A bold and absorbing second adaptation of Graham Greene's 1955 novel of love and political intrigue in Vietnam (and more faithful to the book than the 1958 version). The film conveys all the colour and atmosphere of its locale, and the actors, especially a compelling Michael Caine, do great justice to the strong, nuanced characters.

The film opens with Thomas Fowler (Michael Caine), a Times reporter in 1952 Saigon, starting to recount to the French police his relationship with Alden Pyle (Brendan Fraser), an American found murdered.

We then follow the story from their first meeting. Fowler lives a sedate life in Saigon (at the time it was not yet a newsworthy place to most of the world), penning the occasional story, smoking a little opium, and conducting an affair with Phuong (Do Thi Hai Yen), his young mistress. One day he meets Pyle and takes a liking to the thoughtful "quiet American." Pyle explains he's there working on the medical side of a US aid program.

Turmoil comes when the Times calls the unproductive Fowler back to London and to stave them off he goes to northern Vietnam to get a story about a supposed communist massacre of villagers. He leaves Saigon knowing Pyle has developed strong feelings for Phuong. But Pyle suddenly appears in the north, apparently to admit to Fowler his love for Phuong and his desire to give her the life she needs, to "protect her."

The love triangle mirrors the political struggle, Phuong representing Vietnam itself, a country outsiders are fighting for influence over. It becomes clear Pyle's role in the US presence in Vietnam is not nearly as innocent as it seems, and Fowler's discoveries about the exact nature of US "aid" puts them on opposite sides.

However, the characters do not merely represent clear-cut sides of the larger struggle between the old world order and the Americans. Fowler and Pyle both have their faults, strain to treat each other with the civility given to onetime friends, and even at the end struggle with the moral choices they have to make that will harm the other.

Caine plays Fowler as less of a cynic than in the novel, and this vulnerability heightens the relationships between, and the stakes for, the characters. Fraser moves convincingly from his zealous naif to more steely operator convincing himself of his mission's objectives. Do Thi Hai Yen is radiant, and plays Phuong not just as obedient Vietnamese mistress, but intelligent, genuinely affectionate, and compliant due mainly to circumstances.

This film's release was apparently delayed because of perceived post-September 11 sensitivity about criticism of American foreign policy. For sure, US policy is criticized, but there is no grand sermonising, and nobody, including the French colonials or Vietnamese, comes out unscathed. It is important and fascinating to see films with such honest debate and moral examination.