Beyond Rangoon
Encyclopedia
Beyond Rangoon is a 1995 drama film
directed by John Boorman
about Laura Bowman (played by Patricia Arquette
), an American
tourist who vacations in Burma
(Myanmar) in 1988, the year in which the 8888 Uprising
takes place. The film was mostly filmed in Malaysia, and, though a work of fiction, was inspired by real people and real events.
Bowman joins, albeit initially unintentionally, political rallies
with university
students protesting for democracy
, and travels with the student leader U Aung Ko throughout Burma. There, they see the brutality of the military dictators
of the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), and attempt to escape to Thailand
.
The film was an official selection at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival
, where it was one of the popular hits of the event.
Critical reaction was mixed. Time
, Rolling Stone
, and Entertainment Weekly
wrote negative reviews, while the critic for The New Yorker
called the film a "fearless masterpiece" and Andrew Sarris
declared himself "awestruck" by the film. The film was a financial success only in France (where it opened number one and gained 442,793 visitors), though it was screened in many European countries. Film critic Tullio Kezich
compared the film to Rossellini's classic, Paisà
, regretting that it was marred by certain directorial touches.
The film may have had an impact beyond movie screens, however. Only weeks into its European run, the Burmese military junta freed Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi
(depicted in the film) after several years under strict house arrest. The celebrated democracy leader thanked the filmmakers in her first interview with the BBC
. Suu Kyi was re-arrested a few years later, but Beyond Rangoon had already helped raise world attention on a previously "invisible" tragedy: the massacres of 1988 and the cruelty of her country's military rulers.
and receives her first glimpse of Aung San Suu Kyi
, the embodiment of hope for a peaceful future in Burma.
When Laura loses her passport at a rally, she gets detained in Burma. While doing last minute sightseeing, she meets a former university professor and pro-democracy students, monks and others. This puts her on the junta's enemies list.
She spends most of the film evading soldiers while attempting to make her way out of the country with her group, which they eventually do. Laura, who is a doctor, decides to remain in Thailand treating refugee
s fleeing oppression.
and the album was released in 1999.
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by John Boorman
John Boorman
John Boorman is a British filmmaker who is a long time resident of Ireland and is best known for his feature films such as Point Blank, Deliverance, Zardoz, Excalibur, The Emerald Forest, Hope and Glory, The General and The Tailor of Panama.-Early life:Boorman was born in Shepperton, Surrey,...
about Laura Bowman (played by Patricia Arquette
Patricia Arquette
Patricia T. Arquette is an American actress and director. She played the lead character in the supernatural drama series Medium for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series....
), an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
tourist who vacations in Burma
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
(Myanmar) in 1988, the year in which the 8888 Uprising
8888 Uprising
The 8888 Nationwide Popular Pro-Democracy Protests was a series of marches, demonstrations, protests, and riots in the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma...
takes place. The film was mostly filmed in Malaysia, and, though a work of fiction, was inspired by real people and real events.
Bowman joins, albeit initially unintentionally, political rallies
Demonstration (people)
A demonstration or street protest is action by a mass group or collection of groups of people in favor of a political or other cause; it normally consists of walking in a mass march formation and either beginning with or meeting at a designated endpoint, or rally, to hear speakers.Actions such as...
with university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
students protesting for democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
, and travels with the student leader U Aung Ko throughout Burma. There, they see the brutality of the military dictators
Military dictatorship
A military dictatorship is a form of government where in the political power resides with the military. It is similar but not identical to a stratocracy, a state ruled directly by the military....
of the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), and attempt to escape to Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
.
The film was an official selection at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival
1995 Cannes Film Festival
-Jury:*Jeanne Moreau *Gianni Amelio *Jean-Claude Brialy *Nadine Gordimer *Gaston Kabore *Michele-Ray Gavras *Emilio Garcia Riera *Philippe Rousselot *John Waters...
, where it was one of the popular hits of the event.
Critical reaction was mixed. Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
, Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
, and Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
wrote negative reviews, while the critic for The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
called the film a "fearless masterpiece" and Andrew Sarris
Andrew Sarris
Andrew Sarris is an American film critic and a leading proponent of the auteur theory of criticism.-Career:Sarris is generally credited with popularizing the auteur theory in the U.S...
declared himself "awestruck" by the film. The film was a financial success only in France (where it opened number one and gained 442,793 visitors), though it was screened in many European countries. Film critic Tullio Kezich
Tullio Kezich
Tullio Kezich was an Italian film critic, screenwriter, playwright and actor.Kezich was born in Trieste...
compared the film to Rossellini's classic, Paisà
Paisà
Paisà is a 1946 Italian film directed by Roberto Rossellini, the second of a trilogy by Rossellini. It is divided into six episodes. They are set in the Italian Campaign during World War II when Nazi Germany was losing the war against the Allies, using themes such as the difficulty of communication...
, regretting that it was marred by certain directorial touches.
The film may have had an impact beyond movie screens, however. Only weeks into its European run, the Burmese military junta freed Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi
Aung San Suu Kyi
Aung San Suu Kyi, AC is a Burmese opposition politician and the General Secretary of the National League for Democracy. In the 1990 general election, her National League for Democracy party won 59% of the national votes and 81% of the seats in Parliament. She had, however, already been detained...
(depicted in the film) after several years under strict house arrest. The celebrated democracy leader thanked the filmmakers in her first interview with the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
. Suu Kyi was re-arrested a few years later, but Beyond Rangoon had already helped raise world attention on a previously "invisible" tragedy: the massacres of 1988 and the cruelty of her country's military rulers.
Plot
A distraught Laura Bowman travels to Burma with her sister after her son and husband are brutally murdered by burglars. There she discovers the brutal suppression of democracy under General Ne WinNe Win
Ne Win was Burmese a politician and military commander. He was Prime Minister of Burma from 1958 to 1960 and 1962 to 1974 and also head of state from 1962 to 1981...
and receives her first glimpse of Aung San Suu Kyi
Aung San Suu Kyi
Aung San Suu Kyi, AC is a Burmese opposition politician and the General Secretary of the National League for Democracy. In the 1990 general election, her National League for Democracy party won 59% of the national votes and 81% of the seats in Parliament. She had, however, already been detained...
, the embodiment of hope for a peaceful future in Burma.
When Laura loses her passport at a rally, she gets detained in Burma. While doing last minute sightseeing, she meets a former university professor and pro-democracy students, monks and others. This puts her on the junta's enemies list.
She spends most of the film evading soldiers while attempting to make her way out of the country with her group, which they eventually do. Laura, who is a doctor, decides to remain in Thailand treating refugee
Refugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
s fleeing oppression.
Cast
- Patricia ArquettePatricia ArquettePatricia T. Arquette is an American actress and director. She played the lead character in the supernatural drama series Medium for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series....
- Laura Bowman - U Aung Ko - U Aung Ko
- Frances McDormandFrances McDormandFrances Louise McDormand is an American film and stage actress. She has starred in a number of films, including her Academy Award-winning performance as Marge Gunderson in Fargo, in 1996...
- Andy Bowman - Spalding GraySpalding GraySpalding Rockwell Gray was an American actor, playwright, screenwriter, performance artist and monologuist...
- Jeremy Watt - Tiara JacquelinaTiara JacquelinaTiara Jacquelina Eu Effendi is a Malaysian actress and film producer. She rose to fame in Puteri Gunung Ledang, the biggest budget movie in Malaysia to date, in which she played the lead role, and sang the theme song, "Asmaradana"...
- San San, Hotel Desk Clerk - Kuswadinath Bujang - Colonel at Hotel
- Victor SlezakVictor SlezakVictor Slezak is an American stage, television and screen actor who has appeared in numerous films, including The Bridges of Madison County , Beyond Rangoon , The Devil's Own , The Siege ,The Cat's Meow , Timequest as John F...
- Mr. Scott - Jit Murad - Sein Htoo
- Ye Myint - Zaw Win
- Cho Cho Myint - Zabai
- Johnny Cheah - Min Han
- Haji Mohd Rajoli - Karen Father
- Azmi Hassan - Older Karen Boy
- Ahmad Fithi - Younger Karen Boy
- Adelle LutzAdelle LutzAdelle Lutz is a costume designer, model and actress.Lutz is a daughter of a Japanese mother, Mona Lutz and a German father, Walter E. Lutz. She was the wife of David Byrne, but divorced in 2004 with a daughter, Malu Valentine...
- Aung San Suu Kyi
Soundtrack
Beyond Rangoon is also an original soundtrack music album that features in the film of Beyond Rangoon. The majority of the soundtrack was composed by the German composer Hans ZimmerHans Zimmer
Hans Florian Zimmer is a German film composer and music producer. He has composed music for over 100 films, including critically acclaimed film scores for The Lion King , Crimson Tide , The Thin Red Line , Gladiator , The Dark Knight and Inception .Zimmer spent the early part of his career in the...
and the album was released in 1999.