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The Lover
1992
In the Indo-China of the 1920's, a 15 year old French schoolgirl and a wealthy Chinese man more than twice her age are thrown together by a twist of fate. It is a moment of instant attraction and before long the couple find themselves caught up in an affair of uncontrollable desires. But this is a forbidden love... Read more
| Starring | Jane March, Tony Leung Ka Fai, Frederique Meininger, Jeanne Moreau |
|---|---|
| Director | Jean-Jacques Annaud |
| Genres | Drama |
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The Lover
In the Indo-China of the 1920's, a 15 year old French schoolgirl and a wealthy Chinese man more than twice her age are thrown together by a twist of fate. It is a moment of instant attraction and before long the couple find themselves caught up in an affair of uncontrollable desires. But this is a forbidden love...
| Starring | Jane March, Tony Leung Ka Fai, Frederique Meininger, Jeanne Moreau, jeanne moreau (voice) |
|---|---|
| Director | Jean-Jacques Annaud |
| Studio | SONY PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMENT |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 50 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Drama |
| Language | DVD: English |
| Released | DVD: 22 Aug 2005 Production year: 1992 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (2)
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Jean-Jacques Annaud (The Name Of The Rose, Seven Years in Tibet) raised a few eyebrows back in 1992 with this steamy tale of a girl's sexual awakening in 1920s' Indo-China. Based on Marguerite Duras's novel, it did feature young star Jane March in various states of undress, but there was really nothing much to get steamed up about. March plays a 15-year-old schoolgirl who ends up losing more than her inhibitions with older man Tony Leung — cue lots of exploration in darkened rooms, a voice-over by Jeanne Moreau, and a few deep and meaningful moments which March is too out of her (acting) depth to be able to convey.
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Late '20s Indo-China. A 15-year-old schoolgirl leans wistfully on the rail of a ferryboat crossing the Mekong.... read more on Time Out
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Most helpful member's review
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20 out of 21 people found this review helpful
A Sensual Movie With A Difference
It's not often I get to see a movie like this. The story of The Lover potrays a most complex and provocative relationship between a young French girl (Jane March) and a Chinaman (Tony Leung). The two lovers' attraction towards each other are purely physical, but there are a lot of psychological burdens and suffering that they can't break free from, since the two of them are psychologically washed-up people who lives within the shackles of society that they live in. At times they treat each other cruelly while at times they treat each other with tender affection, yet we don't know whether they feel true love for each other or not. That's where the story gets very interesting and different.
The sex scenes are indeed graphic, but by no means done in bad taste or just for the sake of sex. The film is much more than about lust, it is about two lovers who found refuge in each other's arms. Jane March and Tony Leung gave great performances, showing the subtleties of conflicting emotions that they had to endure. Beautifully paced storyline with great atmosphere and soundtrack will make this a worthwhile movie experience. Very highly recommended -
Most recent members' review
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8 out of 10 people found this review helpful
My Lover
I guess I saw this film when it came out in the early nineties, and had forgotten about it until noticing it here – I can’t imagine it’s been shown on the telly. The good points about it are: the beautifully filmed location – presumably in the Vietnam in which it is set; and the equally beautiful Jane March :o)
The bad points are quite basic. The acting, especially from the main characters – both speak with zero expression, maybe so that the film can be dubbed. The narration from Jeanne Moreau is also rather irritating – she makes it sound as though she is reading from a book. One of the most glaring inconsistencies was at the start of the first love scene – the author says he ‘tore the dress from the girl’, when on film he did nothing on the sort.
As said, a beautiful film to watch, but I suggest it wouldn’t harm to watch with the sound turned down! -
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