The story is set in Saigon in the 1950's (It's so refreshing to see a film set in Vietnam that does not involve war and violence) it centres around the life of a ten year old girl Mui who is sent from the country to work as a servant for a somewhat dysfunctional, wealthy merchant family, Mui (Lu Man San) is clever and resourceful and she sees beauty in all that surrounds her, we see her going about her daily tasks, finding wonder in everything. The story is spiritual and embraces Buddhism.
Mui blossoms into a beautiful young woman (Tran Nu Yen-Khe), she leaves the family who have fallen on hard times and goes to work for a friend of theirs; a young, handsome musician, who is engaged...
The film won Camera d'Or at the 1993 Cannes film festival and was nominated for an academy award for best foreign film 1993. The film is in Vietnamese with subtitles but there is not much dialogue and as the film is so visually stunning, it's very easy to follow without even reading the subtitles.
