Anna & the King (B- or 2.5/4 stars)
The King & I returns to the screen once again in 'Anna & the King', directed by Andy Tennant. This is the story of Anna Leonowens (Jodie Foster), a widowed English schoolteacher who came to Siam in the 1860's to teach King Mongkut's (Chow Yun-Fat) 60 some-odd children. Yes, 60. The film begins with Anna & her son (Tom Felton) arriving in Siam. She has accepted a commission from the king to instruct all of his children (but his eldest son, Prince Chulalongkorn, played by Keith Chin, in particular) of Western ways. Upon arriving, she discovers that King Mongkut has not fulfilled his end of their bargain: to live in a house instead of the palace; and that she'd also have to teach one of his concubines, Tuptim (a surprisingly stellar Bai Ling).
At first, Anna & the king clash over the whole East vs. West issue (topics of equality, culture, etc.). Before long, some obvious chemistry is formed btwn. them. But as their fondness grows, so do tensions between Siam and England. And as Anna's home country looks disdainfully at her interaction with the king, so too do the King's opposers (neighbor country, Burma). 'Anna & the King' is a loooong film. Most of the material in the first 2 hours covers character development, Anna's adapting to Siam, dealing with the recent death of her husband, teaching the kids, & the King's burgeoning interest in her. But in the last half hour or so, the tone of the film changes drastically. War breaks out, innocent people die, pyrotechnics light the sky ... and then it all ends swimmingly with 10 minutes remaining.
'Anna & the King' is billed as an epic romance. That's mostly right. This is one of those big, old-fashioned, exotic, broadly themed movies that were made 50-60 yrs. ago. Chow Yun-Fat is quite stellar as the authoritative king. He is imposing, mercurial, yet compassionate -- I liked him, a lot. Jodie Foster inflects a pretty good British accent. And there are a few moments where she shines; having a decent character arc to work with. The 2 lead actors have charisma in the film, as well. As far as the visuals go, the movie is phenomenal. The cinematography is gorgeous. The art direction is appropriately lavish. The costumes are immaculate & varied (Western/Eastern). And I enjoyed George Fenton’s musical score.
Unfortunately, the pacing of the movie is WAY off. And the Siam/Burma war subplot that surfaces in the last half hour really detracted from the rest of the storyline. Political intrigue is one thing, but ridiculous adventure scenes (just to have them) is another. You know, the first 30 min. of the film are rapturous. The last 10 minutes are handled very nicely. But there's that 90 min. (or so) in the middle that had too many dead spots; breaking momentum. And for as much as I liked the ending, it couldn't make me forget all the insipid moments. 'Anna & the King' is standard family entertainment. It's beautifully mounted, occasionally amusing & pleasant. But it's also not intrinsically interesting enough to warrant heaps of praise.
At first, Anna & the king clash over the whole East vs. West issue (topics of equality, culture, etc.). Before long, some obvious chemistry is formed btwn. them. But as their fondness grows, so do tensions between Siam and England. And as Anna's home country looks disdainfully at her interaction with the king, so too do the King's opposers (neighbor country, Burma). 'Anna & the King' is a loooong film. Most of the material in the first 2 hours covers character development, Anna's adapting to Siam, dealing with the recent death of her husband, teaching the kids, & the King's burgeoning interest in her. But in the last half hour or so, the tone of the film changes drastically. War breaks out, innocent people die, pyrotechnics light the sky ... and then it all ends swimmingly with 10 minutes remaining.
'Anna & the King' is billed as an epic romance. That's mostly right. This is one of those big, old-fashioned, exotic, broadly themed movies that were made 50-60 yrs. ago. Chow Yun-Fat is quite stellar as the authoritative king. He is imposing, mercurial, yet compassionate -- I liked him, a lot. Jodie Foster inflects a pretty good British accent. And there are a few moments where she shines; having a decent character arc to work with. The 2 lead actors have charisma in the film, as well. As far as the visuals go, the movie is phenomenal. The cinematography is gorgeous. The art direction is appropriately lavish. The costumes are immaculate & varied (Western/Eastern). And I enjoyed George Fenton’s musical score.
Unfortunately, the pacing of the movie is WAY off. And the Siam/Burma war subplot that surfaces in the last half hour really detracted from the rest of the storyline. Political intrigue is one thing, but ridiculous adventure scenes (just to have them) is another. You know, the first 30 min. of the film are rapturous. The last 10 minutes are handled very nicely. But there's that 90 min. (or so) in the middle that had too many dead spots; breaking momentum. And for as much as I liked the ending, it couldn't make me forget all the insipid moments. 'Anna & the King' is standard family entertainment. It's beautifully mounted, occasionally amusing & pleasant. But it's also not intrinsically interesting enough to warrant heaps of praise.