Saigon: Year of the Cat

Can love survive the fall of a nation?

Can love survive the fall of a nation? Judi Dench takes the role of an English woman working in Saigon who falls in love with a CIA analyst in the final chaotic days of the war in Vietnam. Written by acclaimed British playwright David Hare, whose adaptations include Oscar-nominated films The Reader and The Hours, directed by Stephen Frears (The Queen) and produced by Verity Lambert, this powerful production won BAFTA nominations in five categories in 1984, including Best Actress for Judi Dench and Best Single Drama for Stephen Frears. The conflict is officially over.

Temporarily insulated in the city's diplomatic quarter, Barbara Dean continues working as assistant manager in a foreign bank. On meeting American Bob Chesneau (Frederic Forrest), she quickly senses that he works for the CIA; in his reluctant role as an interrogator, he is only too aware of Vietnam s military reality. With time running out, they begin an intense affair. As Vietcong forces advance from the North, many of Saigon's remaining Westerners continue their daily lives in a state that approaches denial. But soon the frenzied evacuation of the city will begin, and their Vietnamese colleagues and allies will be left to face their fate alone.