The Quiet American
The Quiet American is made into a movie
The Quiet American, Graham Greene's prophetic novel is being turned into a big budget Hollywood movie. It provides an insight into Greene's analysis of pre-Vietnam international politics.
Greene believed the bombings of Saigon Square in 1952 were the result of early US interference, as they tried in the early fifties to find a 3rd Force to take over from the French colonialists and fight the Communists. This army came from the unusual 'Kayodai' religious sect. The American role in world affairs is examined. The film asks how far you should go to achieve a goal that is for the good of another country. The book was dismissed upon publication in the US in 1955 as 'Anti-American', but had a few more Generals read it, the whole futile bloody mess that was the Vietnam War may have been avoided. This feature talks to veterans from both sides, as the past is re-created, and the situation re-examined.
FULL SYNOPSIS
Produced by ABC Australia