The Lady

Min Aung Hlaing is a mom fucker.

source: The Lady

To put it simply, this movie is good for self-reflection : do not take democracy as granted. I am a merely a Hong Kong guy. As you may or may not know, HK is now under the control of the China PRC government since 1997. HK people have been dreaming of universal suffrage to elect their own chief executive using their own votes since then. The truth is, PRC does all its possible way to prevent universal suffrage to happen in HK. And the worse is, HK does not have Aung San Suu Kyi. Personally I don't even believe there will be one in the future. Burma has Aung San Suu Kyi. China has Liu Xiaobo. Hong Kong has nothing but a scumbag of pro-PRC politicians trying their best to protect their authority or privileges. So I guess this movie is particularly meaningful to those people, me included, that cannot cast their vote to find their desired leader. Democracy may not solve all problems, but it gives hopes to humanity and the spirit of freedom. God bless Aung San Suu Kyi. Democracy never comes easy.

With such a fascinating subject matter this movie would have been an interesting watch no matter who directed it but I think Luc Besson did a good job showing he is more than just an action thriller director. Of course there are some violent parts showing the brutality of the Military that are in your face and exciting as expected. He handled the private woman and her personal sacrifice and bravery in a tasteful manner. Michelle Yeoh does a brilliant job. It's a really good fit for her. She is good in both the intimate moments dealing with her family and in her dignified public persona. She deserves an acting nomination for her work. David Thewlis is well cast as a disheveled looking professor type. The subtitles are a major part of the movie with lots of dialog in Burmese. But it's still easy to follow the plot which doesn't jump around too much and is well laid out. It deserves a place among the better political true life movies. While not as dramatic or gut wrenching as "Cry Freedom" or "the Killing Fields", it still delivers a powerful message. Those interested can also watch "Beyond Rangoon" with Patricia Arquette which is a more adventure style portrayal of the events in Burma. Wish the movie could have shown more recent events including her recent release. Reminds us there is still a long way to go in Burma. Touching and a must watch.

Luc Besson, best known La Femme Nikita and Leon, here directs an admirably earnest biopic about Burmese political activist Aung San Suu Kyi. The film is a real change of pace for both Besson and his leading lady Michelle Yeoh, who swaps her usual high-kicking woman-of-action persona for something much subtler and more affecting. The Lady has its flaws but nevertheless manages to be a worthy and often moving account of a remarkable life. The story begins in 1947 when Suu Kyi is only two years old. Her father Aung San is nominally in charge of Burma as the country's hard-fought independence from colonial rule draws near. However, he his cabinet ministers are denied their moment of triumph when they are ruthlessly assassinated, plunging the country into a long and downward spiral of political turmoil which leads ultimately to the establishment of a tyrannical military regime. Fast forward to 1988, where adult Suu Kyi (Michelle Yeoh) lives in Oxford with her husband Michael Aris (David Thewlis) and their two sons, Kim (Jonathan Raggett) and Alexander (Jonathan Woodhouse). Suu Kyi is summoned back to Burma when her mother suffers a stroke. Initially she intends merely to stay for a week or two in order to nurse her mother through her time of need. However, during her visit Suu Kyi finds Burma to be a land of extraordinary violence, oppression and misery. She witnesses corrupt soldiers brutally killing student protesters and sees desperate civilians demonstrating for their rights, using old photos of her father to represent their cause. It isn't long before Suu Kyi is approached by the people and asked to lead them in their fight for a democratic and peaceful Burma. Yeoh is excellent in this film. Not only does she bear a remarkable resemblance to the real Aung San Suu Kyi, she also shows a surprising emotional range in the film's more intimate scenes. The only weakness with Yeoh's performance is that her enunciation is a little wooden during her English-language scenes. Thewlis also does well as her stiff upper-lipped British husband, an equally remarkable man who is forced to bury his inner anguish because he recognises the importance of what his wife is doing for her country. The Lady comes slightly undone in two areas. One is that Besson has never been noted for his sincere and reverent style of film-making; he's on much firmer ground delivering cool and stylized action. Here, he handles the scenes of street violence and military manoeuvring with typical verve, but a certain awkwardness hangs over some of the quieter moments. The other drawback is the rather cartoonish portrayal of the characters in the Burmese military regime. Although widely regarded as bad men in real-life, the way they are presented here makes them seem almost like Bond-style super-villains. The only thing missing is a baddie's lair and a scowling white pussycat perched on the head honcho's lap. A bit more nuance and depth would not have gone amiss in this department. Overall, The Lady a solid and well-made biopic about a very inspirational figure. Flaws aside, it goes some way to ward making sense of a senseless political situation and tries hard to present its large subject in a manageable bite. There's a good chance that the first thing you will do after watching the film is go home and Google "Aung San Suu Kyi". If that's so, then the film has immediately achieved two of its worthiest goals – to educate and inspire

Whilst the film-making was not the best ever, it was MORE than good enough to convey to the viewer the awe-inspiring bravery, decency and humanity of Aung San Suu Kyi, her family and many supporters who suffered so much - including death. It was a heavy, profound watch.... if you don't tear-up at at least a couple of points on this one, you are made of steel! I disagree with another reviewer that the portrayal of the evil military mis-ruler was overdone and bordering on ridicule. I live in S.E. Asia, and i have observed those in uniforms and in possession of power, believe me it was spot-on. And lets face it, they were absolutely evil. The parallels with Richard Attenborough's "Gandhi" are definitely apparent, and the biggest surprise is how good Michelle Yeo is in the role! Enjoy.

I was unfamiliar with the story of Aung San Suu Kyi prior to watching this movie. Now that I've watched it, this is still the case. Unfortunately I have to provide another eight lines of text for this review to be published, but what more is there to say? Why Aung San Suu Kyi and her party did not take power following the election success was not explained at all, neither was her initial rise to prominence or any other major point. I was constantly having to fill these 'holes' in my head; I had to guess at what was happening. Wikipedia does a better job of explaining it! The situation and relevant history of Burma was completely ignored giving no starting point to refer to at all. The producers were clearly unable to fit Aung San Suu Kyi's story into a movie-length episode. They shouldn't have even bothered trying because they made a real hash of it.

The 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi, is played wonderfully by Michelle Yeoh. I knew little about this famous person as I suspect many also didn't. The movie provides you with historical information you should be happy to learn. This kind of movie is a departure from what we are accustomed to see from director Luc Besson, and it is a pleasant discovery. Yeoh delivers a beautiful performance and so does Davis Thewlis, who plays her husband. The movie is a truly beautiful love story, one that touches on the human spirit as few movies do. It is inspirational, nothing less. You will be moved by the story. The movie depicts the life of a people under military dictatorship and how the whole nation rallies behind the person that was destined to lead it despite all odds. You are likely to be following Aung San Suu Kyi ongoing real life story from that point on, as she is still very much the people's leader today. I could not recommend this movie more strongly.

Luc Besson ('Leon', 'Nikita') is the unlikely director to cinematise Aung San Suu Kyi's unlikelier story: one of courage, endurance and sacrifice. In the hands of a director more accustomed to making epics, there's a chance this film could have been more compelling. Besson of course gets the blood and guts right, but lacks the sensitivity which should have been this biography's essence. Michelle Yeoh, that graceful, handsome actor, whom audiences will recognise from many a martial arts movie, assumes the daunting lead role. David Thewlis stars as her husband, Dr Michael Aris, the man behind the great woman. Suu leaves England, where she has lived since her famous political father was assassinated, to visit her ailing mother in Burma. Whilst there, Suu is moved by the indiscriminate violence being meted out by a superstitious dummy of a dictator. She thought her stay would last two weeks. She ended up staying there for 15 years. Although married to an Oxford academic, and despite having mixed-race kids, Suu feels an immediate rekindling of emotion for her native land and her native people. A group of acolytes forms and asks – more presumes – that Suu will lead Burma into democracy. I thought this essential part of the film was one of the weakest. It is peremptory and dubious. A scene showing Suu react to the challenge ahead was necessary but missing. Again, the absence of such a scene made it hard for me to connect with the character. This was supposed to be a story about one of the most inspirational people in recent times. I understood that from the news reports, not this film. I thought Thewlis was subpar. Either he's too reserved, or is he's playing an Englishman too well. Equally, I didn't believe in the family unit. Their acting towards each other felt staged. Ultimately, I didn't get a full sense of just how unimaginable this trial was for Suu. www.moseleyb13.com

Making a commercial film about a struggle for human rights and democracy is a real struggle because most audiences want entertainment and not politics. So the producers have to find an 'angle'. In 1987, "A World Apart" told the story of the fight against apartheid in South Africa but through the prism of the strain that this put on ANC activist Ruth First's relationship with her young daughter. A similar approach is used here in this account of the life of Aung San Suu Kyi, the eponymous lady and leader of the National League for Democracy in the dictatorship that has ruled Burma for most of the period since post-war independence from Britain. So it is not politics as such which is to the fore here but Suu Kyi's relationship with her husband, Oxford academic Michael Aris, and most especially the regime's brutal refusal to allow Aris to see his wife one last time when he was dying of prostate cancer. It is a gut-wrenchingly sad tale. Malaysian-born actress Michelle Yeoh - a Bond girl in "Tomorrow Never Dies" and pugilist star of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" - looks perfect in the leading role, giving a performance which, while often understated, is deeply moving. David Thewlis (various "Harry Potter" films and "The Boy With The Striped Pyjamas") is very effective as the long-suffering husband. The exotic locations and local faces in Thailand serve the movie well and original music by the French Eric Serra plus some Mozart enhance the emotional power of the work. It is perhaps no surprise that the script for what is in essence a love story comes from a female writer - the British Rebecca Frayn - but one might not expect the identity of the director for this Anglo-French film: Luc Besson, best known for such action movies as "Nikita", "Leon" and "The Fifth Element". "The Lady" may be a bit one-dimensional and lack nuance, but it highlights a long struggle for human rights that is not sufficiently well-known and the timing of its release (I saw it in January 2012) is poignant. When filming started, Suu Kyi was still under house arrest, as she had been in total for some 15 years, but by the time the film was finished she had been released. At the end of the movie, the iron grip of the regime and the number of political prisoners are highlighted but, in the weeks around the film's release, the generals instituted a series of liberalisation measures including the freeing of most political prisoners. If all this augurs an era of genuine democracy in Burma, "The Lady" will be a wonderful testimony to the power of personal courage and sacrifice to effect political change.