Beneath this melodramatic tale about a woman and her adopted Vietnamese daughter both being in love with the same handsome naval officer, there's an attempt to whitewash French colonialism in what was then Indochina.

Catherine Deneuve and Linh Dan Pham are the two women, Vincent Perez the object of their affection. Although the core story is very simple, there's a lot more going on, with the French grip on the country loosening and talk of rebellion in the air.

A worthy film, then, and it did win the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar in 1993.

Performances, especially Deneuve's, are very good and the tale is involved enough to hold you attention. Pity it's just so long-winded, though.