Anna and the King
Anna and the King
PG-13 | 16 December 1999 (USA)
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The story of the romance between the King of Siam (now Thailand) and the widowed British school teacher Anna Leonowens during the 1860s. Anna teaches the children and becomes romanced by the King. She convinces him that a man can be loved by just one woman.

Reviews
Hellen

I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

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Stellead

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

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FuzzyTagz

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

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Gary

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

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vincentlynch-moonoi

I rarely review a film which has already been covered this many time. However, I'll make an exception here because I visited and lived in Thailand for a total of nearly 4 years.It's difficult to make a judgment about this film because there are so many ways to look at it.For example, the story of Anna Leonowens is very basically true. She was the teaching governess of King Mongkut's children, and she certainly had a significant influence on Prince (and later) King Chulalongkorn; during a visit to Europe as an adult, he visited her long after her departure from Siam/Thailand. However, it is very unlikely that she had any undue influence on old King Mongkut, and it was certainly nothing like this film (or "The King & I") portrays. There is little, if any, evidence that there was a concubine named Tuptim or that that subplot has any truth to it. Nevertheless, it's a "fun" story to see...as fiction often is. Here I would say 30% history, 70% fiction. Additionally, I may be wrong, but I don't recall in Thai history King Mongkut's brother being killed as depicted in the film.In terms of the sets, the film must be judged very differently. They are magnificent and, for the most part, remarkably accurate. King Mongkut's throne room was not that large, but aside from that I would have to give the sets an A+.On the other hand, in terms of settings, the producers and directors were not as accurate. I've been most of the places depicted here, and other than in the Three Pagoda Pass and Nong Khai, all the other sites (Bangkok/Krung Thep; the seaside palace; and Anna's house) there are NO mountains, just the flat flood plain of the Chao Phrya River.But, while I am not fluent in Thai, I speak a bit of it, and much of the dialog was very well spoken Thai language. Some of the extras did not look Thai to me.Jodie Foster did a fine job of Anna Leonowens. Some have criticized her British accent, and I can't speak to that. But her acting was very good. Chow Yun-Fat, as King Mongkut, was fine, although if you look up photos of King Mongkut, you'll find he was actually a very homely man (and that's putting it politely). Other primary supporting actors did a very reasonable job.So, overall, I give this film fairly good marks, although certainly not for historical accuracy. For entertainment value, it's well done.

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James Hitchcock

Anna Leonowens is best-known today as the character played by Deborah Kerr in "The King and I", but she was a real person, not a fictional one, and her story was also told in the film "Anna and the King of Siam" from 1946 (which I have never seen). "Anna and the King" is Hollywood's second non-musical version of her story. Anna was a widowed British schoolteacher who travelled to Siam, as Thailand was then known, to become tutor to the many children and wives of King Mongkut. In reality she seems to have had little contact with the King himself, but her diaries suggested otherwise, and Westerners have long been fascinated by the supposed friendship which grew up between them. Some of the elements of this film will be recognisable to anyone familiar with "The King and I". Both films mention Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and feature a doomed romance between Lady Tuptim, one of the King's concubines, and a commoner. There are, of course, lots of outrageously cute children running about everywhere. The fictitious subplot in which Anna helps the King foil a military coup by a treacherous general, however, appears to be an invention by the scriptwriters for this film. Like "The King and I" the film was banned in Thailand on account of its allegedly disrespectful portrayal of King Mongkut; it would appear that the country's lèse-majesté laws protect not only the current monarch but also his predecessors. This rather heavy-handed censorship seems strange in a country which claims (or did until the recent military coup) to be a democracy; imagine the storm of protest which would have been unleashed had the British government, for example, attempted to censor "Mrs Brown" because of the way it depicted Queen Victoria. The film could not, of course, be shot in Thailand itself, and filming took place in Malaysia. The casting of Chow Yun-fat rather than a European like Yul Brynner as Mongkut seems to have been an attempt by the film-makers to placate local concerns, but does not seem to have succeeded in this aim. Racial sensitivities in the Far East are not always the same as Western ones- the casting of three Chinese actresses as Japanese characters in "Memoirs of a Geisha" gave rise to protests in both China and Japan- and to Thais the casting of a Chinese actor as one of their country's most revered monarchs may have seemed just as insensitive as the casting of a Westerner. Chow's interpretation of the role is rather different from Brynner's- more sensitive and less autocratic and self-assured. One thing which may have offended the Thais is the depiction of the relationship between Anna and the King. With Kerr and Brynner, it was clear that their relationship was based upon friendship and mutual respect, but the question of whether they had actually fallen in love was left discreetly unanswered. With Chow and Jodie Foster it is all too clear that they are in love, if not lovers in the sexual sense, and the historical accuracy of this is (to say the least) doubtful. The emphasis of the story has shifted somewhat since the days of "The King and I". That film was made in the mid-fifties, a period when many regions of the globe were still under European colonial rule, something subtly reflected in the script. The Siam ruled by King Yul was a charmingly backward country which needed to be dragged kicking and screaming into the nineteenth century, a task which would have been undertaken by the colonial powers had its own ruler not resolved to do it himself. Here Anna arrives in Siam inwardly convinced of the superiority of Western culture and that her role will be to play a part in the enlightenment of a barbarian nation. As the story progresses, however, she realises that the real situation is far more complex and that the West has as much to learn from the East as vice versa. The teacher is taught. The film is visually attractive and beautifully photographed, and features an excellent performance from Foster, possibly the most accomplished Hollywood actress of the nineties. She also copes well with her character's British accent, something which cannot be said of all American actors called upon to play British characters. (Foster's gift for accents is one of a number of characteristics she shares with Meryl Streep, possibly the most accomplished Hollywood actress of the eighties). The film does, however, suffer at times from a lack of plausibility, particularly in the subplot involving the rebel general, something inserted to turn it into a standard thriller with an identifiable villain. Were Siamese soldiers of this period really so badly trained that they would have mistaken the sound of fireworks for that of gunfire? "Anna and the King" makes for enjoyable viewing, but it might have worked better with a different denouement. 7/10 Some goofs. The story takes place during the early 1860s when King Mongkut would have been in his sixties, far older than the character played by Chow Yun-Fat. Reference is made to the "King of France", even though at this period France was ruled by Emperor Napoleon III. Admittedly, the distinction might have seemed academic to the Siamese, but no French diplomat would have committed the solecism of referring to his monarch as "le Roi" rather than "l'Empereur". And the royal children sing the song "Daisy, Daisy", which was not written until the 1890s, possibly as a satirical comment on Daisy Countess of Warwick, mistress of the Prince of Wales.

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lemondgrass

first of all as I was born and raise in Thailand. this movie is extremely disturbing and inaccurate in every mannor. the thai language had been spoken in this movie by the Chinese actors and actresses almost incorrect and can't be understand and the 2nd, Lady Tabtim according to the thai history stated to be very attractive woman of that time because she has south Asian (Indian descent) large eyes and curl hair - that is the ideal of beauty of thai people in old time which influenced by the Indian literatures -Beiling the Chinese actress as lady tabtim is a very poor choice and 3 rd, there is no thai princess names fa ying - this word means princess.

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Jackson Booth-Millard

The King and I was a great adaptation of the true story based on the lead female character's diaries, and then there's more realistic version from director Andy Tennant (Hitch). Basically, set in the 1890's, English school teacher Anna Leonowens (Jodie Foster), with her son Louis (Harry Potter's Tom Felton), is summoned to the palace of Siam by King Mongkut (Crouching Tiger's Chow Yun-Fat) to teach his fifty-eight children. It takes quite a while for Anna and the King to get to used to each other, but she wins over the royal children, especially Princess Fa-Ying (Melissa Campbell), very easily. Throughout the story, Anna tries to help the King get the respect of the English, but instead a war is started, she tries to avoid a forbidden romance being found out, and she cannot be near him when he has someone executed. Obviously their hate is not all the way through, it is obvious they grow stronger feelings for each other, though you never see anything happen, you get the idea. Also starring Ling Bai as Tuptim, Syed Alwi as The Kralahome - Prime Minister, Randall Duk Kim as General Alak, Kay Siu Lim as Prince Chowfa, King Mongkut's Brother, Keith Chin as Prince Chulalongkorn, Mano Maniam as Leonowens' Indian Servant Moonshee and Geoffrey Palmer as Lord John Bradley. Foster sports an impeccable English accent, Yun-Fat is alright at being mostly sweet-natured with a little majestic attitude, if the film wasn't so long and political it might be a little better, so I much prefer and recommend The King and I. It was nominated the Oscars for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration and Best Costume Design, and it was nominated the Golden Globes for Best Original Score for George Fenton and Best Original Song for "How Can I Not Love You". Okay!

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