L'Amant
The Lover (French L'Amant) is an autobiographical novel by Marguerite Duras, published in 1984 by Les Éditions de Minuit. It has been translated to 43 languages. It was awarded the 1984 Prix Goncourt.
The Lover is also a movie based on this novel, directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud and starring Jane March, Tony Leung Ka Fai.
Plot Summary
This summary is for the 1991 film.
Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.
Set in 1929 French Colonial Vietnam, a teen-aged causcasian French girl (Duras) starts
an affair with a Chinese man from a wealthy family to escape her lonely
existence in boarding school. In private, their relationship is physically
and emotionally fulfilling. Due to the social and racial mores of the age,
in public they have to play the roles of concubine and suger daddy.
When the man is forced to take a Chinese bride by his family, the girl decides to
emigrate back to France. The film is noted for several sexually explicit scenes.
When the film opened, it gained notoriety for the under-aged protagonist and the possibility
that the actress Jane March was also under-age while filming.
