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This film really works because the beauty of its characters, their faces, their rituals, the water they bathe in, the food they eat, the pacing, the framing and the use of sound and silence is woven so masterfully and with such purpose that you are really drawn in on all levels.

One IMDB commenter mentioned the film's cliched moments as if they are a flaw of the film; cliches are everywhere and completely unavoidable. The story itself has many cliches in it (the wife finding evidence of her husband's infidelity by rummaging through his jacket, for example) but the portrayal of the character's lives in this film rings so true that cliche is excusable: after all, look at your own life and you'll spot hundreds of cliches every day.

Admittedly, the cliche in question (a pan to a statue of a family ancestor after a tense moment between the characters) was more a cinematographic aspect than a plot aspect, but nevertheless merely being a cliche is not reason enough to avoid using it in a film and I can't see what the point is in pointing out one solitary cliche! I did not find a problem at all with the moment in question because it served the mood of the piece.

Nor is their a lack of character development. To know a character in a film, you must observe everything: the way they talk, how they move, what they say, what they do, how they interact with other characters, not JUST listen to (or read in subtitles) their dialogue. A lack of dialogue is not the same as a lack of character development. Many of the long, largely-dialogue-free sequences were the most memorable of the film (the morning exchanges between Lien and Hai (if I have his name right) and the scene dealing Quoc's confession of infidelity to Suong) and contain some of the most extensive character development of the whole film.

In response to another commenter, I also don't understand the notion that a lack of extreme conflict results in an uninteresting story, and again the statement that there IS no conflict in the film's early stages is simply a falsity.

No matter how much discussion one engages in though, the only real judge of wether a movie is good to you is wether or not you enjoyed it, and that is why I can say The Vertical Ray of the Sun is such a great movie: I enjoyed it immensely, and walked out of the cinema in a beautiful, happy mood. The film revitalised my psyche and had a profound affect on my outlook on films in general. I highly recommend you watch it to make up your own mind and ignore all these niggling comments.

If you have seen and liked very much (as I did) The Green Papaya Fragrance /L'Odeur de la Papaye verte, 1993, Caméra d'Or at Cannes Festival for the Best First Film, French Academy Award for Best First Film, 1994 and nominated at the Oscars), young French-Vietnamese director Tran Anh Huong's first film and big hit (he was born in France after his parents had left Vietnam in the 1970's), you will enjoy A la verticale de l'ete.

Even if this third film may be not be seen as perfect as his first one, it nevertheless has big attractiveness and an often irresistible beauty (his second film, Cyclo, in spite of its Golden Lion Award at Venice Festival, was a critical and commercial flop). In this new film, the director's fascination for food is obvious again. Food as it is and as it must be prepared (more than its ingestion or taste)... Tran Anh Hung sayed in interviews that he tried to let his "female side" speak. He did it well actually. And this achievement gives the three sisters beautiful characters and portraits (in the same way than Mui's, the young then older girl in L'Odeur de la Papaye verte). Let's say right away that the sisters are acted by three excellent and beautiful actresses. The close-ups on their faces, the way Tran shoots Lien's languorous waking-ups and her slow body-stretchings in her brother's bed where she finds herself every morning "without knowing how" or "just because she was cold at night" she says, all those shots are marvellously sensual ! The alternation between contrast and fusion in colour and shades, sometimes pastel and sometimes bright, the music and the songs (some Lou Reed's old classic ballads lulling Lien's waking-ups, and beautiful scores by Ton That Tiet) add to this film's aestheticism. A LA VERTICALE DE L'ETE was first screened at the 2000 Cannes International Film Festival. A worth seeing film !

As a Vietnamese, I have to begin by thanking Tran Anh Hung for all that he has done for Vietnamese cinema. He has beautifully brought to the world an image of Vietnam other than that of some evil Communists in American war movies.

Now onto my review of this film.

It is a beautifully shot movie. The fresh, cool colors through the movie really do transport the viewer to somewhere similar to a tropical paradise. The story is slow but the writing is smart. Things are happening even though you feel like nothing has happened. The film is about 3 sisters and their adventures in love. The two older are married and are facing infidelity in their relationships. The youngest is still dating other men, although her close relationship with her brother only suggests some disturbing truth.

The acting is the movie is restrained but mostly good. My only problem is with Tran Nu Yen Khe as the youngest sister. I know that she is the director's wife, thus she appears in all his movie. But is this necessary, Tran Anh Hung? She is certainly a beautiful actress, but her Vietnamese is horrible. While everyone in the movie is speaking flawless, authentic Vietnamese, she struggles as if reading with a monotone in an accent that clearly indicates that she never learns Vietnamese in Vietnam. This has completely thrown me off during the movie. Whenever she speaks, I am reminded that this is a movie and not real. In Mui Du Du Xanh, the first film of Tran Anh Hung, I don't have a real problem because she speaks a total of maybe 3 lines and those are from reading a book so it doesn't bother me. But in Cyclo, while the actors and actress who play her family speak with a specific accent from a province in Vietnam (Quang Nam), she again speaks in a monotone with an accent of a foreigner. And it happens again here in this film. This problem is equivalent to an actor who plays an authentic Texan and speaks with a European accent. It just doesn't make sense. Of course, to people who don't speak Vietnamese, this is not a problem. But to a Vietnamese like myself, I can think of many other actresses who are much better for the job.

But don't let my ranting about Tran Nu Yen Khe discourage you from seeing this movie. It will be one of the most beautiful film you have ever seen and I think you will like it.

As a westerner, I enjoyed the movie for it's present day portrayal of modern day Vietnam and Vietnamese lifestyle. The movie treats us to enjoyable combination of story line set in the backdrop of Vietnam's beautiful scenery. Makes me want to live there!

In Tran Anh Hung's lovely tone poem The Vertical Ray of the Sun, three sisters Lien (Tran Nu Yên-Khê), Suong (Nhu Quynh Nguyen), and Khanh (Le Lhanh) on the eve of memorial dinners for their departed parents reveal previously hidden details to each other about their marital infidelity. It is the end of summer in Hanoi and the atmosphere is languid. These are not the mean streets of Saigon in Tran's Cyclo but the elegant abode of Hanoi's artists and intellectuals, devoid of urban decay, intimately bathed in color and pastoral beauty. The opening scene sets the mood. The youngest sister, 19-year old Lien slowly awakens in the apartment she shares with her brother Hai (Quang Hai Ngo). As Hai does push-ups, lien stretches, her graceful Tai Chi movements beautifully choreographed to the rhythm of The Velvet Underground.

They joke about the fact that outsiders see them as a couple as they walk hand-in-hand through the markets, but Lien does nothing to discourage this perception and is shown crawling into bed with her brother each night. The sisters operate a café and the conversation is as steamy as is the food they are preparing for the annual memorial dinner for their departed mother. Cinematographer Mark Lee Ping-Bin who filmed Flowers of Shanghai and In the Mood for Love washes the scene in a glow of different shades of green as they joke and tell stories about their longing to fry the male anatomy in garlic. The discussion veers to a discussion of their mother's possible infidelity with a fellow student but they are reluctant to admit that their parent's relationship may have been less than ideal.

Gradually we also learn about the sisters' marital problems. Suong is married to Quoc (Chu Hung), a botanical photographer. Since they had a miscarriage four years prior, he has had a secret life with another woman in the remote Bay of Halong. In one meditative scene in a boat with an old fisherman, Quoc sums up the meaning of the film, "One should live where one's soul is in harmony, where it is in accord with its surroundings". When he is away on trips visiting his second family, Suong carries on an affair with Tuan (Le Tuen Anh) out of a need to feel loved and wanted. Khanh's husband is Kien (Tran Manh Cuong), a writer who is working on finishing his first novel.

After finding out that his wife is pregnant, he almost betrays her in a Saigon hotel, but remains faithful. Lien, meanwhile, naive about sexuality, has a boyfriend and thinks she is pregnant simply because she had sex one time. The family deals with these problems together, viewing them as an opportunity for forgiveness and growth rather than confrontation. Vertical Ray of the Sun is a sensual experience that unfolds in its own time, a pace geared to an Asian timetable not a Western one. It is a film of ineffable beauty but can be confusing on first viewing with multiple characters, frequent jump cuts, and time discontinuity.

Individual scenes stand out in memory: Khanh singing a traditional Vietnamese song alone in the garden and Kien's loving discovery of her secret (how gratifying it is to see a romantic scene between married couples); Lien's slow dance in her apartment to The Velvet Underground, her long black hair glistening in the sun; and Lien's playful seduction of Hai interrupted by his request for boiled sweet potatoes. Though concerned with extra marital affairs, the film is not about infidelity but the intrusive effects of modern society on Asian family life. In Vertical Ray of the Sun, he has created an antidote -- an aesthetic picture of a Vietnam unsullied by the memory of war, a culture of nature and tradition, encompassing the Buddhist value of compassion and the Confucian ideal of harmony. It may exist, however, only in his vision.

I found the movie lacks the charm of `the scent of green papaya', but what a glorious rendition of film colors! I can totally disregard the movie itself and just watch those carefully staged colors shifted from one scene to the next. The art direction clearly surpass the movie itself here. it's too bad that the story couldn't be stronger. To my opinion, Anh Hung Tran is a stronger artistic director than a film director. I wish to see him brings some of his visual styles to Hollywood movies.

A visually-stunning look at the lives of three modern-day Vietnamese sisters and their families, living in Hanoi. The intersection of modernism (in particular, Western) influences alongside tradition is a theme. This does not appear to be a rigid Stalinist society but an austere but comfortable developing one. A sound track which mixes Lou Reed and traditional Vietnamese music accentuates the way tradition and modernity meld in this setting.

And it is the setting which takes your breath away. Even the interiors are visually rich with colors and textures. The film's use of rain, heat, and flowing water all add to the sensuality of the country and the characters.

At the Height of Summer uses a slow burning and very evolving, developing approach to explore the lives and relations several people share with one another within in the nation of Vietnam. From the untouched, exotic and quite beautiful topical locales of isolated cliff-side spaces; luscious lagoons and the interiors of beach side, water-atop bamboo houses to the cramped and enclosed street-side based cafés of Hanoi complete with small apartments that house those living within close proximity of these streets, the film is a rich piece running on wonderful imagery complete with a number of quietly interesting dramas and incidents all linked to the relationships revolving around half a dozen or so characters progress through throughout. Specficially, the sorts that brothers share with their sisters; sisters with their mothers and partners with each another, in what is one of many of Vietnamese director's Tran Anh Hung's films that I read has garnered acclaim plus acknowledgment.

At the Height of Summer begins with a character by the name of Hai (Hai Ngo) waking up in the morning in the somewhat basic, somewhat enclosed apartment he lives in with his sister Lien (Nu Yên-Khê). With his waking up to a new day comes our own waking up, or entering, or systematic birth, into the text itself as the day dawns and the lives of each of the characters we come to observe begin to make themselves known to us. As Hai goes around to his still dozing sister, the camera changes from a shot of a middling ilk to a closer, and therefore more intimate, composition of Lien; bringing to our attention a more focused or more personal link we may or ought to have with her – consequently more distanced from her brother, something that rings true when later on we realise the film is essentially her story more than it is Hai's. Later on, an author by the name of Kien (Cuong Tran) will feel somewhat resentful towards a man his sister is to marry and the characters of Suong and Khanh complete a threesome of sisters whose lives and relationships with various men links everyone to each other.

Tran Anh Hung seems to be out to capture the love one feels towards certain states just as much he wishes to capture the intimate feelings others feel for one another. The film is both just as respectful and with an eye on one character and her apparent love of being in a state of pregnancy as it is seemingly preoccupied with a group of others and their round-the-calendar acknowledgment of their mother's death date; despite not knowing how she died nor much about her. At the Height of Summer is like that; focusing on feelings, human emotion and that connection one feels towards another human-being of whatever form but with a sweet glance in the direction of other such physicalities and items, and it's complimented by Tran Anh Hung's impressive film-making awareness. The scene in question sees him allow this band of three sisters and one brother a space to themselves in a tea house cut off from the rest of it, epitomised in the physical barrier separating them from everyone else in a curtain that is pulled around slightly behind them as they share this rather personal and intimate moment.

In a remarkable twist of fate, particularly for a film looking at infidelity amongst love and friendship in other fields, arguably the most interesting relationship is between the aforementioned brother and sister; two people whom share close proximity sleeping conditions and would happily go out of one's way in sleeping on the floor if it meant the other remained unperturbed. Hai and Lien wake up to music of a rather Western ilk; the artwork on the wall around their little pad seems unacquainted to the general Vietnamese area; Lien bemoans having to have the same, "traditional" meals in the morning at a local breakfast parlour and later on, after it's revealed Hai works as an extra on numerous films, what is clearly identified as a clichéd or 'classical' scene from a film he's working on is played out in practise between the two of them, is dismissed as such by Lien who states she really rather likes the simplicity and stereotypical nature of this "depature in the rain" sequence due to be played out. In a word or two, these people are not of a more 'traditional' sort given the film's setting and the nature of their border-line lover affair style relationship sees them out of sync with mostly every society in the world.

As someone whom is 'Western' themselves it may seem somewhat typical, indeed narrow minded, to have come away from a Vietnamese film garnering the most out of a somewhat 'Westernised' relationship between two people, or relationship between two people that most strongly represents a rejection of the world in which they live in. But the rest of the film is equally interesting, juxtaposing the locales of said rural beach-side places with the supposed ugliness within another character when he reveals the guilt of what he has left behind in Hanoi; director Tran Anh Hung spreading his focus and study far and wide around his home nation and those that inhabit it, on one occasion providing the announcement of a pregnancy to a backdrop of pretty vegetation and flowers, suggesting a blooming or growing sense that compliments the nature of the announcement. The film is not so much preoccupied with narrative, with whatever story about a cheating husband and the wrongs he comes to learn of coming to occur before concluding, as much as it is interested in the warts and all daily lives of these people not necessarily doing much for specific stretches of time. All of it culminates in a thoroughly nourishing and rather interesting character study.

This movie was one long, slow, blissful dream. I can hardly explain how much I have been moved by this movie. It exists beyond what is projected on screen, appeals to some of one's innermost sensations, feelings almost forgotten, like the simple pleasure of waking up in the morning, opening one's window, and breathing, deeply. Since I live in Paris, I was lucky enough to meet Yen (the interpret of Lien) and Hung (the director) and talk to them personally. And I understood where the movie's deeply heartfelt nature came from : simply, it was the expression of the greatest sincerity and sensitivity of all. Hung and Yen are both just like this movie, just like the Scent of Green Papaya too : fascinated with simplicity, and constantly looking for beauty in its simplest form, in the most obvious gestures of everyday life. Waking up had always been a routine for me. After seeing this movie, it has become a pleasure renewed every morning. Never before had I understood the worth of movements executed slowly, fluently, harmoniously, almost like a ceremony. A la Verticale de l'Eté is not an obvious movie, where everything is suddenly thrown at the spectator who needs do nothing but open his mouth and swallow whatever is shoved down his throat. This demanding film asks a total commitment, asks you to completely forget everything else than the movie. But if you let yourself sink into the movie, if you make that initial effort, this film will reward you with much more than mere images and temporary distraction. I truly believe that this movie will forever stay in the hearts of those who have seen it. I have seen it four times so far, and can't get fed up with it. There is one problem about this movie though : it makes it particularly hard to get back into the "real" world... That is probably why I keep going, again and again, to see this movie. I think I like to believe that life can be a dream sometimes.

I like Won Kar Wai movies so I like the lush and languid visuality of this one. It's the first time I've seen this director's work. I agree, it is incredibly beautiful, but I'm impatient with a scene that drags on forever, even when it's of that incredibly sexy youngest sister. A whole scene with her just dancing? Why? The camera does love her, and especially her face and glowing skin. Why not a scene with her young lover showing the action that made her think she was pregnant? Would that be too much to ask, too Hollywood?

I know many will shudder, but it's best to watch this movie with Tivo. Then you can fast forward through the girl talk and focus on the visuals, the youngest sister, and her incestuous longing for her brother. That's the part I found fascinating and weird.

This movie reminds me very much of the plays of Anton Chekhov. I.e. it is completely against the traditional aesthetics of American style movies where action, fantasy, humor, over-acting, special effects and the goal of getting as much dollars and viewers as possible are usually the main message there is... So, no wonder that some of the reviewers of this movie here, don't seem to have got at all what this movie is about...

Nothing special happens in the movie, but in the end you feel that you've seen something worth seeing, and even learned something new about human life and social relations.

The acting is good and realistic. The life stories told are nothing but happenings of ordinary life, but the director makes them into beautiful lyric poems that touch your heart.

The beautiful scenery shown alone makes this film worth watching. 9-10/10

Vietnam-born French filmmaker Tran Anh Hung's third feature film, the final part of his "Vietnam trilogy" after his Oscar-nominated debut THE SCENT OF THE GREEN PAPAYA (1993), and Golden Lion winner CYCLO (1995). Lifted from the day-to-day material hurdles in Hanoi, THE VERTICAL RAY OF THE SUN takes a close look of a family's four siblings, Lien (Tran Nu Yên-Khê, Tran's muse-cum-wife), the youngest of the brood, barely holds back the crush on her elder brother Hai (Quang Hai Ngo), meantime, her two married elder sisters Suong (Nhu Quynh Nguyen) and Khanh (Le Khanh), have their own marital hitches to come up for.

What instantly catches a viewer's eyes is Tran's chromatic keynote, a verdant surrounding perpetually peopled with botanical delights, oriental quaintness and dribbles with tropical humidity against a blistering summer and occasional downpours, every gesticulation throbs with libidinous impulse and moist intimacy, and is in sharp contrast to various characters' monotonous intonation and po-faced diction. Bookending the film with two anniversaries of their parents' respective deaths, Tran's slow-paced story entrusts audience to embark on an ennui-soaked, voyeurism-like sojourn pointing up the consanguineous sisterhood and the retiring inscape of his protagonists that is typically of Far Eastern make-up.

Suong's husband Quoc (Chu Hung) has another family residing in a floating bamboo house on a mountainside river and dithers about which one to settle with, meanwhile, Suong engages in an extramarital affair with another man but keeps things strictly physically (it is told in an evasive manner, we are tempted to formulate our own idea of the affair, whether it is a past fling as she confides in Khanh one night or concomitant with the current time-line); Khanh herself, is discovered pregnant with her first child, but a casual discovery suddenly damps her expectant mood as she suspects that her writer's-block afflicted husband Kien (Manh Cuong Tran) might cheat on her during his recent trip to Ho Chi Minh City. As for the young Lien, her incestuous proclivity is tantalized but nothing actualizes (from a knowingly ambiguous Hai), so she has to slake her desire elsewhere, which results in a blatant misapprehension lightening up the trepidation, pathos driven ending.

Garnished with an eclectic soundtrack (including several Lou Reed's tunes), THE VERTICAL RAY OF THE SUN formulates a fragrant dream-scape that can soothe one's jaded eyes, assuage one's numb ears and placate one's troubled minds, an escapist haven from a robust filmmaker who has reached a certain measurement of maturity in his style, but at the same time, indulgence is manifestly looming around.

This film compares poorly with "Yi Yi". While it has some visually lovely scenes (especially those around what I think is Haiphong Bay), the film is badly hurt by the lack of meaningful dialog in the film. It is also hurt by a lack of resolution to the action in the film (such as it is).

A good drama not only contains interesting characters who you care about, it resolves the issues that come up in the film in a meaningful way. This film is a bad drama. The characters are largely uninteresting, their problems are not very interesting, and not much resolution is offered in the film to the problems.

For me the sub-plot of the husband of the oldest sister and his second wife who lives on a raft, that was interesting. And the dialog between him and the old man who ferries him out to the island was actually thoughtful. Sadly, that comprises less than 15 minutes of the films running time. For the rest we have these seemingly endless scenes in which the twins (brother and sister) wake up, exorcise, say a few words to each other, and then go across the street for some breakfast. These "wake up" scenes don't lead much of anywhere. Very little is said, nothing happens.

If you are going to do a movie about sexual attraction between a brother and sister then make that movie. Instead all of these scenes are a waste of our time, the brother has no interest at all in his sister and she is actually involved with a man who we see just twice in the film (I think he has two lines of dialog, period). What was the director trying to say in these scenes between the twins? I have no idea.

As far as I can tell, the director really has nothing to say. He shows some traces of visual flair but as a writer, he is a failure. Perhaps he should try adapting someone else's work?

I'm going to praise "Yi Yi" here. That film created problems in the lives of the characters and then resolved them. Things happened, there was forward progress. People grew and developed during the year which the film covers. By contrast in this film, there is no growth, no progress, problems are brought up and not resolved. In drama, problems are resolved with dialog, people talk, they come to an understanding, the world is changed. In this film, people don't talk, or when they do we (the audience) doesn't hear it, or only one person says anything and we have no good idea how the other person thinks about what was said. This film is a perfect example of bad drama.

I would like to point out that the perfection of this movie lies in the imperfection of its story. To those who have said it just dribbles off at the end with no resolution, I personally think thats why its so brilliant! It is very rare that we get the see a slice of life like this--- one so beautiful, enrapturing, and yet TRUTHFUL. Life doesn't have perfect endings and beginnings. Its great to see that movies don't have to either.

That said, my absolute favorite scene is the one with all three sisters and the sweet potatoes! What's yours?

Filmed in ravishing colours and intimately captured, an aura of artifice hangs over every frame. Despite the troubles lurking underneath, the flow is so gentle and smooth, it eradicates any unease raised by the subject matter.. An awful pity. Where is the bite that once accompanied the green papaya scent?

This film (as The Scent of Green Papaya) is to me pure visual poetry. As with a poem it offers its impact slowly and through its suggestive images that come at you subtlely and with enormous grace. It's not a story of "and then and then"...it unfolds like a beautiful fan, by degrees...giving the viewer a chance to internalize each moment. And I was particularly impressed by the repetition of certain actions...the turning of two people, with a significant look; the clipping of nails...such small details reflect a sensibility that brings the seemingly unimportant moments in life, the often repeated ones into a whole new light, into consciousness and value. This, for me, is a glorious and appropriate use of film, which is, after all, a visual medium. The director, the actors, the cinematographer are to be commended on this masterpiece!

I wish the director of the movie was a good friend and that I could pick up the phone and tell him what a marvelous film it is. I love The Vertical Ray of the Sun and purely for the reasons of aesthetics. Although I agree that the story-line leaves something to be desired but that's not important to me. I loved the brilliant art direction of Vertical Ray. This film could be a masterpiece.

The use of colors and imagery of the setting is done in a manner so astonishingly beautiful that one wonders if such a film could be made. That such a place indeed does exist. The Vertical Ray of the Sun draws its strength not from cleverness, titillation or intimidation but from its beauty, simplicity and goodness.

The most "illuminous" scene, as one reviewer puts it, is the one between Lien and Khanh when she tells him with her eyes lowered and with a wonderful smile on her face that she's pregnant. Another thing I loved about it is that it brought me closer to the 'Far' East. I live in India and Vertical Ray was perhaps my first movie from that part of the world. It was wonderful watching another country mirror the same values that we hold so close to our heart. Like that prayer scene... the respect they show for elders, the whole family living together. This makes me like these characters immensely.

Having said that, the film could have done with a few less affairs. I have no problem with the love scenes. I think they have been portrayed with exceptional beauty. What I found a little unpalatable is the fact that a middle-class Asian family was shown uncharacteristically active while pursuing happiness outside the conventional boundaries. I understand that the Director, though from Vietnam lived in France most of his life. I think we face this problem even in India. I'm talking about filmmakers who live in the west and come back every year or so to make movies on OUR lives, interpreting it the way they want it. Anyway, that's a tiny little thing.

I found a revealing quote from the art director on aesthetics of the movie: "Taking a cue from the director, a context, or a story, you begin to think in terms of red, green, yellow or blue... the choice of sets, their conception, their arrangement takes on a particular resonance and the design becomes an actor in its own right." Vertical Ray of The Sun is a celebration.

The director, Anh Hung Tran, does not rush things. I felt like a voyeur much of the time as the characters lived both responsible lives, but had a naughty side that they just could not escape.

Do they just jump into sexual situations or are they restrained by guilt or other voices. This issue of guilt or other voices was a central theme I enjoyed watching develop.

The scenes were visually powerful and sweeps one away from our modern world into the family courtyard where women prepare meals, laugh, relax and live life.

To me, this movie told three stories of women in different stages of life. A young, pampered girl, who lives in a bit of fantasy world and beginning to explore her sexuality - if only with the most available man who is her brother. The male characters were important, but frequently were more trappings to allow us to peek into the world of women. Very well done.

Her older sister, who is married, trying to have a child while worrying about her husband and larger family.

The eldest sister, who has faced much more and looks for life solutions that work. She only wants to keep the family moving along and keep her husband from taking his extramarital affair too seriously. She is the matriarch of this little family now that their parents have passed along and she struggles on different levels. When challenged by the second sister to share her views of having an affair, she is careful to only share enough, but holds back to maintain her role as the elder sister. Very well done.

The best scene in this movie for me was at the end when the three sister are dealing with a real disaster brought by that silly little sister.

I loved this movie and watched it twice. It is one I will return to see again just for the visual beauty of scenes and languid movement of many scenes. It was my first Anh Hung Tran movie and I must find more of his work.

Yes, of course, there's the beauty of it. And the pace. And the artfulness. And the calm, soothing, filling feel of it. And then there are noticeable clichés, the Lou Reed tracks, the naive love intrigues... But I can already tell it will be one of my favorite movies. To put it simply, it gives me exactly what I want in any art form. Not an intricate story. Not a series of slides. Not a lecture. Just something I can change my mood to. When will non-Asian filmmakers start to really make film that are not completely plot-driven? As this film shows, it doesn't even have to be based on a "Nouveau Roman" style of writing.

There's some nice scenery to look at here,if you can keep your eyes open long enough to see any of it.I'm a big fan of slice-of-life movies,but these people are just plain bland.Although there's nothing political here,the entire film can be looked at as a political statement,in that it shows how Communism destroys the individual,making everyone the same bland animal that just spends its life sleeping,eating,and occasionally making love.

As the opening credits rolled at the cultural center in Hawaii where I saw this film I noticed it was produced by canal+. "Ah, a french production. I may as well make myself comfortable because not much of anything will happen for the next two hours" I thought to myself. I was only partially right. "Vertical Ray of the Sun" is one of the most languid movies I have seen in a long time, taking it's time to slowly introduce us to the characters and give us a glimpse of their world. There is beauty, drama, sorrow, joy but as with most french productions none of it has any semblance of a plot line. There is no build up, no exposition, and no conclusion. At one point the movie ends and the credits roll. What there is, is a great deal of magnificent cinematography. If you have the chance to view this film take some time to appreciate the way light plays in the background, the contrast of color between foreground and background, the composition of each shot. Then again don't worry about taking your time.. the movie will give you plenty of time to stop and admire.

The atmosphere of the movie is nice, very aesthetic. You can almost feel the rain falling. Makes you want to make your backpack, take a plane for Vietnam and to live there for a while.

And that dance from Lien at the end, oh man. I had to rewind the tape a couple of times in a row. One of the most sensual scenes I remember seeing in a movie.

A story line almost inexistent, but hey, you're not watching it for that, you're watching it for the atmosphere and the dance.

Overall a good movie. For sure worth a watch or two.

8/10

If you have seen and liked very much (as I did) The Green Papaya Fragrance /L'Odeur de la Papaye verte, 1993,(Caméra d'Or at Cannes Festival for the Best First Film, French Academy Award for Best First Film, 1994 and nominated at the Oscars), young French-Vietnamese director Tran Anh Huong's first film and big hit (he was born in France after his parents had left Vietnam in the 1970's), you will enjoy A la verticale de l'ete. Even if this third film may be not be seen as perfect as his first one, it nevertheless has a big attractiveness and an often irresistible beauty (his second film, Cyclo, in spite of its Golden Lion Award at Venice Festival, was a critical and commercial flop). In this new film, the director's fascination for food is obvious again. Food as it is and as it must be prepared (more than its ingestion or taste)... Tran Anh Hung sayed in interviews that he tried to let his "female side" speak. He did it well actually. And this achievement gives the three sisters beautiful characters and portraits (in the same way than Mui's, the young then older girl in L'Odeur de la Papaye verte). Let's say right away that the sisters are acted by three excellent and beautiful actresses. The close-ups on their faces, the way Tran shoots Lien's languorous waking-ups and her slow body-stretchings in her brother's bed where she finds herself every morning "without knowing how" or "just because she was cold at night" she says, all those shots are marvellously sensual ! The alternation between contrast and fusion in colour and shades, sometimes pastel and sometimes bright, the music and the songs (some Lou Reed's old classic ballads lulling Lien's waking-ups, and beautiful scores by Ton That Tiet) add to this film's aestheticism. A LA VERTICALE DE L'ETE was first screened at the 2000 Cannes International Film Festival. A worth seeing film !

I have worked in Vietnam for a short time, not as a tourist, but visiting the shanty towns, backstreets and homes of my translators, and to me this film was so evocative of the real life situation there. OK so the plot is a bit thin at times, but that's OK, just sit back and drink in the colour, sights, sounds and almost the smells of VN! The food is almost so real you can taste the ginger! Be sure to have booked the table at the Vietnamese restaurant before you see the film because you will want to taste the food immediately you get out. It made me want to be there again, and the women, oh, did I tell you about the women? The sisters are real people, who needs plot when you can just be so close to them, see their beauty and mystery! Just fabulous!