Srabanti Dasgupta

This is my first vietnamese movie. Following the protagonist Mui throughout the film we engage in her private delights, whether it's watching the fresh milky liquid drop on a leaf after plucking a fresh green papaya which is also framed by the window of her room, or watching her pet grasshoppers inside her green cage whom she feeds like her masters day after day with equal care. She is diligent and hard working winning her mistress's heart, not so much for her qualities but because she is the same age as the mistress's dead daughter would be if she was alive. The mistress is kind, going through her own challenges, listening to how worthless she is because her husband seeks other women (steals family money) and how she can't keep him happy. The 3 sons, one of them we don't see much, the second pours hot wax on ants (though does have a soft corner for his mother) and the third pees in vases. The mother in law who blames the daughter in law has isolated herself after her husband passed away in young age, she hasn't come down in 7 years we are informed by an admirer who lurks to catch a glance. He has followed the mother in law for decades now. 10 years pass by, Mui moves to a musician's home, a man she liked as a kid, even dressed up for. She continues her daily work with sincerity even if her master doesn't care much about her or the food she has cooked. He is kind of indifferent till one day he notices her, the perfect contours of her face that resembles the sophiscation of a sculpture. he seeks her, it's not difficult, he just had to enter her room. he doesn't bother to explain it to his fiancee who for some reason slaps mui for allowing her master to get on top of her. He gets Mui a book and teaches her to read because she must, now that he is into her. I will give it 3 stars for the cinematography and the lighting and the aesthetic pleasure. Both the homes shown in the film are very beautiful. The color palette and the clothing are pleasing and soft. The film isn't so much about a story, it's the moments we spend with Mui who takes joy in life's simple pleasures that feels meaningful.