# Anna and the King (1999)

### reviewed by
Bob Bloom

Anna and the King (1999) 2 1/2 stars out of 4. Starring Jodie Foster and Chow Yun-Fat. Directed by Andy Tennant.

The first thing you can discern from reading the credits of "Anna and the King" is that this will be a politcally correct interpretation of the oft-told tale about the widowed English schoolteacher and the King of Siam.

You realize that when you see the film was directed by Andy Tennant, who put a modernist, feminist spin on the Cinderella story in last year's delightful "Ever After."

The second thing you realize about "Anna and the King" is that these are two people who need to shuck their duds and just hop into bed together. This movie emits as much sexual tension as two virgins on their wedding night.

Then there's the nagging question you ask yourself as you watch "Anna and the King". Why another remake of a story that - since 1947 - has been filmed three times - once straight, and twice as the musical, "The King and I" (the second musical was a dismal animated version released earlier this year).

"Anna and the King," taken for what it is, is an entertaining, but overlong movie. Running nearly 2 1/2 hours, about 30 minutes could have been saved if Tennant had judiciously edited out all the meaningful and smoldering glances between Anna (Jodie Foster) and King Mongkut of Siam (Chow Yun-Fat).

Yes, we get it, Andy. Unrequited love, the passion that cannot be consummated because of propriety as well as society's 19th century conventions concerning the co-mingling of the races.

So, let's move on with the rest of the story.

Watching "Anna and the King" is an interesting experience, especially if you have seen the 1947 version starring Irene Dunne and Rex Harrison. Then, the notion of British colonialism, the bringing of Western culture and ideas to less developed parts of the world, was applauded and seen as "the white man's burden," to quote Kipling. My, how times have changed. When Anna talks of the British bringing enlightenment to the rest of the world, her Indian servants merely shakes their heads at each other.

Later, Anna castigates the British officials in Siam for initiating the political intrigues in an attempt to incorporate the country into its sphere.

One added subplot concerning a rebellion to overthrow the king adds some action missing from previous versions of the story.

As Anna, Foster is prissy, prim, proper and unbelievable. This is a role that should have been played by an English actress - an Emma Thompson or Kate Winslett or Emily Watson. Foster seems to be spending a lot of time concentrating on making sure she maintains her accent.

Chow Yun-Fat. Ah, there's another story. He can almost make you forget Yul Brynner. He has an aura of dignity and wisdom as the king. He is not so childish or overtly funny as Brynner. His is a sly humor mixed with a knowledge of the world as well as people.

This is a king with sex appeal, thus making it more understandable while all his wives love him. This king also is a family man, concerned about all his sons and daughters, and they reciprocate that love.

The story is so well known that I don't thin I'm giving anything away by showing another example of how the story has been redirected to make it more politically correct.

In the other versions of the story when the girl Tuptim betrays the king, she is punished because the king's pride and honor are wounded. Here, the king is forced to carry out the punishment because Anna interfered, thus he would lose face with his ministers and people if he acts to pardon the girl.

It's a subtle difference, but one that does help set the tone of the movie.

"Anna and the King," which was mostly filmed in Thailand, is very pretty to watch. Beautiful scenery gives you a new appreciation of that small nation. But you could have gotten the same from a travelogue.

Overall, the movie is like vanilla ice cream. It tastes OK but needs some added ingredients to spice it up.

Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette,IN. He can be reached by e-mail at bloom@journal-courier.com or at cbloom@iquest.net

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