MISS SAIGON: 25th ANNIVERSARY
UK, 2016, 141 minutes, Colour.
Jon Jon Briones, Eva Noblezada, Alistair Brammer, Kwang- Ho Hong, Tamsin Carroll, Hua all gh Maynard. Will
Directed by Brett Sullivan.
This is a theatrical performance, on a lavish stage, with moments of applause from the theatre audience. There has been no film version of Miss Saigon.
The immediate impact of this production is the stagecraft, the recreation of the clubs and brothels of Saigon during the war, the more intimate sequences in homes, the evacuation of Saigon, with the famous helicopter scene, the aftermath of the war both in the United States, in Vietnam after re-education camps, the re-establishing of clubs with Vietnamese personnel, especially in Bangkok.
The costumes and decor are quite lavishly done.
The main impact of the film is as music theatre. Miss Saigon has been written by Alain Boublil and Claude- Michel Schonberg, who, in the 1980s, and ever since, have been celebrated for Les Miserables. Their lyrics and score for this piece are similar in style, this one more recitative rather than having melodies although the almost finale, The American Dream, is memorable both in words and music.
The plot is very much a variation on Madame Butterfly. The initial focus is on Kim, Noblezada, a young girl from the country whose family has been killed and who has been betrothed to a local man (Kwang- Ho Hong) but who comes to the city in order to survive. She goes to a club, meets the compere, The Engineer (Jon Jon Briones), a man of sleaze, charm, an entrepreneur. This version spends a lot of time on life and activity in the club. There are songs by The Engineer, the young woman and an older woman who works in the club, a plaintive song.
Enter the Americans. The lyrics and recitations make a great deal about the war, especially from the point of view of the American GIs, their being far away from home, the experience of the jungle war, a great deal of bewilderment, use of drugs, issues of sex. The centre of attention is Chris (Alitair Brammer), the equivalent of Pinkerton from Madame Butterfly, who is desperate, is manipulated by The Engineer, is attracted to Kim, begins a relationship with her, her first sexual relationship. Chris makes a number of promises – but, this early part of the production, while important in its theme, is much less interesting than what develops, and the two central characters are not as striking as they might be. Kim will later make quite an impact.
Chris is ordered back home, has interactions with an African-American? officer, John (Hugh Maynard), his friend who is concerned about him and his relationships. Later, Kim will have a flashback and there will be the staging of Saigon, 1975, the panic, the surrender, everybody trying to escape, the locals wanting American contacts to take them to the US, Chris taken away in the helicopter, Kim left behind, pregnant.
The action moves to 1978, Kim with her little boy working with The Engineer who has been, allegedly, re-educated. He has been found by the Vietnamese Commissar, the man to whom Kim had been betrothed and who wants to find her. This leads to a confrontation and Kim shooting him – and he will later appear as a ghost wanting her.
In the meantime, rather effectively, we are introduced to Chris and his wife, Ellen (Tamsin Carroll), his wife having significant songs about the situation, learning about Kim and the child, what she must do. This is reprised when John, now an official, takes Chris and his wife to Bangkok to find Kim. The scenes with John are quite strong as are the scenes with the wife actually meeting with Kim.
The main thing for Kim is to get her child to America, to safety and prosperity – and then, the Madame Butterfly suicide with her gun.
Interspersed in this drama, breaking the tension about Kim and the child and the US, is a very flamboyant song from The Engineer, most satirical in its lyrics, The American Dream.
The film was made on the 25th anniversary of the original production with a documentary accompanying it, commentary from producer Cameron Mackintosh, scenes from the original stars, Lea Salonga as Kim and Jonathan Pryce as The Engineer.
This is a version for the record – and for those who do not have the opportunity to see Miss Saigon in theatre.
