Review of Anna and the King (1999) by Dawdlingpoet — 25 Nov 2021

I wasn't familiar with the plot of this film and I certainly found it an interesting watch. There are some quite engrossing scenes, when Anna Leonowens witnesses the true suffering of people in the local area who aren't linked to the royal family.

The performances are quite good, Jodie Foster does ok as the main character, Annna and Yun-Fat Chow does well as as the King of Siam, King Mongkut, although I'd say the most memorable performance comes from Bai Ling, who plays Tuptim - she speaks very passionately.

This is a well made film, with some quite pretty cinematography of the surrounding area and of palaces and places of worship etc., while also some heartbreaking scenes are depicted. The dichotomy between the two, the grim and the wondrous, certainly stuck with me.

I can only imagine how Anna must have felt, seeing such division and the politicisation of things, it felt pretty uncomfortable to me. It is at times quite a lavish period drama that I found to be a good watch and I would recommend it to others.