Anna and the King

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Movie
German title Anna and the King
Original title Anna and the King
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1999
length 148 minutes
Age rating FSK 6
JMK 10
Rod
Director Andy Tennant
script Steve Meerson
production Lawrence Bender ,
Ed Elbert
music George Fenton
camera Caleb Deschanel
cut Roger Bondelli
occupation

Anna and the King is a 1999 American film . The director was Andy Tennant , the main roles played Jodie Foster and Chow Yun-Fat . The writer wrote Steve Meerson based on the memoirs of Anna Leonowens .

action

The film tells the story of the English teacher Anna Leonowens (1831-1915), who travels to Siam in 1862 with her son Luis and two Indian servants to care for the 58 children of the Siamese King Mongkut (Rama IV) in the English Teach language and western education. Leonowens arrives as a widow, her husband Tom, a British officer, died almost two years earlier.

Leonowens is disappointed to find that, even after a three-week stay, she is not granted an audience with the king to instruct her in her future task. Your first encounter with the king is anything but friendly. Leonowens is reluctant when she is about to be sent back during an audience without having exchanged a word with the king. She breaks with Siamese etiquette and addresses the king without kneeling in front of him or taking her gaze from his face. The king is angry, but equally impressed by Leonowen's brave efforts.

King Mongkut grants Leonovens' request to set up a place to stay outside the palace. She begins teaching all 58 children as well as the king's 23 wives and 42 concubines . Again and again the worldview of the teacher and the king kindle new quarrels, and Leonowens dares now and then to actively influence the king. In contrast, however, the teacher also learns to understand and love the country's cultural background.

Leonowens, on the other hand, does not notice anything of the military activities outside the palace walls. An opposing army wants to claim the king's throne and is already drawing attention to itself through numerous murders among the population.

While teaching, a new young concubine is brought into the king's harem . The young Tuptim is honored, but at the same time she is very hurt because she has already given her heart to another man. The relationship is only sparsely maintained through letters and messages. But when her beloved Balat sends her the message that from now on he will live as a monk in the Buddhist monastery because he cannot overcome her loss, Tuptim decides to follow him. The escape does not go undetected for long. A short moment after Tuptim went to see Anna Leonowens to apologize to the king, she was caught and brought to court with her lover. Both of them are brought up to be shown bloodily beaten and mistreated. Leonowens opposes the death penalty imposed by the court and threatens to intervene with the king. Because Leonovens has undermined the king's authority in public, the king is forced to allow the couple to be executed.

Disappointed by the king, Leonowens decides to leave. The king's prime minister manages to hold the teacher off just before departure. The king needs your support because a coup is threatened . The king is already on the run with his children (who all have a claim to the throne), under a pretext to appease the population on the one hand and to confuse the opponents on the other. Anna follows the king on the way to the monastery where he lived for many years. But on the way there, he is caught by the opposing army. It seems impossible that a man, a woman and 58 children could stand against an army. But in the end the family manages, together with the few guardians of the king, to put the army to flight with a few fireworks, billows of smoke and a fanfare .

At the end of the film, King Anna asks for one last dance, which ultimately reflects the close relationship that has developed between the two. They are watched by the king's eldest son, Prince Chulalongkorn, who also takes on the role of the narrator. He explains that this was the last time that his father held the woman he loved in his hands. The following epilogue relates to the further history of Siam, which thanks to its ruler developed into an exemplary constitutional state.

Reviews

Kenneth Turan described the film in the Los Angeles Times on December 17, 1999 as "flat" and "disappointing". The film stays halfway between historical representation and modernity. Turan praised the production design, costumes, and camera work. The portrayal of Jodie Foster is burdened by the negative characteristics of the character played by Foster at first very chauvinistic.

"An exotic movie fairy tale with a big pomp and an old-fashioned style, which the imposed emancipation conflict does not change anything."

- Lexicon of international film

Awards

The film was nominated for an Oscar in two categories in 2000 : " Best Production Design " and Best Costume Design . He was nominated in 2000 for the film music and for the song "How Can I Not Love You" for the Golden Globe Award .

The film was nominated for the Golden Satellite Award in 2000 for production design, costumes and cinematography . Keith Chin and the film as "Best Drama" were nominated for the 2000 Young Artist Award .

The German Film and Media Evaluation FBW in Wiesbaden awarded the film the title valuable.

History of origin

In 1944 Margaret Landon wrote the book "Anna and the King of Siam" based on the memories of Anna Leonowens. It was made into a film by John Cromwell in 1946 .

In 1951, Oscar Hammerstein and Richard Rodgers wrote the musical " The King and I " based on the teacher's memories . This play was filmed in 1956 with Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr under the title The King and Me .

The romantic storyline has created a lot of controversy in Thailand because it was deemed non-historic. The production company 20th Century Fox was not allowed to film in Thailand, the film had to be shot in Malaysia . The film buildings were considered the largest since the film Cleopatra . Production costs were estimated at 92 million US dollars .

Like this film, all other productions have received harsh criticism from historical experts in relation to Anna Leonowen's. The historical facts have been massively changed again and again. Basically, the romantic traits in the film Anna and the King are fictitious.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Age rating for Anna and the King . Youth Media Commission .
  2. ^ A film review by Kenneth Turan
  3. ↑ Anna and the King. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  4. ^ Box Office Mojo

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