Synopsis

The film centers on a young French widow and her two adolescent children as they attempt to carve out a meager life for themselves by farming rice fields alongside the ocean in French Indo-China in the 1930s. Their efforts are hampered each year by the presence of the sea, which invariably floods the fields with saltwater and wipes out the crops. In desperation, the mother realizes that their only hope lies in the construction of a sea wall to prevent continued flooding, but the mother must cut a swath through the local bureaucracy in an almost Sisyphean attempt to make this happen. Meanwhile, her obstinate daughter, Suzanne, draws the romantic obsessions of a well-to-do Chinese gentleman, Monsieur Jo. Though he could easily provide a way out, the possibility of a romantic relationship between Jo and Suzanne could just as easily fall prey to local racial prejudices that would damage or ruin the lives of both.

Main Cast

Gaspard Ulliel

Joseph

Age : N/A | Popularity : 48%

Isabelle Huppert

Madame Dufresne, la mère

Age : N/A | Popularity : 7%

Stéphane Rideau

Agosti

Age : 48 | Popularity : 37%

Astrid Bergès-Frisbey

Suzanne

Age : N/A | Popularity : 72%

Vincent Grass

Bart

Age : N/A | Popularity : 43%

Randal Douc

Monsieur Jo

Age : N/A | Popularity : 6%

Lucy Harrison

Carmen

Age : N/A | Popularity : 2%

Ingrid Mareski

une cliente occidentale du restaurant « Chez Bart »

Age : N/A | Popularity : 4%

Crew

Department	Role	Name
Directing	Director	Rithy Panh
Writing	Writer	Rithy Panh Michel Fessler
	Novel	Marguerite Duras
Crew	Cinematography	Pierre Milon
Sound	Original Music Composer	Marc Marder
Editing	Editor	Marie-Christine Rougerie
Production	Producer	Cati Couteau Catherine Dussart Frédérique Dumas-Zajdela
Costume & Make-Up	Costume Design	Edith Vesperini
Department	Role	Name

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