Options
Some Movies and Books Longitudes omits
My husband Mickey and I are on the Oct. 24, 2013 trip. Tail end of monsoon season, I guess. Thought I'd share some good movies and a wonderful book in preparation for the trip.
Rice People1994NR124 minutes
When the father of a family of Cambodian rice growers dies, the mother must summon the courage to lead her clan. Beneath the serenity of their day-in, day-out agrarian rhythms lie persistent grieving, financial worry and insidious pests. Pushed to the brink, the family's survival hinges on a successful rice harvest. Nominated for the Golden Palm at Cannes in 1994, this film was directed by Rithy Panh, with a haunting score by Marc Marder.
Language:
Khmer
The Killing Fields
1984R142 minutes
Sam Waterston portrays Sydney Schanberg, the New York Times journalist who won a Pulitzer for his coverage of the civil war in Cambodia. Aided by his translator, Dith Pran, Schanberg shines a light on the tragedy and madness of the bloody conflict.
Violent, Emotional, Dark, Gritty
The Scent of Green Papaya
(Mùi du du xanh - L'odeur de la papaye verte)
1993NR104 minutes
Little things mean a lot in the world of 10-year-old Mui, a girl who's trained to be a house servant in 1950s Vietnam. This film follows Mui as she grows up in pre-war Saigon, and finds quiet love with a family friend. Dialogue seems almost tertiary in this film that celebrates the senses, as the young girl discovers the world around her and marvels at every new sight, sound and scent she experiences while going about her workday life.
Language:
Vietnamese
The Flute Player
2003NR53 minutes
After the Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia in 1975, 9-year-old Arn Chorn-Pond was thrust into the darkness of Cambodia's Killing Fields. For four years, Arn's musical talent kept him from perishing in a genocide that took the lives of 2 million Cambodians. Now, after living in the United States for 20 years, Arn faces the dark shadows of his war-torn past as he fights to save Cambodia's once-outlawed traditional music from extinction.
Documentary,
Heaven & Earth
1993R142 minutes
After enduring a lifetime of hardship in her native country at the hands of French colonists and the communist Viet Cong, a young mother (Hiep Thi Le) becomes the wife of a U.S. marine (Tommy Lee Jones) and starts a new life in America. Director Oliver Stone also penned the screenplay for this Vietnam War-era drama with a Golden Globe-winning score, the third and final installment of Stone's Vietnam trilogy.
Cast:
Tommy Lee Jones, Haing S. Ngor, Bussaro Sanruck, Supak Pititam, Joan Chen, Thuan K. Nguyen, Hiep Thi Le, Lan Nguyen Calderon, Thuan Le, Dustin Nguyen, Khiem Thai, Liem Whatley, Debbie Reynolds
Director:
Oliver Stone
This movie is:
Violent, Cerebral, Emotional, Dark
BOOKS
In the Shadow of the Banyan
by Vaddey Ratner (Goodreads Author)
For seven-year-old Raami, the shattering end of childhood begins with the footsteps of her father returning home in the early dawn hours bringing details of the civil war that has overwhelmed the streets of Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital. Soon the family’s world of carefully guarded royal privilege is swept up in the chaos of revolution and forced exodus.
Over the next four years, as she endures the deaths of family members, starvation, and brutal forced labor, Raami clings to the only remaining vestige of childhood—the mythical legends and poems told to her by her father. In a climate of systematic violence where memory is sickness and justification for execution, Raami fights for her improbable survival.
Displaying the author’s extraordinary gift for language, In the Shadow of the Banyan is testament to the transcendent power of narrative and a brilliantly wrought tale of human resilience.(less)
Hardcover, 322 pages
Published August 7th 2012 by Simon & Schuster (first published September 1st 2010)
Rice People1994NR124 minutes
When the father of a family of Cambodian rice growers dies, the mother must summon the courage to lead her clan. Beneath the serenity of their day-in, day-out agrarian rhythms lie persistent grieving, financial worry and insidious pests. Pushed to the brink, the family's survival hinges on a successful rice harvest. Nominated for the Golden Palm at Cannes in 1994, this film was directed by Rithy Panh, with a haunting score by Marc Marder.
Language:
Khmer
The Killing Fields
1984R142 minutes
Sam Waterston portrays Sydney Schanberg, the New York Times journalist who won a Pulitzer for his coverage of the civil war in Cambodia. Aided by his translator, Dith Pran, Schanberg shines a light on the tragedy and madness of the bloody conflict.
Violent, Emotional, Dark, Gritty
The Scent of Green Papaya
(Mùi du du xanh - L'odeur de la papaye verte)
1993NR104 minutes
Little things mean a lot in the world of 10-year-old Mui, a girl who's trained to be a house servant in 1950s Vietnam. This film follows Mui as she grows up in pre-war Saigon, and finds quiet love with a family friend. Dialogue seems almost tertiary in this film that celebrates the senses, as the young girl discovers the world around her and marvels at every new sight, sound and scent she experiences while going about her workday life.
Language:
Vietnamese
The Flute Player
2003NR53 minutes
After the Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia in 1975, 9-year-old Arn Chorn-Pond was thrust into the darkness of Cambodia's Killing Fields. For four years, Arn's musical talent kept him from perishing in a genocide that took the lives of 2 million Cambodians. Now, after living in the United States for 20 years, Arn faces the dark shadows of his war-torn past as he fights to save Cambodia's once-outlawed traditional music from extinction.
Documentary,
Heaven & Earth
1993R142 minutes
After enduring a lifetime of hardship in her native country at the hands of French colonists and the communist Viet Cong, a young mother (Hiep Thi Le) becomes the wife of a U.S. marine (Tommy Lee Jones) and starts a new life in America. Director Oliver Stone also penned the screenplay for this Vietnam War-era drama with a Golden Globe-winning score, the third and final installment of Stone's Vietnam trilogy.
Cast:
Tommy Lee Jones, Haing S. Ngor, Bussaro Sanruck, Supak Pititam, Joan Chen, Thuan K. Nguyen, Hiep Thi Le, Lan Nguyen Calderon, Thuan Le, Dustin Nguyen, Khiem Thai, Liem Whatley, Debbie Reynolds
Director:
Oliver Stone
This movie is:
Violent, Cerebral, Emotional, Dark
BOOKS
In the Shadow of the Banyan
by Vaddey Ratner (Goodreads Author)
For seven-year-old Raami, the shattering end of childhood begins with the footsteps of her father returning home in the early dawn hours bringing details of the civil war that has overwhelmed the streets of Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital. Soon the family’s world of carefully guarded royal privilege is swept up in the chaos of revolution and forced exodus.
Over the next four years, as she endures the deaths of family members, starvation, and brutal forced labor, Raami clings to the only remaining vestige of childhood—the mythical legends and poems told to her by her father. In a climate of systematic violence where memory is sickness and justification for execution, Raami fights for her improbable survival.
Displaying the author’s extraordinary gift for language, In the Shadow of the Banyan is testament to the transcendent power of narrative and a brilliantly wrought tale of human resilience.(less)
Hardcover, 322 pages
Published August 7th 2012 by Simon & Schuster (first published September 1st 2010)
0
This discussion has been closed.
Comments