watch now! detail...
who's there? it's mui. ah, mui... i'll open the door. you can come in. follow me. the smell of the green papaya it's little mui,our new servant girl. poor thing, she walkeda whole day to get here.
if to was still alive,they'd be the same age. let's not talk about that... perhaps she's better offwhere she is now. it's the curfew soonand trung isn't back yet. mother's going to bed. i'll go up and help her. ah, trung... aren't you in bed yet, father? go back to sleep.the mistress said so.
i'll wake you to make the fire. remember... for this dish,the oil has to be hot. fry the vegetable. burn it for flavour. not too much or it gets all soft. then you put it aside. you do the same with the meat. put that in the water. fat make the boiled vegetable shine.it looks nicer.
whether it looks nice or not,we eat it. but the masters are different. once it's cooked... then share it between 2 plates. don't forget to keep some for us. there, grandmotherhas finished her prayers. put the vegetables in the water. whose mother is she? the master's. wash your hands.
she lost her husbandjust after the master was born. now, she spendsall her time praying. quick, put some rice in a big bowl. is it all ready? yes, it's ready. mui, take grandmother's tray. it's alright, i'll take it. take this one then. father, i'm eating outwith khuyen.
have your nap as usual. we'll be back for tea. and me, can l? no, you're too little. mui, go and get some more soup. mother would like youto keep her company during meals. i'm going up too! take this upstairs. eat up. you're going to be late.
no classes now, grandmother.it's summer holidays. ah yes, that's right... we're going, mum. khuyen and lwill be back for tea. alright, i'll buy cakes. good-bye, madam. good-bye. mui, you can eat now. lam, eat up, dear.
enjoy the meal, mum. here's your bowl. eat. there's no soup left.what a nuisance. upstairs or downstairs,we spread it out and have none left. after, wash the dishes. who was that man with mr trung? that's mr khuyen,mr trung's friend. eat up. tin! thank you. good-bye.
mui, wash your handsand go to buy 10 cakes. in 3 months, you'll go hometo visit your mother. thank you, madam. mui, hurry up. it's almost timeto light the fire. little girl... your name? i'm called mui. i see... you're mui... my name is thuan.
it's almost time for prayers. is grandmother well? yes, she's well. that's very good then! very good! thank you, little mui.good-bye... good-bye, mr thuan. where are you going? for some fresh air.
yes, in this heat,it's hard to sleep. watch out for the curfew. what heat... my god, what heat... it's alright... you can put your things awaytomorrow. you've worked enough today. get some rest. where are your parents?
do you have brothers or sisters? my father died three years ago. my mother and my sisterare still in my village. will you go to see them soon? the mistress said in three months,i'll see my mother again. that's good. the mistress is kind. before, who slept on this bed? a servant like you and me. she went home to get married.
is the photo on the altarthe grandmother's husband? yes. when he died,he was still young. who's the little girl? it's a sad story. she was the masters' daughter. her name was to. she died seven years ago. if she was still alive,you'd be the same age.
how did she die? a disease. but the master thinksit's his fault. why? seven years ago, the master left the housewith all the family's money. it was the third timehe'd done that. before, when he'd spent it all,he came back. but that time,he was away longer than usual.
but the other times,when he came back, she didn't say anything? nothing. not a single word. she was happy.she cried for joy. what about to then? the curfew... there, a little fresh air.the master must be back by now. three weeks after he left, to fell ill.
and the day before he returned,she died. he must have thought she died to atone for the sinshe had committed. that's why he never leavesthe house anymore. right, let's sleep... tomorrow, we have to be up early. mother... get up. it's time. you're lucky.
at your age,you still have sweet dreams. what did you dream about? i don't know... my god...i'd like to dream. but i haven't dreamed for ages.let's go and wash. some mornings, i wake up with the imageof an old woman in my mind. perhaps it's becausei dreamed at night. but i don't know if the old womanis my mother
or if she's me. my god, who's in the kitchenthis early? mistress, are you already up? any rice left? just enough for 4 or 5 days. this is for the market. make sure there's enough to eatfor a few days. see these earrings? the master has leftwith all the money again. my god!
let's go and clean our teeth, wash our faces,hands and feet. then comb our hair. and don't forget the toilet. no, not that one either. i'm sorry... it's alright. good-bye. what's wrong? i had a fight.
who with? the children. did they hurt you? is daddy home? no. go and ask muifor some clean clothes. when there's not enough, use a lot of salt.that way, they'll eat more ricewith the dishes. for the boiled vegetables.
mother said to start. ugh! it's too salty! look. eat. is it good? little mui... come here. i want to ask you something. thank you, mr thuan. we're almost out of rice.
we haven't sold a yard of cloth. two reels of cotton... what can we buy with the moneyfrom two reels? my god... it's your fault. if you'd known how to love him, he wouldn't have leftwith other women. i knew from the start: my son would be unhappy with you.
you have a husband and you don't knowhow to make him happy. alright, that's enough. what about the rest of the papaya? throw it away. enough! take this up. it's alright.you can go and eat. enjoy it, mother.
when will daddy be back? i don't know... eat. why are you crying like that? why doesn't daddy come home? shut up! thank you. my pleasure. good-bye. that's it, money for rice. go and buy 25 kg of rice.
hurry. we have to cut the meat. there... put that there. it's very good rice! - we have a guest tonight.- who? mr khuyen. who's mr khuyen? mr trung's friend, of course! can i fry the vegetableson my own? yes, if you want.
three years after grandfather died, she still loved her husband and refused to marry me. since that day, i've watched herfrom a distance. she's moved house several timesand i've always followed her. that's how we were able to meet,you and l. since to's death,grandmother hasn't been downstairs. i haven't seen herfor seven years now. tell me, little mui,
couldn't you get her downinto the yard so that i can see her? why don't you go to see her? if you hid, she wouldn't see you. no, that's not possible. if she saw me,it would be terrible. no, it's not possible. go on, go up! it doesn't matter.
my god! the mistress is fondof these vases. they're very old antiques. all my savingswouldn't be enough to buy one. mistress, wake up, quickly! a very valuable piecebut without its twin, it's worth next to nothing....it's up to you. alright, i accept. trung, quick!
10 years later mui! hurry!my mother wants to see you. for some time now,business has been slack. if it goes on like this,we'll have problems. the inner yard isn't usedfor anything. we should haveanother parrot farm. yes... we'll see... in that case, i'll ask around.
mother's talking to mui right now. mui won't be that badly offwith your friend khuyen. he lives aloneand writes music... his parents are rich. she'll be better paidthan she is here. i would have given these to toif she were alive. without knowing it,you've always been a great comfort. thanks to you,i feel i've had a daughter. lam has left.he needs somewhere to write.
now, you're the one who's leaving. for a long time, i hoped lam would take youas his wife. my daughter... my little daughter! don't eat!take me to a restaurant. have you got a lot done? play me what you've written. that smells good. how's your new servant?
alright. what does that mean, "alright"? she works hard... i'm not asking you that.but it doesn't matter. where's the vase i gave you? it's broken. broken? you mean: "she broke it"! if i say she did it on purpose,what would your answer be?
i wonder what percentageof women in vietnam have never touchedtheir fiance's head. my mother told me that before they used to teach girls that a well-educated womanshould never do it. she also saidthat it's almost two weeks since you last came to see us. your father's surprised too. in... my... garden...
there's... a... papaya... tree... the papaya... hang... in bunches... the ripe papaya... have a pale yellow colour. the ri... the ripe papaya... are sweet with a sugary taste. we've been raising a black dog for three years now.
his body is long. he has big feet. he has big feet and big ears. i'll start, okay? the spring water,nestled in a hole in a rock, shimmers softly when disturbed. the vibrations of the ground have given birth to strong waves
which crash togetherin an irregular swell on the surface,without cresting. if there 's a verbmeaning "to move harmoniously" it must be used here. the cherry trees,gripped in shadows, spread out and curl up, sway and twist,to the rhythm of the water. but the interesting thingis that... however much they change,
they keep the shapeof a cherry tree.
