection and symbol of Vietnam. Indeed, Pham Thi Mai Hoa makes a stronger impression than Do Thi Hai Yen in a smaller role as Phuong's sister. Nonetheless, the sumptuous cinematography and Caine's impressive performance are riveting enough to carry the film through its occasional rough spots.

All Movie Guide - Todd Kristel

Noyce's movie works because the director -- trusts himself, and his audience, to understand that catastrophe isn't always a matter of loud ideology. Rather, it's the result of age-old human weakness. And sometimes it's quiet.

Entertainment Weekly - Lisa Schwarzbaum

As thoughtful as it is handsomely acted. Caine's subtle, bold performance should guarantee him an aisle seat on Oscar night.

Time Magazine - Richard Corliss

Star Michael Caine, who gives one of the great, inescapably moving performances in a career filled with them, based his character on personal impressions of the late author. And Greene's lifelong concern with moral ambiguity gives this film a texture and complexity that movies don't usually achieve.

Los Angeles Times - Kenneth Turan