1950s Saigon through the eyes of Mui, a Vietnamese servant girl. At 10 years-old, Mui leaves her village to work for an affluent, troubled family. As she comes of age, Mui finds work in the household of a pianist she has admired since childhood, and finds their relationship growing in complexity.

Dir/Scr TRẦN ANH HÙNG left Vietnam at age 12, but returned 16 years later to Hồ Chí Minh City with plans to shoot Mùi đu đủ xanh on location in Vietnam. When accomplishing this proved too cumbersome, the film was instead shot entirely on a soundstage reconstruction of downtown Saigon in Bry-sur-Marne, France.