The Lover

Synopsis 

The movie takes viewers back to the sweltering and humid Saigon, with temperatures reaching 35 degrees in the 1920s. It depicts a sensual yet unsettling love story between a fifteen-and-a-half-year-old French girl and a thirty-two-year-old Chinese man. As time passes, life’s pace quickens and youth becomes more nimble, causing fewer people to long for the past. It’s only in our later years that we find the courage to reminisce about memories that are both ancient and distant, yet as vivid as if they occurred yesterday.

Dirertor’s Biography

Jean-Jacques Annaud, born in 1943, is a renowned French film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for directing impactful films such as Quest for Fire (1981), The Name of the Rose (1986), The Lover (1991), and Seven Years in Tibet (1997). Annaud’s outstanding contributions to cinema have earned him numerous awards, including four César Awards, a David di Donatello Award, and an accolade from the National Academy of Motion Pictures. Notably, his debut film Black and White in Color (1976) received an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. Annaud’s remarkable talent was further showcased in Seven Years in Tibet (1997), a film in which he collaborated with Brad Pitt and filmed in various stunning locations such as Argentina, Canada, Tibet, Nepal, and Tyrol. In 2001, Annaud brought together Jude Law and Ed Harris in the film Enemy at the Gates (2001), demonstrating his ability to work with esteemed actors and deliver compelling storytelling.