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AT THE HEIGHT OF SUMMER (À LA VERTICALE DE L'ÉTÉ)
Tran Anh Hung, France/Germany/Vietnam, 2000
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When writer/director Tran Anh Hung showed his first feature, The Scent of the Green Papaya, he acknowledged that most Western journalists, unfamiliar with his name, assumed he was female. His uncanny depiction of women's psyche, subtlety and strength remains one of the Vietnamese filmmaker's most potent weapons and one he uses to great effect in this, his third feature.
At the Height of Summer begins by presenting a set of apparently very different characters. Women are the artisans, men the artists. The three sisters central to the drama prepare food while gossiping, laughing and indulging in light-hearted, wry philosophy. They embody bawdy bonhomie and ebullience, whereas two of their husbands earnestly sit around doing nothing except discussing the human soul, writing and photography.
But it slowly emerges that one element unifies them: all guard secrets unknown to even their closest partners. Behind the all-important 'face' presented to the outside world there nestles incestuous passion, hidden families and long-standing love affairs. When the three sisters meet to mark the anniversary of their mother's death, these secrets begin to seep out and they must reconcile their lives with their lies.
The narrative remains unmistakably Chekhovian. Sibling dynamics, unrealistic aspirations and the warfare of love are all explored with a welcome wit and an unsentimental realism that lend the piece a global and timeless relevance.
The slow burning action takes place largely in Hanoi. Through cinematographer Mark Lee Ping-Bin's lens this becomes a weirdly beautiful city. The Vietnamese capital is heightened into a vibrant city of rich shades, alien sounds and luminous sensuality.
The director coaxes a remarkable lead performance from his stunning wife, Tran Nu Yen Khe, and the soundtrack, fusing traditional Vietnamese music with Lou Reed numbers, provides another treat. Visually arresting, engaging and touching, it's tempting to suggest that this represents a director at the height of his powers.
Gavin Collinson
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The director was born in Vietnam but grew up in France, helping to explain why he cites Robert Bresson as a great influence.
