{"id":9386,"date":"2021-10-04T18:10:36","date_gmt":"2021-10-04T10:10:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thesmartlocal.com\/vietnam\/?p=9386"},"modified":"2022-04-01T09:08:33","modified_gmt":"2022-04-01T01:08:33","slug":"lamant-1992","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesmartlocal.com\/vietnam\/lamant-1992\/","title":{"rendered":"L’Amant (1992): 8 Facts About The Hit Movie Adaptation Based On A Real Saigon Love Story"},"content":{"rendered":"

L\u2019Amant aka The Lover – a cinematic sensation based on a true story in Saigon<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n

1992 was a special year for cinemagoers around the world, especially those in Vietnam. Within the same year, two cinematic masterpieces were released and they were set in the same location of the same period – Vietnam during the Indochinese era. One is<\/span> Indochine<\/span><\/i>, a 1993 Oscar winner<\/span><\/a>, and the other – <\/span>L\u2019Amant<\/b><\/em> (1992)<\/b>.\u00a0<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Unlike Indochine, L\u2019Amant<\/em> is not a figment of a talented writer\u2019s imagination. It is based on a true love story that took place in Cochinchina, or southern Vietnam in the 1920s.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you have watched the movie, here are some interesting facts about it that you may have not heard of. Alternatively, if you haven\u2019t, treat this article as a backstory of the movie with some noteworthy facts about a French girl\u2019s experience in Vietnam that guarantee no spoilers.<\/span><\/p>\n

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1. The movie is based on a Prix Goncourt-winning novel<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n

\"L'Amant\"
\nImage credit: <\/span><\/em>IMDB<\/span><\/em>
\n<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud and produced by Claude Berri, <\/span>L’Amant<\/span><\/em> is a 1992 drama film set in part of Indochina that is now Vietnam, during the 1920s.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The movie is adapted from the semi-autobiographical 1984 novel by Marguerite Duras, which was awarded the Prix Goncourt – a prestigious prize in French literature.<\/span><\/p>\n

The movie tells the secret love affair between The Young Girl, a sharp, self-loathing French teenager living in Saigon, and the timid Chinaman, an heir of an ultra-rich Chinese-Vietnamese family from the Mekong area. The two are never named by name in the Duras novel or movie, but instead by these two terms.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
\nImage adapted from: Film Affinity<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Despite her privileges as a French citizen living in the French colony of Indochina, the 15-year-old girl comes from a poor, snobbish family who look down on the locals, with a disturbing upbringing. Her mother is a bitter local school teacher, while her older brother is an opium addict. The girl hates her dysfunctional family and is always on the lookout for a new horizon with fresh possibilities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"L'Amant\"
\nImage credit: <\/span>IMDB<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

The two first meet on a crowded ferry, where the stylish girl is standing by the rail wearing a linen dress, a fedora hat, and strikingly bright red lipstick. Looking pensively at the Mekong River, The Young Girl doesn’t know that she is being observed from a distance and secretly admired by a 32-year-old local man sitting in a swanky, chauffeur-driven limousine.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
\nImage credit: <\/span><\/em>Terrababayeva\/Tumblr<\/span><\/em>
\n<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

A guilt-stricken, whirlwind romance between the two begins, and they often meet at his apartment in Cholon. The<\/span> Chinaman<\/span><\/i>, as she calls him, treats her like his mistress while she, initially unsure of her feelings for him, sees him as some sort of sugar daddy who can give her a lavish lifestyle and a sex education.<\/span><\/p>\n

Back in the day, an interracial relationship between a French and an Asian was unfathomable. No matter how wealthy local people were, they would always be considered “second citizens” in their homeland of then-Indochina and inferior to French citizens.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"L'Amant\"
\nImage credit: <\/span>IMDB<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

When the girl’s family finds out about their liason, they are furious but willing to turn a blind eye because he’s rich and they want to take advantage of him.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Over time, the couple realizes that there’s no future for their <\/span>lust at first sight<\/span><\/em> affair. The Chinaman acknowledges that his strict and prominent family would never accept her, and that he would marry a local girl soon.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"L'Amant\"
\nImage credit: <\/span>Screen Themes<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Heartbroken by her own realization that he is more than just a guilty pleasure to her, the girl sneaks into his wedding for a last look at him before leaving for France.<\/span><\/p>\n

As she is standing on her ship that is slowly departing Saigon, she spots a mysterious yet familiar limousine parked on the dock. Inside it, of course, is the Chinaman taking a last look at her in silence, just like the first time they met.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
\nImage credit: <\/span>IMDB<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Mind you, this movie is nothing like a Vietnamese version of Romeo and Juliet. It\u2019s not sentimental, but instead loaded with erotic scenes as the lead navigates the strange waters of romance with her more experienced lover.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The duo\u2019s sexual adventures and all their intimate and physical details, however, are depicted with enough sophistication and control so that the movie doesn\u2019t devolve into a pornography.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Instead, the movie delves largely into <\/span>the protagonist\u2019s sexual adventures and maturation from adolescence to womanhood, and how sex between two strangers of different ages, races, and social classes can transpire with minimal personal communication.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

2. It is based on real-life events<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n

\"L'Amant\"
\nImage credit: <\/span>IMDB<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/a><\/em>As romantic and rarefied as the movie is, a majority of its details are based on true events and nearly all the characters are inspired by real people.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Young Girl<\/span>, <\/span><\/i>played<\/span> by <\/span>Jane March<\/b>, <\/span><\/i>can be understood as Marguerite Duras, born Marguerite Donnadieu – the writer of the original novel <\/span>L\u2019Amant <\/span><\/em>herself.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"L'Amant\"
\nMarguerite Duras<\/span><\/em>
\nImage credit: <\/span>Goodreads<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

The charismatic and wealthy <\/span>Chinaman<\/span><\/em>, played by <\/span>Tony Leung Ka-fai<\/b>, also existed in real life. He was believed to be L\u00e9o Hu\u1ef3nh Th\u1ee7y L\u00ea, a Vietnamese-Chinese businessman from Mekong, Vietnam.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"L'Amant\"
\nHu\u1ef3nh Th\u1ee7y L\u00ea<\/span>
\n<\/span>Image credit: <\/span>Mai V\u00e0ng<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

The love story between the two occurred from 1929 to 1931, during her two-year study at Lycee Chasseloup-Laubat, which is today\u2019s L\u00ea Qu\u00fd \u0110\u00f4n High School.<\/span><\/p>\n

As you all can tell from the movie, the lovers broke up in the end, with L\u00e9o Hu\u1ef3nh Th\u1ee7y L\u00ea marrying a local girl and Duras heading for France.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what happened in real life after their melodramatic separation.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 1933, Duras went to Paris, where she graduated from university with a bachelor’s degree in public law 3 years later. At age 25, she had become a full-time government staff member at the Ministry of the Colonies and married a writer named Robert Antelme.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Cinematically portrayed as a rebellious and adamant person always keen to test new waters, The Young Girl\u2019s characteristics were brought out strongly in Duras\u2019 real life.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

During World War II, she became more proactive in political work and even joined the French Communist Party and the French Resistance to fight the Nazi occupation of France. Her husband, also a member of the French Resistance, was held captive in a concentration camp.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"L'Amant\"
\nDuras in her youth
\n<\/span>Image credit: <\/span>Goodreads<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

In 1943, Duras shifted her career focus to writing and published her first novel under the pen name Marguerite Duras.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Duras was a prolific writer whose written works included novels, films, essays, plays, fiction, and autobiographies. Among those were <\/span>The Sea Wall, Moderato Cantabile, India Song<\/span>, <\/span><\/em>and the best-sellin<\/span>g <\/span>L’Amant<\/span><\/em> –<\/em> the basis for the 1992 film version.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On 3rd March 1996, Marguerite passed away from various chronic health issues.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

3. The writer was born in Saigon and spoke fluent Vietnamese<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n

\"L'Amant\"
\nBoarding school Pensionnat Lyautey, today Saigon University in District 1
\n<\/span>Image credit: <\/span>S\u00e0i G\u00f2n Vi Vu<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Even though Marguerite Duras was known worldwide as a French writer of French blood who spent most of her life in France, it remained unknown to many that she was born in Vietnam.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Marguerite Duras was born on April 4th, 1914 in Saigon in the then-Cochinchina of Indochina. Her parents were reportedly teachers at a French school in Saigon.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, Marguerite could speak Vietnamese fluently and had a strong grasp of the language and its grammar. At 17 while in France, she passed an examination for higher education admissions with the Vietnamese language as a subject test.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She also went to several schools in Saigon as well as in Phnom Penh in Cambodia, one of which included today L\u00ea Qu\u00fd \u0110\u00f4n High School.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

4. The writer lived in a villa at 141 V\u00f5 V\u0103n T\u1ea7n, District 3<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n

\"L'Amant\"
\nImage of the writer\u2019s last dwelling in Saigon, captured in 2019 <\/span>
\n<\/span>Image credit: <\/span><\/em>Google Maps<\/span><\/em>
\n<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

When the writer lived in Vietnam with her family, she lived in different estates, and sometimes in rural areas. <\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>However, during her last year spent in Saigon, she reportedly dwelled in a French villa at 141 rue Testard, today 141 V\u00f5 V\u0103n T\u1ea7n, Ward 6, District 3. The last time we checked, this villa has become a branch of Nam \u00c1 Bank, right next to the Estar Building.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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5. Most of the filming locations were in Saigon<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n

\"L'Amant\"
\nCholon<\/span>
\n<\/span>Image credit: <\/span>IMDB<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

During the making of the movie in 1991, Vietnam remained relatively closed to foreigners, especially international film crews.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"L'Amant\"
\nThe writer went to today L\u00ea Qu\u00fd \u0110\u00f4n High School, but this scene was shot at L\u00ea H\u1ed3ng Phong School<\/span>
\n<\/span>Image credit: <\/span>S\u00e0i G\u00f2n Vi Vu<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

But despite numerous political and financial obstacles, the movie director and producers still chose to film the movie in Vietnam, and that\u2019s why you will see many Saigon landmarks on the screen.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Had these places not been included in the movie, it would have been impossible to paint up the dreamy, East-West fusion vibe of colonial Saigon during the Indochinese epoch.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"L'Amant\"
\nConvent\u00a0of Saint-Paul\u00a0de\u00a0Chartres in District 1<\/em>
\nImage credit: <\/span>S\u00e0i G\u00f2n Vi Vu<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Watch out for the shots featuring the 1920s Hotel Majestic, L\u00ea Qu\u00fd \u0110\u00f4n High School, the Independence Palace, the Saigon Zoo<\/a>, and B\u00ecnh T\u00e2y Market (Cholon), which are stunningly recreated in the film.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"L'Amant\"
\nA scene featuring Sa \u0110\u00e9c<\/span>
\n<\/span>Image credit: <\/span>S\u00e0i G\u00f2n Vi Vu<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Many scenes were also shot in the Mekong Delta, the hometown of Hu\u1ef3nh Th\u1ee7y L\u00ea.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

6. The <\/strong>Chinaman\u2019s house is a tourist attraction today<\/strong> <\/span><\/h3>\n
\n

\"L'Amant\"
\nImage credit: <\/span>Th\u00e1m Hi\u1ec3m Mekong<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

To get a good idea of how rich the Chinaman really was, we strongly recommend a trip to his real-life home at 244A, Nguy\u1ec5n Hu\u1ec7, Sa \u0110\u00e9c, \u0110\u1ed3ng Th\u00e1p.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This ancient house was built in 1895 by <\/span>Hu\u1ef3nh C\u1ea9m Thu\u1eadn, father of L\u00e9o Hu\u1ef3nh Th\u1ee7y L\u00ea, and also a merchant from Fujian, China. The Hu\u1ef3nh family was among the wealthiest in <\/span>\u0110\u1ed3ng Th\u00e1p at the turn of the 20th century.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"L'Amant\"
\nImage credit: <\/span>Th\u00e1m Hi\u1ec3m Mekong<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

The property was first built in the vernacular style of southwestern Vietnam, spanning 258 square meters, featuring wood as the main materials, and with tiled roofs.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 1917, the owner gave the house a concrete coat and fashioned a Renaissance style on the exteriors with the extravagant use of arches, columns, and bas-reliefs – all imported from France. The interiors, however, remained unchanged. <\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Therefore, this ancient house has the appearance of a French villa but is loaded with traditional Chinese interior elements.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"L'Amant\"
\nImage credit: <\/span><\/em>Th\u00e1m Hi\u1ec3m Mekong<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/em>
\n<\/span><\/a>Because of its well-preserved structure, decadent designs, and partly because of the story, this ancient house has become a very popular tourist attraction since 2007. If you too are interested in finding out more about Duras\u2019 secret lover, you should pay a visit to this unique estate once it\u2019s safe to travel again.<\/span><\/p>\n

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7. The movie had many wins after its release<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n

\"l'amant\"
\n<\/span>Image credit: <\/span>IMDB<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

After its initial release in 1992, the film grossed $4,899,194 at the box office in the US alone and was an astounding financial success. It became a sensation with the general audience around the world and gained positive reviews from movie critics.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

L\u2019Amant<\/em> had a nomination for the 1992 Academy Award for Best Cinematography and seven nominations for the 1993 C\u00e9sar Awards, where it was awarded the Best Original Music.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 1993, the film won the Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing – Foreign Feature.<\/span><\/p>\n

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8. A school in Saigon is named after the writer<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n

\"L'Amant\"
\nImage credit: <\/span>Lyc\u00e9e Fran\u00e7ais International Marguerite Duras de Ho Chi Minh Ville<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Here is something that even Marguerite Duras didn\u2019t even know – in 2011, a French school was established in Saigon and named after her.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Situated in District 1, <\/span>Lyc\u00e9e Fran\u00e7ais International Marguerite Duras<\/span><\/a> is one of the few institutions in Vietnam to offer a full French curriculum from kindergarten to high school.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The school takes in students of all nationalities, with school fees ranging from EUR5,000-EUR7,000 per year.<\/span><\/p>\n

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L\u2019Amant is a film that does justice to sex and sexuality<\/strong> <\/span><\/h3>\n
\n

L\u2019Amant<\/em> is, in a nutshell, a vivid recollection of Marguerite Duras\u2019 youthful days in Saigon. <\/span>Steamy and passionate,<\/span> those days were spent without regrets by the main characters, despite their love being forbidden on the surface due to racial prejudice.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Aside from jaw-dropping visuals, splendid actors, and a great storyline, the movie also poses open-ended questions that make the readers of the book or the audience of the film unsatisfied.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Many of us can\u2019t help but question whether the lead and her lover were only infatuated with each other over sexual encounters, or if they were really in love at some point. \u00a0 <\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Also, it\u2019s impossible not to think that they might have ended up as a couple had Vietnamese culture been more open or had the racial barriers between the locals and French citizens not existed during the Indochinese era.<\/span><\/p>\n

Also check out:<\/span><\/p>\n