Review of The King and I (1956) by Nik B — 24 Apr 2011

As I enter the Golden Age of Musicals in my little endeavor, I'm going to start becoming a broken record about my general dislike of musicals. And I also did not care too much for this. It's filmed in beautiful Cinescope, and the set design / costumes are worthy of whatever Oscars may have fallen upon them- but the plot and script are left behind, especially in the first act, to make way for the songs. The songs drive the story, other than songs being written in service of the plot. You may think that's great; but I don't really care for Rogers and Hammerstein.

Having said that, Yul Brenner is a treat. Funny, charming, got the whole flexed upper torso thing goin'. A commanding presence who also shows his vulnerability as he, The King, treads the unknown waters of modernizing his country. He frustrates himself over the balance between being a "feared" king to someone leading with more western sensibilities, logic and understanding.

This film also benefits from a performance within the performance. Like "The Red Shoes" and "An American In Paris" there's a 15-or-so minute stage play here that is artistically more beautiful and interesting than the rest of the movie. In this case, a Siamese version of the American slave novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin". It's visually arresting, and catapults the film's plot forward with a allegory toward the Siam kingdom.

Some eye-rolling songs. Ham-fisted women's equality messages. And for God's sake, they should written the son right out of this movie. But Rita Moreno is also worth the price of admission.