Anna And The King [1999] [DVD]

This is a special love story, one that is enfolded within a complex vista of much larger, sweeping human dramas. Some might say the romance falls short, but I believe that the type of romance explored in this movie represents perhaps the toughest form of true love, and what it lacks in demonstrable passion, it more than makes up for in depth of feeling. English schoolteacher Anna Leonowens (Jodie Foster) has come to Siam (via India) to instruct the king's oldest son in English, but quite clearly she is not the type of schoolteacher the king expected, as she refuses to fully embrace the protocols of Siam. She is committed to showing King Mongkut (Yun-Fat Chow) the respect he deserves, but she stands in his presence, seeks him out rather than waiting to be summoned, and expresses her feelings and beliefs in a manner that would never be tolerated by a Siamese subject of the king. The king obviously admires her spirit, asking her to teach not only his eldest son but all fifty-eight of his children, one of his wives, and one of his concubines. The children do not respond to her very well at first, a fact which is not helped in the short run by her own son's spirit of independence, but her compassionate disciplinary ways soon make of her the kind of teacher Mongkut wants for his children. In time, she and King Mongkut develop a fairly close yet perfectly innocent relationship of their own, sharing a mutual bond of love for the children. Anna is never afraid to tell Mongkut what she thinks or to get involved in situations her conscience will not allow her to ignore, and a mutual understanding and respect is forged among these paragons of culturally different virtues. All the while, revolution is stirring in the land, and the king's throne and life itself are placed in great danger, yet Anna's presence and fierce spirit of goodness emerge as a secret weapon that stands to change the very fabric of Siam itself.

As wonderful and Oscar-worthy as Jodie Foster's performance is here, Chow-Yun Fat's is even better. King Mongkut is a complicated man, one who cares deeply about his family and his country, seeking to connect with the western world in order to promote the betterment of both. He does a magical job of balancing the burdens of a difficult kingship with those of a loving father and a very human man. Tom Felton is also very good as Anna's son Louis, although it took me a few minutes to see him in this new light once I realized I was watching Harry Potter's nemesis Draco Malfoy playing this role, and the children of King Mongkut are all portrayed masterfully by the whole cast of child actors and actresses. How this movie did not sweep the Academy Awards for 1999 is a mystery to me.

Anna and the King is a movie you can easily and happily immerse yourself in, journeying to a very different world and fully investing yourself emotionally in the drama focused on Anna and King Mongkut. The behind the scenes features afford a way of appreciating even more fully the job everyone associated with this motion picture did, and the deleted scenes offer a most interesting extended opening and ending to a wondrous picture stretched across two and a half hours in its finished form. If you have a heart, Anna and the King will speak to it, and you will feel touched in a very special way after watching it.

The movie evolves around three clear themes. First, the clash of cultures, which is enlightening and entertaining and as the movie evolves so does the acceptance and admiration each of the characters show for the positive points of the other's culture. Second, the relationship between Anna and the king, which starts as annoyance, moves to respect and continues developing from there. Third, the political atmosphere, which is characterized by attacks to Siamese people by Burmese armies, suspected to be supported by no other than the British Empire (the events unfold in 1862).

Although the movie is rather long, the events unfold at a pace that keeps the viewer interested at all times. The music fits the mood of the action perfectly well, and in the proper scenes it is so uplifting that it steals the attention of the viewer. Jodie Foster delivers a well-rounded role, but in my opinion the performance of Chow Yun-Fat is at a higher level. Finally, the scenery and the palaces where the movie develops are absolutely amazing.

Overall this is a highly enjoyable movie that will leave you thinking for a while about how every culture has its positive aspects and how, with a little patience, everyone can learn to appreciate this.