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Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell

Play trailer 1:55 Poster for Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell 2024 2h 58m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
94% Tomatometer 54 Reviews 64% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
Winner of the prestigious Camera d’Or for best first film at this year's Cannes Film Festival, the enthralling Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell from Vietnamese filmmaker Thien An Pham is a reverie on faith, loss, and nature expressed with uncommon invention and depth. It's a simple tale told with visual complexity: after a car accident claims the life of his sister-in-law and leaves his 5-year-old nephew an orphan, a thirtysomething man named Thien (Le Phong Vu) leaves Saigon for a trip back to his rural hometown. During his meditative, wandering visit, Thien wrestles with his own agnosticism in the face of others' religious beliefs, summons memories of his long-disappeared brother, and reconnects with a former girlfriend who now lives as a nun at a Christian church and school. With its drifting camera, evocative use of natural light, and gratifying perambulatory nature, this is a film with the power to readjust one's perceptions of the world around us.
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Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell

Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell

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Critics Consensus

Following its own alluringly inscrutable path between past, present, reality, and dreams, Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell rewards patient viewers with an absorbing spiritual odyssey.

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Critics Reviews

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Peter Bradshaw Guardian Mar 5, 2024
5/5
The panoramic intelligence of this film is a wonder. Go to Full Review
Tim Cogshell FilmWeek (LAist) Feb 1, 2024
It's a slow roll, very much about the images, language, thoughts and ideas. Go to Full Review
Sergio Burstein Los Angeles Times Jan 30, 2024
The entire film is marked by the brilliant cinematographic language used by its director and screenwriter Phạm Thiên Ân, who, in his first long-term work, displays an impressive and calm handling of images. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review
Ellie Lucas trans|cendental cinema Jan 7, 2025
A work of quiet introspection that somehow feels as vast as the universe. Go to Full Review
William Stottor Loud and Clear Reviews Sep 3, 2024
3/5
The Caméra d’Or-winning Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell struggles to fully deliver on its initial promise of haunting, exploratory slow cinema. Go to Full Review
Lisa Laman Culturess Aug 22, 2024
Wanderers are everywhere. Less common are movies as precisely and beautifully crafted as Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Jade B @RT39813722 May 10, 2025 Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell is not for everyone, nor was it ever meant to be. What it DOESN'T offer: a clear-cut storyline, a clean ending, dramatic twists, high stakes, or emotional payoffs. What it DOES offer: breathtaking cinematography that invites viewers to linger, to listen between silences, to 'see what’s unsaid'. It’s quiet literary cinema. Largo sostenuto made visual. The cultural elements aren’t just decorative. They feel like an earnest attempt to preserve something impermanent. That said, I don’t consider it a flawless work. For a film in the quiet literary tradition, much of it feels overly staged, "theatrical" in a way that undermines its supposed restraint. The performances are also stiff, lacking organic rhythm. And while I appreciate slow cinema, the nearly 3-hour runtime stretches the material thin. I can understand why some may find it self-indulgent or even boring. See more Kylo R @RT09702031 Apr 2, 2025 it’s hauntingly beautiful and somewhat sad. Definitely not everyone’s cup of tea though! It’s the only way I can describe it. This movie is not about the plot. It’s about beautiful images. I couldn’t keep my eyes away from the scenes… See more Roberto T @robbiemu Mar 26, 2025 I am torn on how to rate this, because it is to me a 5 star movie that definitely NOT everyone should see. There is a relinquishment of responsibility here that is normal, following a heroic adoption of responsibility. The contents of the movie just reflect reality, but it is done with visuals and a stunning sense of time and sound that are purely meditative. In this way it is spectacular. Just purely based on the way it is shot, this is definitely one of the top movies you can watch. If you are ready for the contemplation, it is also a rewarding movie overall. I think it is challenging for anyone else. See more Tom G @RT39792058 Mar 7, 2025 Probably the best film I've watched in a few years. Carefully choreographed and beautifully filmed throughout. Mesmerising at times. Thought provoking and educational in equal measure. Proper film making. See more Matthew R @RT52830269 Sep 7, 2024 I know I'm supposed to like this and be all draw into the beauty and magnificence of the story....but I can't. Its incredibly slow and incredible long, almost 3 hours. I am sure the symbolism means something to those with a greater intellect than me but it just didn't work for me. See more sami p @RT36582613 Jul 31, 2024 A miserable snooze-fest in the case if you're looking for an actually interesting story on any merit... This is the first time in my life I've actually been worried of falling asleep during watching a movie. There's so many scenes you could find online for "sounds to fall asleep to ASMR" The damn thing has two scenes of elderly people rambling on about literally NOTHING relevant to the movie, just some random nonsense... See more Read all reviews
Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell

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Movie Info

Synopsis Winner of the prestigious Camera d’Or for best first film at this year's Cannes Film Festival, the enthralling Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell from Vietnamese filmmaker Thien An Pham is a reverie on faith, loss, and nature expressed with uncommon invention and depth. It's a simple tale told with visual complexity: after a car accident claims the life of his sister-in-law and leaves his 5-year-old nephew an orphan, a thirtysomething man named Thien (Le Phong Vu) leaves Saigon for a trip back to his rural hometown. During his meditative, wandering visit, Thien wrestles with his own agnosticism in the face of others' religious beliefs, summons memories of his long-disappeared brother, and reconnects with a former girlfriend who now lives as a nun at a Christian church and school. With its drifting camera, evocative use of natural light, and gratifying perambulatory nature, this is a film with the power to readjust one's perceptions of the world around us.
Director
Pham Thien An
Producer
Jeremy Chua, Tran Van Thi
Screenwriter
Pham Thien An
Distributor
Kino Lorber
Production Co
Deuxieme Ligne Films, Potocol, JK Film, Fasten Films
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Vietnamese
Release Date (Theaters)
Jan 19, 2024, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 19, 2024
Box Office (Gross USA)
$75.1K
Runtime
2h 58m
Sound Mix
Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
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