Anna and the King
The story of the romance between the King of Siam and the widowed British schoolteacher Anna Leonowens during the 1860′s.
- Director:Andy Tennant
- Genre:Drama / History / Romance
- Runtime:142 minutes
Cast
Jodie Foster : Anna Leonowens
Yun-Fat Chow : King Mongkut (as Chow Yun-Fat)
Ling Bai : Tuptim
Tom Felton : Louis Leonowens
Syed Alwi : The Kralahome, Prime Minister
Official Site:-
The film begins by following the story of Anna Leonowens and Rama IV as it is usually told; Anna is a widow who has come to Siam with her son Louis to teach English to the 58 royal children. She is a strong-willed, intelligent woman and this pleases the King, who wants to modernize his country to keep it safe from the threat of colonialism, while protecting many of the ancient traditions that give Siam its unique identity.
Anna is enchanted by the royal children, particularly Princess Fa-ying (Melissa Campbell). The little girl identifies with the spirit of the playful monkeys who live in the trees of the royal garden. When she suddenly takes ill of cholera, Anna is summoned to her chambers to say goodbye. She gets there just as Fa-ying dies in Mongkut’s hands, and the two mourn together. Sometime later, when the King finds that one of the monkeys has “borrowed” his glasses, as his daughter used to do, he is comforted by his belief in reincarnation and the idea that Fa-ying may be reborn as one of her beloved animals.
In order to win the favors of Britain, the King orders a sumptuous reception, and delegates Anna to organize it. During the reception, the King verbally spars graciously and wittily with Sir Kincaid (Bill Stewart), of East India Company, who accuses Siam of being a superstitious nation. At the end of the reception, the King dances with Anna.
Lady Tuptim (Bai Ling), the King’s new favorite concubine, was already engaged when brought to the court. The King is kind to her, but she’s too unhappy and at last runs away, disguising herself as a young man and joining the monastery where her former fiancé, Khun Phra Balat, lives. She is tracked down and brought back to the palace, imprisoned, and initially caned along with her Balat. Although the King intended to mitigate the severity of the final charges, Anna, in front of the entire court, insists that the King be merciful, severely limiting the King’s ability to sanction a lesser punishment out of political and cultural concern that it would appear as though he had been lenient because of Anna’s insistence; Tuptim and Balat are beheaded in front of the entire court, despite the well held belief that the sentence is monstrously unfair. Read more
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