8. The Lover (1992)
The protagonists are known only as The Young Girl and The China Man. The Young Girl is the daughter of has been colonials living in Vietnam. She wears bright red lipstick and a man's fedora when she is out of sight from her mother. Her family are French - her mother is a school teacher and she has two brothers - one violent, one timid. The Girl is very clever at school and enjoys writing. She meets the the China Man on a ferry. He is the son of a wealthy businessman. He looks like a playboy but he lacks the backbone. Nevertheless, when he sees the girl he is captivated. He offers her a ride to Saigon and they swap details. He picks her up at her boarding school the next day and brings her to his quarters for sex. They know their affair is doomed. The China Man is to marry a rich Chinese heiress and the girl has to go to Paris soon. They agree to make the best of their time together while they last. The girl's family discover the affair and are disgusted at first and then pleased because the China Man can pay their debts. The passionate affair continues and the China Man even begs his father to let him marry the young girl. Of course his father would never allow him to marry a white girl. Both are devastated. The China man marries his heiress. The young girl goes back to school. Years later they meet and the China Man tells the girl he never stopped loving her. The film is primarily about love rather than sex, although there is an awful lot of the latter taking place. Sex represents escapism for the characters, they know their love is headed for the scrap heap so they indulge in as much sex as possible to try and get that thought out of their heads and also show defiance in the face of adversity. The sex scenes are graphic, but not gratuitous. It is a beautiful tale of sexual awakening.