Anna and the King

This is a very good movie effort but there are a lot of flaws. One is that the romance between the title characters were pointless. Also, though there are challenges, things just happen to easily for Anna, especially through the first half of the movie. But despite these flaws it is a good movie. The scenery reminds me of the days I spent in Thailand (I spent 10 months there), even though it was filmed in Malaysia (looks just about the same). Plus Chow Yun Fat (or is it Yun Fat Chow) is great as King Mongkut. Good movie but be warned of flaws.

Chow Yun Fat definitely found his niche as a romantic lead in "Anna and the King." Apparently he has made many romantic movies in China --you definitely got the feeling that he has done this before! There is a world of experience in his charm. Personally, I have never before seen a movie in which I wanted to make love to the star so badly as I wanted Chow Yun Fat in this movie! He is the perfect man, from his wise, merry eyes to his exquisite, classically chiseled face, to his warm, intoxicating smile. What woman could resist him? The man was born to be a romantic lead -- why was he wasted on so many silly Hollywood action films? He is absolutely flawless. As the saying goes, I wouldn't throw him out of bed for eating crackers.

The oft told tale gets still another rendering in this lavish remake. The sets and costumes are spectacular and good performances are turned in by Chow yun Fat and Randall Duke Kim.My problem was Foster. If they insisted on casting an oriental actor as the King why cast an obvious american as Anna and not a British actress. Foster's accent is poor and her performance not very 19th century.Always over rated,her flaws are so apparent in this film. An actress such as Emma Thompson or Kristen Scott Thomas could have brought so much more to the role.I do however predict an Oscar nod for Chow Yun Ft, Cinematography, and costumes.

Excellent performances by Chow Yun Fat and Jodie Foster - the chemistry and tension as their relationship developed together was very well portrayed. The cinematography is superb, with great detail in the scenery (especially the palace) and the period costumes. I am sure this movie will be a definite Oscar contender, especially for these categories. It is a long movie, but I feel this amount of development was necessary to really get to know the characters. There are plenty of emotional high points and humor (particularly witty dialogue) interspersed. You can really get caught up in the story and characters (many of the minor characters are very well written and acted also). A pity the children did not feature more, as they provided either directly or indirectly much of the humor. All in all, a must-see if you can sit through long movies.