Anna and the King
USA 1999
Reviewed by Pamela Church Gibson
Synopsis
Our synopses give away the plot in full, including surprise twists.
Bangkok, 1862. The recently widowed Englishwoman Anna Leonowens arrives from India, accompanied by her eight-year-old son Louis and two servants, to take up a post as tutor to King Mongkut of Siam's eldest son. She refuses to kneel before the king and generally defies conventions, impressing him with her strength of character. He orders her to teach all 58 of his royal children.
Her clashes with the Siamese way of life are set against a backdrop of escalating political conflict. The British protectorate of Burma is being used as a base for raids on Siamese villages. The king, anxious to keep Siam independent, arranges a diplomatic banquet for the British envoy. Anna organises it and they dance together, flushed with success and mutual sexual attraction. An expedition to stop the raids ends in the discovery that the seemingly loyal General Alak is behind the raids; he hopes to overthrow the king.
Meanwhile, royal concubine Tuptim flees to be with the man she loves. She is captured and executed with her lover for this 'treachery'. Appalled, Anna arranges to leave Siam, just as Alak's duplicity is revealed and the lives of the royal family are threatened. She stays to help the royal family escape to safety and saves the king's life en route during a confrontation with Alak. Order is restored and Anna leaves Siam.
Review
Anna Leonowens' autobiographical novels (more fictional than most autobiographies) about her stint teaching English in the Siamese court spawned first the movie Anna and the King of Siam (1946, with Rex Harrison as the king and Irene Dunne), then the Broadway musical The King and I, filmed in 1956 with Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr, and a cartoon based on the last two just last year. Anna and the King wants to be more than just another lavish remake of its source material. Although clearly part of a mainstream entertainment, the story seems to be reshaped, incorporating a feminist perspective for a post-colonial era, giving the film a liberal spin that marks it out as 'quality' cinema. As spectacle, it's adequate but as an exercise in historical redress it won't fool many. Hoping to film in Thailand, the film-makers allegedly rewrote the script five times to appease the authorities, only to have the end product - filmed in Malaysia - now banned in Thailand.
The attraction between the two leads can be treated very differently today than 30 years ago, when a more marked racism kept the relationship between Anna and the king strictly professional (and Chow Yun-Fat, although Chinese not Thai, is the first Asian to play the part on screen). As buttoned down and repressed in Jodie Foster's hands as in all the previous incarnations, this Anna is nonetheless clearly fascinated by the king's exotic otherness and blatant sexual appetites. (Concubine Tuptim, about to be deflowered, is assured he's a good lover.) An update on that old east-meets-west cliché, the film makes the confrontation between a woman brought up to accept the supremacy of the British empire and an eastern man who wields absolute power its central dramatic and romantic meat.
Director Andy Tennant, whose Ever After was a similarly revisionist take on the Cinderella story, cites as cinematic inspiration Doctor Zhivago and Braveheart. But his privileging of spectacle swamps any attempt to address seriously the problems of colonialism and cross-cultural confrontation. As with many heritage films, the radical thrust is stifled by sumptuous decor and costuming, while the epic-style visual effects overwhelm any potential subtleties in the drama. Politics and characters are similarly simplified.
The culture clash here functions principally as backdrop to the love story. Anna's feminist spirit and her fierce opposition to slavery - she lends the heir to the throne a copy of Uncle Tom's Cabin to read - are strong, but seem less important than her increasingly sexually-charged clashes with the king. She does, it is true, come to criticise colonialism, taking the British envoy to task and telling him she's ashamed to be British. (The closing intertitles explain that her pupil, the prince, grew up to abolish slavery, reform the judicial system and establish religious freedom, implicitly because of her.) Nonetheless, she gets to preach the 'western' beliefs of mercy and freedom, while the king must control an autocratic regime. The emphasis on the king's desire to protect his people from western rapacity and some bumbling attempts to show us the complexities of Thai culture never restore any balance.
The apogee of the film's distinctive mix of spectacle and sentiment is achieved in the final denouement. The king is saved by Anna's ingenuity, deploying her son's bugle and some fireworks to persuade the rebels that help has arrived. Anna, with a soot-blackened face, the very epitome of the plucky Englishwoman abroad, tells him proudly, "I've already lost one man to the jungle - I wasn't going to lose another!"
Credits
- Director
- Andy Tennant
- Producers
- Lawrence Bender
- Ed Elbert
- Screenplay
- Steve Meerson
- Peter Krikes
- Based on the diaries of
- Anna Leonowens
- Director of Photography
- Caleb Deschanel
- Editor
- Roger Bondelli
- Production Designer
- Luciana Arrighi
- Music/Score Conductor
- George Fenton
- ©Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
- Production Company
- Fox 2000 Pictures presents a Lawrence Bender production
- Executive Producer
- Terence Chang
- Co-producers
- Jon Jashni
- G. Mac Brown
- Wink Mordaunt
- Julie Kirkham
- Associate Producer
- Eric Angelson
- Production Supervisor
- Andrea Isaacs
- Production Co-ordinators
- Elaine Burt
- Robin Mulcahy
- Production Services
- Malaysia:
- Dynasara Sdn. Bhd.
- Unit Production Manager
- Leila Kirkpatrick
- Unit Manager
- Magen Appathurai
- Supervising Location Manager
- Robin Hollister
- Clearwater Location Manager
- Dick Beckett
- Location Manager
- Shukor Kadir
- 2nd Unit Directors
- Jeff Balsmeyer
- Rich Thorne
- Assistant Directors
- Scott Printz
- David Carrigan
- Richard Graysmark
- Mahathir Tahir
- Daisy Cummins
- K.K. Peh
- Tze Swen-Hoh
- 2nd Unit:
- Simon Warnock
- Script Supervisor
- Lynn-Maree Danzey
- Casting
- Priscilla John
- ADR Voice:
- Loop Troop
- 2nd Unit Director of Photography
- Steve Arnold
- Director of Photography
- Pyrotechnic Unit:
- Ross Emery
- Camera Operators
- Trevor Coop
- P. Scott Sakamoto
- Steadicam Operator
- P. Scott Sakamoto
- Wescam Operator
- John Trapman
- Visual Effects Supervisors
- Rich Thorne
- Jim Rygiel
- Sharon Holly
- Visual Effects
- Visionart Design & Animation
- Digital Effects Supervisor:
- Marc Kolbe
- Head of Production:
- Craig Mumma
- Digital Effects Producer:
- Kristen Leigh Branan
- CG Animation Supervisors:
- Carl Hooper
- Rocco Passionino
- Technical Support:
- Pete Shinners
- CG Animators:
- R. Stirling Duguid
- Jeremy Squires
- Jon-Marc Kortsch
- Oded Kassirer
- Daniel Naulin
- Joe Jackman
- Chris 'Willie' Williams
- David Minton
- Roto Artists:
- Mike Fabbri
- Esdras Varagnolo
- Compositing Supervisor:
- Dorene Haver
- Compositors:
- Christina Drahos
- Alette Vernon
- Mario Peixoto
- Digital Film Supervisor:
- Celine Jackson
- Digital Film Operator:
- Simon
- Digital Film Editor:
- John Phillip Campuzano
- Visual Effects/Miniatures
- Rhythm & Hues Studios
- Executive Producer:
- Lee Berger
- Digital Effects Supervisor:
- Derek Spears
- Digital Effects Producer:
- Josh R. Jaggars
- Digital Effects Production Manager:
- Alicia Powers
- Art Director:
- Alison Yerxa
- Texture Painting:
- Marta Recio
- Digital Artist:
- Mike Roby
- Tracker:
- Joel Merritt
- Modeller:
- Robert Rioux
- 2D Roto/Compositors:
- Betsy Cox
- Anita Cukurs
- Digital Matte Painting:
- Chris Consani
- Line Producer:
- Tom Tucker
- Production Manager:
- Allison Heath
- Production Co-ordinator:
- Nancy Best
- Director of Photography:
- Tony Cutrono
- Miniature Effects Supervisors:
- Donald Pennington
- Carlyle Livingston II
- Mechanical Supervisor:
- Matt Kutcher
- Pyro Supervisors:
- Gintar Repecka
- Bob Spurlock
- Crew Chief:
- Ray Moore
- Lead Model Makers:
- Patrick Denver
- Brandon Seifert
- Dave Chamberlain
- Pyro Technicians:
- David Greene
- Jim LaCroix
- Painter:
- Laurah Grijalva
- Designer:
- Jim Key
- Visual Effects
- Illusion Arts, Inc
- Matte Paintings:
- Syd Dutton
- Bill Taylor
- Producer:
- Catherine Sudolcan
- Matte Paintings:
- Michael J. Wassel
- Kelvin McIlwain
- Michael Lloyd
- Compositing:
- David S. Williams Jr
- Adam Kowalski
- Animator:
- Fumi Mashimo
- Digital Supervisor:
- Richard Patterson
- Editor:
- Kelly G. Crawford
- Digital Film Scanning/
Laser Film Recording/
Additional Effects - Digital FilmWorks
- Film Technicians:
- Gilbert De La Garza
- Tommy Tran
- Executive Effects Supervisor:
- Cosmas Paul Bolger Jr
- Digital Effects Supervisor:
- Peter W. Moyer
- Senior Digital Artist:
- Marco Paolini
- Digital Artist:
- Christopher Leone
- Senior 3D Artist:
- Edward Quirk
- Special Effects
- Co-ordinator:
- Steve Courtley
- Foremen:
- Rodney Burke
- Gene Grigg
- Arthur Spink Jr
- Pyrotechnics:
- Leo Henry
- Paul Gorrie
- Technicians:
- Billy Aziz
- Gregg Knott
- Ramli Derus
- Raymond Fowler
- Robert Heggie
- Brian Pearce
- Peter Armstrong
- Office Co-ordinator:
- Blair Slutsky
- Modelmakers
- Chin Chee Leong
- Darus Teymour Yussof
- Supervising Art Directors
- Tom Nursey
- Marc Fisichella
- John Ralph
- Art Directors
- Paul Ghirardani
- 'Lek' Chaiyan Chunsuttiwat
- Set Decorator
- Ian Whittaker
- Draughtspersons
- Martin M. Atkinson
- Michael Turner
- Andrew Powell
- Axel Bartz
- Jules Cook
- Pusana 'Golf' Ongchaisak
- Chuchat 'Ko' Koosongdham
- Suporn 'Kai' Rujiwararat
- Marine Draughtsman
- Tony Rimmington
- Head Scenic Artist
- Peter Collias
- Scenic Artists
- Ian Richter
- Billy Malcolm
- Emma Harrison
- Richard Nutbourne
- John Haratzis
- Jennifer Williams
- Daniel Albanese
- Gunnar Ahmer
- Wayne Olds
- Tom Mueller
- Gertrude East
- Kaye Freemen
- Gus Lobb
- Stephen McNally
- Storyboard Artist
- Denis Rich
- Head Supervising Sculptor
- Martin Smeaton
- Supervising Sculptor
- Fred Arbegast
- Sculpture Co-ordinator
- Jan Edwards
- Senior Sculptor
- Prasant 'Jeed' Phetpong
- Costume Designer
- Jenny Beavan
- Costume Supervisor
- Clare Spragge
- Wardrobe Co-ordinator
- Ameer Sahibjahn
- Make-up
- Chief Artist:
- Morag Ross
- Artists:
- Deborah Jarvis
- Marilyn MacDonald
- Miri Ben-Shlomo
- Chief Hairdresser
- Eithné Fennell
- Main Titles
- Imaginary Forces
- End Credits
- Scarlet Letters
- Opticals
- Pacific Title/Mirage
- Custom Film Effects
- Orchestrations
- Jeff Atmajian
- Geoff Alexander
- Music Pre-production
- David Lawson
- Supervising Music Editors
- Michael T. Ryan
- Graham Sutton
- Session MIDI
- Nick Vidar
- Music Recordist/Mixer
- John Richards
- Recordist
- John Rodd
- Engineer
- Denis Sager
- Soundtrack
- "Jade Cong" by Raymond Jones; "Daisy, Daisy" by/performed by Harry Dacre; "How Can I Not Love You" by George Fenton, Kenneth 'Babyface' Edmonds, Robert Kraft, performed by Joy Enriquez
- Sound Design
- Craig Berkey
- Sound Mixer
- Brian Simmons
- Supervising Sound Editor
- John A. Larsen
- Dialogue Editors
- David Kulczycki
- Susan Shackelford
- Sound Effects Editor
- Jay Wilkinson
- ADR
- Mixers:
- Charleen Richards
- Adrian John Dorab
- Supervising Editor:
- R.J. Kizer
- Editor:
- Vanessa Lapato
- Foley
- Supervising Editor:
- Donald Sylvester
- Editor:
- Ted Caplan
- Siamese Cultural Historians/Fine Art Consultants
- Paothong 'Pan' Thongchua
- Thepin 'Mona' Asawabodee
- Marine Consultant
- John Heath
- Marine Wrangler
- Tony Tucker
- Pyrotechnic Consultant
- Blastmasters Sdn. Bhd.
- Stunt Co-ordinator
- Martin Grace
- Armourer
- Adolf Nurshinger
- Period Firearms
- Weapons & Effects
- Animal Consultant
- Rona Brown
- Horse Masters
- Tony Doyle
- Jorge Casares
- Horse Handlers
- Donal Fortune
- Ivan Kennedy
- Animal Wranglers
- Francis Chin Yew Cho
- Saharuddin Bin Yusof
- Helicopter Pilots
- Richard Howell
- Gary Ticehurst
- Cast
- Jodie Foster
- Anna Leonowens
- Chow Yun-Fat
- King Mongkut
- Bai Ling
- Tuptim
- Tom Felton
- Louis Leonowens
- Syed Alwi
- The Kralahome
- Randall Duk Kim
- General Alak
- Lim Kay Siu
- Prince Chowfa
- Melissa Campbell
- Princess Fa-Ying
- Keith Chin
- Prince Chulalongkorn
- Mano Maniam
- Moonshee
- Shanthini Venugopal
- Beebe
- Deanna Yusoff
- Lady Thiang
- Geoffrey Palmer
- Lord John Bradley
- Ann Firbank
- Lady Bradley
- Bill Stewart
- Mycoft Kincaid
- Sean Ghazi
- Khun Phra Balat
- K.K. Moggie
- Phim
- Dharma Harun Al-Rashid
- Noi
- Harith Iskander
- Nikorn
- Yusof B. Mohd Kassim
- Pitak
- Afdlin Shauki
- interpreter
- Swee-Lin
- Lady Jao Jom Manda Ung
- Ramli Hassan
- King Chulalongkorn
- Robert Hands
- Captain Blake
- Lim Yu-Beng
- scarfaced leader
- Ken Tsang Kong
- Justice Phya Phrom
- Kee Thuan Chye
- 2nd judge
- Patrick Teoh
- 3rd judge
- Aimi Aziz
- Ellie Suriaty Omar
- Tina Lee Siew Ting
- Wong Chui Ling
- Zaridah Abdul Malik
- ladies of court
- Fariza Azlina
- La-Ore
- Ahmad Mazlan
- Mohd Razib Saliman
- scouts
- Zaibo
- Siamese trader
- Pak Ling
- shipping dock woman
- Mahmud Ali Basah
- mercenary
- Zulhaila Siregar
- distraught villager
- Certificate
- 12
- Distributor
- 20th Century Fox (UK)
- 13,318 feet
- 147 minutes 59 seconds
- Dolby digital/Digital DTS sound/SDDS
- Colour by
- Technicolor
- Prints by
- DeLuxe
- Anamorphic [Panavision]