TORONTO -- Nine years in development, Australian Phillip Noyce's The Quiet American is a return to the top ranks for Michael Caine because he's the star player and not just in support.

But the film, set in Vietnam in the early 1950s when the French were losing ground and the Americans were just arriving, was and still is a struggle.

"If anything's edgy, everybody's afraid of it," Caine said yesterday. "Miramax (the U.S. backer and distributor) weren't going to release it -- and now they are. Even that got edgy. They were worried about things that are not there in the movie (he's talking about political concerns). It's not a political story. It's a spy story, a love story and a thriller."

And Toronto is the perfect place to launch it, Caine said.

"Absolutely, because we're not Spider-Man or something. We've got to find a platform to bring people's attention to it. And this does it for us -- and that's why I'm here.

"It's absolutely essential. And it's a lovely place to be and it's fun. The Cannes film festival gets so fraught. You can't leave the room, if you're any sort of celebrity at all. You can't go for a walk. Here I get out of the hotel and stroll around. It's great. They just leave you alone and say: 'Hi, Mike!' and go on."


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