I would pay $4.50 to watch this movie

    "The Quiet American" is an OK movie. It isn't bad, it certainly isn't great. This type of movie is the problem with Michael Caine movies in general, if you ask me.
    Set in pre-Viet Nam Conflict Indochina, the story is about a British reporter, an American CIA operative, and their lover. Michael Caine plays the British correspondent well, and Brendan Fraser plays the American well. The movie is billed as a thriller, but it is much more interesting as a piece of historical fiction.
    If one is not familiar with American foreign policy of the 1950s, one might be shocked and surprised by the events in this film, and one might be drawn into the movie more than I was. I would have enjoyed the movie a lot more if I had been more able to identify with the state of naivete that Michael Caine's character seems to have been in. However, as it was, I was not really able to identify with any of the characters more than Tzi Ma's communist Vietnamese character, a supporting role.
    As an American, I have been exposed to the horrors of U.S. conduct during the 1950s, '60s, and '70s in Southeast Asia. Almost every American has been educated, at least to some degree, about these issues. Thus, the only surprises this movie can deal out are in the small details of plot. Unfortunately, the big street-bombing scene has been done before, in "Good Morning, Vietnam", and, in my opinion, it was done better.
    The reason this movie holds up is the breakdown. The acting is superb. As tepid as the characters may be, Michael Caine and Brendan Fraser are both outstanding. The sets are brilliant, the cinematography is ethereal and beautiful when it needs to be, and downright dark in other instances. The direction is tolerable, but the pacing is rather slow. The soundtrack is irritating, and evokes more of a sense or aesthetic displeasure than a sense of "being there," which I think was the intent.
    The movie maintains a focused feeling, which works well with a few characters moving around while large events occur around them. The interesting part of the plot, in my opinion, is that some washed-up old reporter with an opium addiction can manage to fight the forceful characters in his world effectively with only a simple cunning and native intelligence on his side. This falls under the standard wishful thinking that causes writers like Graham Greene to put writers in lead roles in books and causes people to believe that David beats Goliath on a regular basis. Regardless of any other snide little comments, it works for this story.
    Overall, this movie is worth a rental, or even waiting for the cheap seats. I'd suggest this movie to anybody who has finished watching all of the movies on his or her "must-see" list.