Way, way, way overrated-

Of course its dull, if you believe it to be something that its not.

As the poster above you stated, the story is Graham Greene's interpretation of events at the end of the First Indochina War, leading up to the United States involvement in the Second Indochina War. The characters are an analogy for the political motivations and moral consequences of the time. Perhaps if you read the book, or strove to understand the historical context of the film you would gain a greater sense of enlightenment from the story.....or not..bimbo.

i saw this movie when i was 12 and i thought it was good. it wasn't dull. at least i understood it.

I haven't seen this, but it's on tonight so gonna watch.

This line kind of bothers me:

"Nobody is really good or bad, just lots of different grey's inbetween"

Yep well welcome to the real world.

Fraser was just like the way he is in the book. Caine was the one who didn't play the character accurately.

Its a good film. I first heard about "The Quiet American" when I was reading Niall Ferguson's book Colossus "The Rise and Fall of The American Empire" (execllent btw) and there is a quote from the novel. I would like to read the novel at some point also.

The point of the story is that Fowler is an old tired cynical British man that has lived through the British Empire at its height. He lived through WW1, WW2 (the end of the Empire proper) in which a new world order has replaced the Empires of Europe and Britain and France among others are now grasping at straws to keep territories. It is an uncertain world in which they are no longer relevant now that USAs new Empire, and the Soviet Union other and Communist movements are the powers of the day.

All taking place in a nuclear age, space age, a jet age, an assault rifle age. Britain's people are still on rations and Europe is heavily in debt yet Japan and Germany are only getting better. America is now the focus of the western world. Everything American is considered exciting and fresh. Britain's own youth are more interested in hollywood movies, American rock music, big shiney cars, home appliances, advertising and not Rudyard Kipling, The Empire, or traditional British products or values. The teenager is born. India has been lost. Korea is ongoing. Dollar has replaced the Pound. Britain is trying to find a place in this new world. It develops excellent jet fighters, assault rifles, an independent nuclear deterrent, passenger air craft, even a space program only to have America either directly sabotage, force the British to choose the American option, or fail due to lack of resources and have no choice.

I suspect Fowler (Greene too) is somewhat resentful of America/ns. And Pyle the all American handsome exciting young man, always smartly dressed, (along with all the new naive ideals of liberty, globalisation, empire by invitation, republicanism, being anti imperial yet not realising that it is the same process repeating itself under different names) represents the USAs new dominance. Hence fowler being so fearful that he will take Phuong, knowing that he himself is no match. Not ignoring fact that he is too old to have children, he is past it, like the nation he represents. I think many people miss the significance of the time it was written,or the Britsh author.

Of course Greene was right, America was/is just as bad/worse as any European colonialist. Vietnam was doomed, and the CIA do evil things. And im glad he gave a happy ending for fowler. Perhaps that represents something too.