December 16–23, 1999

movie shorts

Anna and the King

Chow Yun-Fat is the most spectacular bit of scenery in this too long film, which is filled with tremendous shots of mountains, rivers and Malaysian architecture. Co-starring Jodie Foster, this is the fourth film based on Anna Leonowens’ diaries about her chaste romance with King Mongkut in 1862. Here, the British widow Anna (Foster) and her son (Tom Felton) arrive in Siam so she can school the King's kids "the English way," which she, like any good imperialist, initially assumes is "the way of the world." Under Andy Tennant’s direction, Anna resembles the Cinderella he cooked up with Drew Barrymore in Ever After: proto-feminist, spunky, erudite, and politically savvy. And yet, Chow’s King steals just about every part of the show: he’s funny, insightful, and courageous, at the ready when called on to play action hero in a climactic battle between royal and rebel forces. Along the way, Anna and the King play croquet, quarrel over the merits of smoking in front of the children, fall out over the fates of two young lovers (sentenced to death for their indiscretions) and educate and learn to respect one another. They’re a formidable non-couple, but the movie is too large, formal, and crowded with subplots to get at what might be interesting about their intimacy.

—Cindy Fuchs