nice attempt and good idea ( redemption of the prostitute and human being help each other out and . ) but a poor result . the director obviously try to emulate his french colleague tran anh hung by recreate an ambiance which be suppose to portray viet nam . the only problem be that this viet nam be long go and when the scent of the green papaya have a historical background . try to project this kind of ambiance ( muffled sound and the slow pace of life . ) on modern day leave a feeling of fake . besides it rapidly create a sentiment of boredom and the outcome become too obvious . i can only suppose the action take place in saigon or da nang because that be where harvey keitel and ex marine in the movie and be probably station during the war . but in southern viet nam nobody or very few people speak with the clip northern accent display by the actor . seriously odd even for a bad vietnamese speaker . an old poet with leprosy . very doubtful ( not a disease for people of his condition ) and a peasant girl who can read and write elaborate vietnamese poetry and . even more doubtful . .