Anna and the King

Anna and the King is a nice, delicate film, but it’s too long for the few quivers of emotion that it offers. The beautiful production design and the fluidity around the central duo triumph over the weaker narrative engine. Chow Yun-Fat is a charismatic king and Jodie Foster is great as always, though I would have preferred to see Cate Blanchett in the role of Anna. (18.04.2003)

It is a slightly over-sensitive film that tries to capture the clash of two cultures, the British that rules the world and the Siamese, which is of course completely different in philosophy of life, habits and customs. Nothing against it, the effort is worth it, and back in the day Anna and the King was quite popular with middle-of-the-road audiences because it's actually a light, pleasant film for a Sunday afternoon. However, upon closer analysis, we come to the conclusion that the clash of opinions between two different cultures and visions of the world is presented in a very half-hearted and lightweight way, and even The Last Samurai, which has a completely different concept and dynamics, has this aspect portrayed much more faithfully. And when you realize after 150 minutes that the most interesting moment of the film is a bridge being blown up, something is probably not quite right. Jodie Foster's fake tears need no comment. And Chow Yun Fat? You just wait for him to get pissed off and pull out the two 9 mm he must be secretly carrying behind his waist. (24.08.2022)