The Player - Robert Altman's satire on Hollywood
starring Richard E Grant and Tim Robbins
"Anna and the King" which I saw in Malaysia ; The King and I rocks, too, I think.
Hundreds of Thai children saw it in Singapore on school trips. "Anna and the King" was banned from being released in Thailand in 1999. Singapore has very interesting museums on culture at the time.
"Many people believed that they were watching a true story, not only regarding the antics of the king but also the importance of Anna in the court. The film, starring Yul Brynner, so insulted the Thai people, that it was banned from being shown in Thailand on grounds of historical and cultural distortions. Now, a remake of the movie has been made by 20th Century Fox called "Anna and the King". Can Hollywood make amends for past misdeeds or will history repeat itself?" ThaiStudents.com
King Mongkut was 60yrs old when Anna L arrived.
One of the main objections the Thai people had towards the movie was the way their very highly respected king was portrayed. King Mongkut was a deeply religious man and had spent most of his life in the monkhood. He was also educated in Western sciences and fluent in English. Today he is known to the Thai people as "The Father of Thai Scientists".
The photograph is of King Mongkut and his Queen taken about 1857. Anna Leonowens didn't arrive in Thailand for nearly another five years. By that time, King Mongkut was nearly 60 years old.
The film-makers claim that their new movie is based on historical fact. However, they not only show the king dancing with Anna but also suggest that they had a romance. In the climatic conclusion to the movie, you can see the king hanging underneath a wooden bridge preparing to blow it up!
A few lines on the true story at the end of the film may be in order.
OR links to historical archives is possible.
But would that ruin the film ? Or , the films could just get better!
Imagine what a film director could do with
The Truth about Anna [ December 25, 2003: Message edited by: HS Thomas ]