Emotionally and politically complex beyond what most filmmakers would dare attempt.
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02/07/03
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The Quiet American (2002)
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Reviews Counted:140
Fresh:124
Rotten:16
Average Rating:7.8/10
Consensus: Thoughtful and wonderfully acted, The Quiet American manages to capture the spirit of Green's novel.
Theatrical Release:Nov 22, 2002 Limited
Box Office: $12,843,884
Synopsis: Set in Saigon, Vietnam, in 1952 during the French Indochina war, THE QUIET AMERICAN is based on the mystery story by Graham Greene, and directed by Phillip Noyce. A middle-aged British reporter for... [More]
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Reviews for The Quiet American
For Caine, it's a peak performance in a career that has had many of them.
02/07/03
Top CriticA mournful drama that insinuates itself into your thoughts.
02/07/03
A complex thriller worth shouting about.
02/07/03
It's a political story -- and an uncannily timely one -- yet the politics fade into the background in the wake of Caine's complex and splendid performance.
02/07/03
With terrific performances and a masterfully deft directorial touch by Noyce, the film is nothing short of hypnotic and engaging.
02/07/03
Old-fashioned storytelling in the best sense of the term.
02/07/03
Top CriticThis is a smart and literate effort that despite some weaknesses in overall conception has one undeniable virtue: There's not a single weak scene.
02/07/03
Top CriticPerhaps only Peter Bogdanovich's Singapore-set Saint Jack (1979) has better caught this humid expatriate dream of decay, desire and death.
02/07/03
The rare movie that's as crisp and to the point as the novel on which it's based.
02/07/03
Through Noyce's elegant approach to storytelling, and through the authenticity of the locations and the Vietnamese people on screen, it embodies a subtle yet substantial sense of power and dignity.
02/07/03
A fine film anchored by a terrific performance by one of cinema's most accomplished actors.
02/07/03
Top CriticCaine is the center of this film and he's never been more brilliant and less blinding.
02/07/03
This story still seems timely and important. And there's an element of heartbreak to watching it now, with older and wiser eyes, because we know what will happen after Greene's story ends.
02/07/03
Top CriticCaine [gives] the richest performance of his career in this sage and provocative film.
02/07/03
A rare Western feature shot in Vietnam, with real locations and sets that look well-worn enough to be real, with wonderful performances.
02/07/03
Top Criticraser has finally made good on his hesitant dramatic turn in Gods and Monsters a few years back.
02/07/03
The narrative is lean, the supporting performances are solid, and, perhaps most crucially, the emotional tone of the piece is spot-on.
02/07/03
Caine's imperial world weariness gives the movie a vital potency.
02/07/03
Top CriticClick to read the article
02/07/03
Latest News for The Quiet American
April 29, 2008:
Philip Noyce Learning The Art of Making Money 
Philip Noyce is in talks to direct DreamWorks' The Art of Making Money, a film about notorious counterfeiter Art Williams. More...
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