Anna And The King


Starring Jodie Foster, Chow Yun-Fat, Bai Ling, Tom Felton. Directed by Andy Tennant.

Anna Leonowens (Foster) has been hired by King Mongkut of Siam to teach his eldest son the English language, modern science and Western culture. She and her son Louis (Felton) have just arrived in 1862 from the British colony India into Bangkok. While the King's subjects bow in his prescence, Anna speaks directly to the king as his equal. But instead of being angry with her, he admires her intelligence and forthrightness, and insists she educate his other children and some of his 20 plus wives and concubines. Soon after her arrival, a young Siamese woman (Bai Ling) is reluctantly conscripted to be the king's wife. In love with another man, she attempts to forget her past and serve her king.

Striving to maintain Siam's independence, the King is facing pressure to modernize and trade with Britain, military threats from French colonies Cambodia and Vietnam, and recent terrorist raids from roving Burmese troops, despite the fact Burma is a British protectorate. As well, Anna and the King continually clash over the patriarchical ways of Siamese society, and the British superiority complex convinced that they have nothing to learn from their colonies. Despite their very different backgrounds, and the wariness and distrust of Mongkut's subjects over the influence of Anna, both grow to respect and even love each other.

Based on the true story of Anna Leonowens' relationship with the King of Siam, this story has been told several times before, most famously with Deborah Kerr and a bellowing Yul Brynner. What this remake has going for it is that it is filmed in modern-day Siam, and filmed beautifully. Shot among ancient temples and palaces, lush jungles and hills beside flowing rivers, and a cast of thousands of people native to the area, the movie illustrates a world seldom filmed or seen in North America. The costumes and set designs are visually attractive and authentically evoke a time long past. It is not too heavy handed in its illustration of the male-dominated culture in the far east, nor the imperialist racism of the British over the peoples it colonized. The straying of Mongkut's new wife, her subsequent trial and execution is quite moving and beautifully shown. What it does not have going for it is a fairly mundane script, and a far too long running time of over two hours - it drags in spots. And those spots are most often in the often overly sentimental moments, such as when the King is putting on the oh-so-proper moves on his kids' schoolteacher. This romance might have been more believable but unfortunately, there is not a lot of chemistry between Foster and Yun-Fat.

Performance-wise, Yun-Fat delivers a surprisingly believable and dignified performance, delivering far more than his action film background would have suggested. Foster isn't bad, but she has been better, coming off a bit stilted trying to maintain her British accent. A very strong performance is delivered by Bai Ling, delivering impassioned defence of herself at her trial, and moving dignity at her death. Overall, Anna And The King is a lushly filmed trip into an intriguing part of the world, and those looking for a little history or romance should be satisfied.




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