It is often difficult to swallow the "romanticization" of a good story. Anna Leonowens was a rather narrow-minded woman who, nevertheless, had the gumption to do something interesting with her life -- largely because she needed the money. She went to Siam, taught the King's many children, and eventually departed. She wrote a journal with silly insights into a profoundly serious and sophisticated culture. It is unlikely she exchanged more than two words with the King during her stay. He was, after all, a busy man, and she was basically the help -- even if she was somewhat out of the ordinary.
In pitching the film, Anna star Jodie Foster said that this story would be the most truthful to Leonowens' experience (unlike the adored, but totally manufactured, musical). However, the truth is often incompatible with the market and with an A-list actor's ego. Foster's insistence on playing heroines who always do the right thing is becoming rather tedious. She is tightly coiled in the film, musters a rather bad British accent, and, is really quite irritating. You want to slap her, or at least get the King to loosen her up with his lauded lover's technique. Perhaps Foster is trying to balance myth and reality; in that case, her schizophrenic performance merits some critical notice.
The true stars are the Asians -- Chow Yun Fat shows you can take a Hollywood confection and make something of it; the same can be said of the hauntingly beautiful ladies who portray Lady Thiang (Deanna Yusoff) and Tuptim (Ling Bai). And the art direction and costumes certainly deserve the kudos that came their way.
Of course, it would have been too much to stick with the real story. There's nothing like a platonic inter-racial, cross-cultural, going-nowhere-but-the-stars romance to liven things up. The problem is Foster is not really good with men, and the plot is further convoluted by politics with Burma -- an issue on which Anna, of course, has enlightened opinions that she shares with the King and the British representatives (as if they would have cared).
Such a lovely premise, such banal delivery. One day, someone may get this story right. Perhaps the Thai film industry could take a crack at it.
In pitching the film, Anna star Jodie Foster said that this story would be the most truthful to Leonowens' experience (unlike the adored, but totally manufactured, musical). However, the truth is often incompatible with the market and with an A-list actor's ego. Foster's insistence on playing heroines who always do the right thing is becoming rather tedious. She is tightly coiled in the film, musters a rather bad British accent, and, is really quite irritating. You want to slap her, or at least get the King to loosen her up with his lauded lover's technique. Perhaps Foster is trying to balance myth and reality; in that case, her schizophrenic performance merits some critical notice.
The true stars are the Asians -- Chow Yun Fat shows you can take a Hollywood confection and make something of it; the same can be said of the hauntingly beautiful ladies who portray Lady Thiang (Deanna Yusoff) and Tuptim (Ling Bai). And the art direction and costumes certainly deserve the kudos that came their way.
Of course, it would have been too much to stick with the real story. There's nothing like a platonic inter-racial, cross-cultural, going-nowhere-but-the-stars romance to liven things up. The problem is Foster is not really good with men, and the plot is further convoluted by politics with Burma -- an issue on which Anna, of course, has enlightened opinions that she shares with the King and the British representatives (as if they would have cared).
Such a lovely premise, such banal delivery. One day, someone may get this story right. Perhaps the Thai film industry could take a crack at it.