Anna and the King
Tags: historical, murder

Plot synopsis:
Anna Leonowens (Jodie Foster) is a British widow who has come to Siam with her son Louis (Tom Felton) to teach English to the dozens of children of King Mongkut (Chow Yun-fat). She is a strong-willed, intelligent woman for her time, and this pleases the King. Mongkut wants to modernize Siam, thinking this will help his country resist colonialism and protect the ancient traditions that give Siam its identity. Mongkut and Anna discuss differences between Eastern and Western love, but he dismisses the notion that a man can be happy with only one wife. In order to win favors through Britain's ambassadors, Mongkut orders a sumptuous reception and appoints Anna to organize it. During the reception, the King spars graciously and wittily with Sir Mycroft Kincaid (Bill Stewart), of the East India Company. The Europeans express their beliefs that Siam is a superstitious, backward nation. Mongkut dances with Anna at the reception.
Anna is enchanted by the royal children, particularly Princess Fa-Ying (Melissa Campbell). The little girl adores the playful monkeys who live in the royal garden's trees. When Fa-Ying falls ill with cholera, Anna is summoned to her chambers to say goodbye. She gets there just as Fa-Ying dies in King Mongkut's arms, and the two mourn together. Mongkut later finds that one of the monkeys "borrowed" his glasses as his daughter used to do. He finds comfort for his grief in his belief in reincarnation, with a notion that Fa-ying might be reborn as one of her beloved animals. Lady Tuptim (Bai Ling), the King's newest concubine, was already engaged to marry another man, Khun Phra Balat (Sean Ghazi), when she was brought to court. Mongkut is kind to her, but Tuptim yearns for her true love. She disguises herself as a young man and runs away, joining the monastery where her former fiancé lives. She is tracked down, returned to the palace, and put on trial where she is caned. Anna, unable to bear the sight, tries to prevent the execution and is forcibly removed from the court. Her outburst prevents Mongkut from showing clemency, because he cannot be seen as beholden to her. Tuptim and Balat are beheaded publicly and Anna prepares to leave Siam.
Siam is under siege from what appears to be a British-funded coup d'état against King Mongkut, using Burmese soldiers. Mongkut sends his brother Prince Chaofa (Kay Siu Lim) and military advisor General Alak (Randall Duk Kim) and their troops to investigate. Alak is really the man behind the coup, and he poisons the regiment and kills Chaofa. Alak then flees into Burma, where he summons and readies troops to invade Siam, kill King Mongkut and all his children. Mongkut's army is too far from the palace to engage the rebels, so he creates a ruse - that a white elephant has been spotted, and the court must go to see it. This allows him to flee the palace with his children and wives, and give his armies time to reach them. Anna returns to help Mongkut, since her presence in his entourage will give credence to the tale about the white elephant. Mongkut plans to take his family to a monastery where he spent part of his life. Halfway through the journey they see Alak's army in the distance and realize they can't outrun him. Mongkut and his soldiers set explosives on a wooden bridge high above a canyon floor as Alak and his army approach. Mongkut orders his "army" to stay back and rides to the bridge with only two soldiers. Alak, at the head of his army, confronts Mongkut on the bridge.
Anna and Louis create a brilliant deception from their hiding spot in the forest. Louis uses his horn to replicate the sound of a bugle charge, as Anna "attacks" the area with harmless fireworks. The Burmese, believing the King has brought British soldiers, panic and retreat. Alak's attempt to recall and regroup his troops fails. Alak stands alone, but Mongkut refuses to kill him, saying that Alak will have to live with his shame. As Mongkut turns to ride back to Siam, Alak grabs his gun and aims at his back, but one of Mongkut's guards detonates the explosives. The bridge and Alak are blown to pieces.
At the end of the film, Mongkut has one last dance with Anna before she leaves Siam. He tells her that now he understands why a man can be content with only one woman. A voice-over tells viewers that Chulalongkorn became king after his father's death. Chulalongkorn abolished slavery and instituted religious freedom with the help of his father's 'vision'.

Review: For it was clear that Anna was as much changed by Siam and the King as he and the children were by her.I was highly impressed with the performance turned in by Yun-Fat Chow.
I assumed it would be a re-make either of the original 1946 movie or the better known Rodgers and Hammerstein musical of 1956.In actual fact, the movie is neither a re-make of these previous FOX efforts, but rather an adaption of Anna Leonowens' own memoirs of the time she spent in Siam.Jodie Foster gave a fascinating, beautiful performance as Anna.
This is the second film of the year (the other being "The Green Mile") that I have seen that I believe will recieve Oscar nominations in several categories, of which, best film, best male and femal actor and best cinematography will be definitely considered."Anna and the King" is an epic film about a British woman who accepts an offer to go to Siam (Thailand) to teach western education to the King of Siam's 58 children.
This obviously does not sit well with the King but at the same time he is intrigued by this woman's boldness and so the story begins about cultural education (both British and Siamese) and a blossoming romance that has you yearning for a happy ending.Foster plays Anna Leonowens very well and at times makes you hate her for her narrow minded view of the world as she portrays a woman who truely believes that "British teachings are the ways of the world." Her comments about British rule and colonization makes you cringe at times as she comes across as this arrogant, cold woman who believes that she is in Siam to bring culture and wisdom to a backwards country.
Although Jodie Foster is the top billing name, this film definitely belongs to Chow Yun-Fat and it would be ashame not to see him get an oscar consideration for his performance.
There are only two other movies I would consider to be worthy of masterpiece status: "Saving Private Ryan" and "Titanic." Now a third can be added to this list: "Anna And The King." "Anna and The King" is a true masterpiece that is filled with heart & soul, a beautful setting and superb performances.I was very impressed with the performance of Chow-Yun Fat because he made the transition from action star to dramatic actor flawlessly.
I knew Foster and Fat were compatible; however, I failed to realize how much until I viewed the movie."Anna and The King" is visually stunning in so many ways with beautiful settings such as the palace.
Jodie Foster delivers yet another spectacular performance as Anna Leonowens, an Englishwoman who is to educate the children of King Mongkut, played by Chow Yun-Fat, who FINALLY delivers a spectacular perform.
The story in Anna and the King was made even more interesting by the staggering visuals, the beautifully designed costumes,  and the excellent acting, rather than the cartoonish excessiveness of films like The Perfect Storm.
There are only two other movies I would consider to be worthy of masterpiece status: "Saving Private Ryan" and "Titanic." Now a third can be added to this list: "Anna And The King." "Anna and The King" is a true masterpiece that is filled with heart, soul and superb performances.I was very impressed with the performance of Chow-Yun Fat because he made the transition from action star to dramatic actor flawlessly.
She once again has established herself among the elite that have the special gift of natural talent.Foster and Fat come together beautifully to bring the true story of the romance of Anna Leonowens and King Momokut."Anna and The King" is visually stunning in so many ways with beautiful settings such as the palace.
Clash of two cultures causes many troubles, but also causes many changes in the king's way of thinking and understanding and mostly influence king's oldest son who when he inherits the throne, reforms country, abolish slavery and reforms judiciary.Great acting, very emotional story and just enough of action make two hours of movie simply whiz through you and leave you with tears in your eyes.....................................................
At the time the film was released the critics all panned Jodi Foster's performance, especially her accent, but I think that she did an excellent job as a Victorian English woman, trying to survive in a foreign world, and maintain her own values as well.
Great work from Jodi Foster and Chow-Yun Fat. This was a fantastic movie.
From this movie, we bet that both with his hard work and the great instructor, it has paid off.Like I said before, unfortunately, Chow-Yun Fat hasn't seeing the rewards for his efforts being recognized in Hollywood.
Even if you expect the participants to burst into song any minute as in the well-know "King and I" with Debra Kerr and Yul Brynner, you won't be disappointed with this beautiful, well-crafted version of the 19th century biography, "Anna and the King of Siam."The characters of Anna and Siam's monarch are well-fleshed out with Jodi Foster (whose British accent falters a bit) and the actor who plays the king.
There are many emotional moments in the film and although long, I found the film entertaining..The scenery and sets are magnificent but, what drew me to this film was the acting talent..particularly Jodie and Chow Yun Fat. Chow Yun Fat displays a remarkable sense of opulence in his role and his interpretation of the King of Siam is quite interesting!
I read somewhere that the film was a disappointment at the box office but considering the direction mainstream film is heading these days I truly wonder what the demographics of film going audiences are..I, personally like a good story with actors who truly care about their craft and I found this to be the case in Anna and the King...
As the people from the country of location , i had a rare chance to watch this movie in the theatre because it had been banned.Thais have for a long time been worshiping the Monarchy as the demi-God.The expression about them in any negative ways like deprecating,offending,blaming .....etc.
will be forbidden ,banned and punished according to the Lese Majeste law.The ban of this movie in Thailand vexed the liberal -minded a lot.They blamed the authority for the dictatorship.But one fine day i had a chance to buy the DVD and intentionally watched it with out prejudice.The production was quite mediocre ; compared with "The last emperor" or the other historical films although the filmmaker spent a lot of money on it.The funniest thing happening whenever Thais watched this movie was that the actor and the crews were Malaysians and they could speak Thai , as memorizing from the script , very poorly.If this movie had had a chance to be in Thai theatre , it would not have been able to captured the Thais' hearts.The second negative point of his movie was about King Monkut.Jo yun fat was absolutely different from the characteristic of the real king.King Monkut had been in priest hood for 27 years and he was the scholar.I wouldn't deny for his irascibility , but Jo could be only the good warrior king.The third was that this movie didn't only convey the audience with the historical account errors , it also made the new plot about Siam , so i want to correct these ;1.There was never the civil war or coup d'estate in Siam during king Monkut's reign.The king could sit on his throne very safely , supported by the family of powerful nobility named Boonnak.2.
This was a compelling true (yet slightly tainted by Hollywood) account of Anna Leonowens as a teacher that tutors the children of the King of Siam.It was a romantic movie that made the viewer have the same emotions as those that played in it.
I cry out loud every time I see this scene.Yun-Fat loves children and it shows in every scene he has with the talented young actors who play what the King called, the future hope of Thailand.Anna and The King is a film to love as long as you don't let history bog you down.
Background sound track was excellent that gives a real feel of the story and characters...Well performed by Anna & the King especially the scenes around the killing of Tuptim for deciding a noble path via Buddhist Monk...Great lifetime Movie.
I had seen the musical with Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr before, and I love that as well - but in this movie one gets a more thorough, serious and realistic take on the subject, more meat on the bones so to speak."Anna and the King" is first of all a love story of course.
Anna Leonowens, a widow played by Jodie Foster, comes to Siam with her son to be the teacher for the children of the King of Siam, King Mongkut, played by Yun-Fat Chow.
This is an entertaining quasi-romantic drama that centres upon the relationship between an English woman  Welsh, actually  who taught English language to the children of King Mongkut of Siam (today, Thailand) in the 1860s.As cinematography and narrative, it works well: very professionally staged, filmed and acted by the production and acting crew.
That should not deter you from enjoying the acting prowess of Chow Yun-Fat as the King and Jodie Foster as Anna Leonowens.That is, if you like costume and historical dramas, then you'd probably find this film to be quiet acceptable.
Andy Tennant the director of films such as Hitch and Fools Rush in directs this re imagining of The King and I.Although everyone already knows the basis of the story before they even sit down to watch this film Tennant is smart enough to combine elements that we know and love with new concepts while making the film far more visually interesting than the musical ever was.Jodie Foster does well with her role while there is also a nice early appearance of Tom Felton who Harry Potter fans will know as Draco Malfoy in the role of her son.Not quite sure this film can be placed in the same category of films like Gladiator or Braveheart as others have claimed but it is an enjoyable enough film..
Both Jodie Foster and Chow Yun-Fat are fine as the leads but the film isn't particularly interesting.
It starts with her arrival to the palace and follows her time there.Three reasons why this movie really succeeds: Great acting by Yun-Fat Chow (absolutely fantastic as the king) and Jodie Foster (the teacher), a great story with interesting events, and really nice visuals.The biggest difficultly will be actually getting motivated to watch this movie because it may sound a bit simplistic and "family oriented".
And this time or better in this case, the remake might look good (even on paper, with two heavyweights in the front line - Chow Yun Fat and Jodie Foster, and some bit players behind them, Bai Ling and so forth), but it's what inside that counts.
The acting by Jodie Foster was good but to be honest, Yun-Fat Chow isn't good playing a person who tries to speak English.Again, the overall look of the film, including costume designs are great but some points in the film might be slow, long, boring, and unnecessary.
There are only two other movies I would consider to be worthy of masterpiece status: "Saving Private Ryan" and "Titanic." Now a third can be added to this list: "Anna and the King." "Anna and the King" is a true masterpiece that is filled with heart & soul, a beautiful setting and superb performances.I was very impressed with the performance of Chow-Yun Fat because he made the transition from action star to dramatic actor flawlessly.
He made it so easy for me to enjoy this movie because of his screen presence and believability of the performance as well as the chemistry between Anna and the King.This masterpiece can not be completed without the performance Jodie Foster turned in.
He made it so easy for me to enjoy this movie because of his screen presence and believability of the performance as well as the chemistry between Anna and the King.This masterpiece can not be completed without the performance Jodie Foster turned in.
He made it so easy for me to enjoy this movie because of his screen presence and believability of the performance as well as the chemistry between Anna and the King.This masterpiece can not be completed without the performance Jodie Foster turned in.
Anna has her ideas and strong opinions about the Siamese ways and King Mongfut has his about England's and doesn't like her butting into his problems at the beginning of movie, but as they get to know each other they slowly start to look past each others differences and become more than good friends.
It had shown like a few times on the television before, with the latest like early this year.English governess Anna Leonowens (Jodie Foster) was being called to be the governess of the Thai king's (Chow Yun Fatt) several children.
Jody Foster came thru with this film like she has never done before and I don't believe that she will ever do again.This story of the relationship of Anna Leonowens and King Mongkut of Siam was so true to her diary that my heart screams out to those that do not understand the true meaning of the story.Siam was the strongest nation in Southeast Asia from 1767 to 1893.
"Anna and The King" is a true masterpiece that is filled with heart & soul, a beautiful setting and superb performances.I was very impressed with the performance of Chow-Yun Fat because he made the transition from action star to dramatic actor flawlessly.
"Anna and The King" is a true masterpiece that is filled with heart & soul, a beautiful setting and superb performances.I was very impressed with the performance of Chow-Yun Fat because he made the transition from action star to dramatic actor flawlessly.
He made it so easy for me to enjoy this movie because of his screen presence and believability of the performance as well as the chemistry between Anna and the King of Siam.This masterpiece can not be complete without the performance Jodie Foster gave as Anna Leonowens.
He made it so easy for me to enjoy this movie because of his screen presence and believability of the performance as well as the chemistry between Anna and the King of Siam.This masterpiece can not be complete without the performance Jodie Foster gave as Anna Leonowens.
She once again has established herself among the elite that have the special gift of natural talent.Foster and Fat come together beautifully to bring the true story of the romance of Anna Leonowens and King Momokut.
She once again has established herself among the elite that have the special gift of natural talent.Foster and Fat come together beautifully to bring the true story of the romance of Anna Leonowens and King Momokut.
She once again has established herself among the elite that have the special gift of natural talent.Foster and Fat come together beautifully to bring the true story of the romance of Anna Leonowens and King Momokut.
She once again has established herself among the elite that have the special gift of natural talent.Foster and Fat come together beautifully to bring the true story of the romance of Anna Leonowens and King Momokut.
The chemistry can be felt from a distance and it works from the first minute they come together."Anna and The King" is visually stunning in so many ways with beautiful settings such as the palace.
The chemistry can be felt from a distance and it works from the first minute they come together."Anna and The King" is visually stunning in so many ways with beautiful settings such as the palace.
This movie was a magical retelling of the Anna and the King of Siam story.
Upon their meeting Anna reveals herself as a very stubborn western cultured woman, who believes in equals and constantly opposes the King, who has 68 children, 26 wives and 40+ concubines yet his heart settles upon Anna even due to their conflicts he tries to bring his country into an alliance with England in order to keep the Burmese regime out, but with his own life and the lives of his royal family at risk King Mongkut is forced to make some difficult choices.A very touching movie I gave this an even 8/10, a brilliant performance by Chow Yun-Fat and Jodie Foster, for a moment it seemed as if something would happen between Anna and the King, but the suspense of their feelings lasts to the very end..
Chow Yun Fat and Jodie Foster both gave great performances and I liked all the actors in it.
But in spite of these details the movie was pretty good, performance of Jodie Foster and Chow Yun-Fat was remarkable.
It has shown different forms of love, especially on the romantic love between Anna (Jodie Foster) and the King (Chow Yun-Fat).
So-so effort that features a surprisingly dull Jodie Foster as Anna Leonowens, the true-life Indian-born Englishwoman who journeyed to Siam in the late 19th century to teach "the modern world of science" to the many children of King Mongkut (Chow Yun-Fat).
Chow Yun-Fat was great, I like him more than Jodie Foster in this film.
Chow Yun-Fat has such a captivating smile it is a shame it is never seen with all of the grim movies he does.Jody Foster as Anna is an interesting choice for Anna but she does the part very well and is believable.The secondary cast is very good and you get the impression that many of parts for the minor characters was very carefully scripted.Historical dramas are always difficult to produce; too much and the audience gets bored, too little (which is the usual case) and you miss part of the story.
Jodie Foster plays Anna and Chow Yun-Fat plays The King.
Good movie, Chow Yun-fat great, Foster stiff..