Vertical Ray of the Sun, The

aka: At the Height of Summer
France / Germany / Vietnam 2001, 113 minutes
Dir. Tran Anh Hung
In Vietnamese with English subtitles
Rating: [PG]
Genres: Foreign Cinema, Drama

Feat. Tran Nu Yen-Khe, Nhu Quynh Nguyen, Le Khanh

Aroview: Conjuring once more the scent, hue and atmosphere of Vietnam, the dir. of SCENT OF GREEN PAPAYA depicts the complicated sisterhood of three women in a visually stylised version of Hanoi (astonishingly created on a French back-lot). Teasing apart a trio of stories of love, marriage and convenient deception, its everyday, albeit exotic, images and deft soundscape form enchanting poetry in their own right, at a languorous pace that’s worth slowing down for.

NZ International Film Festival 2001