Beautiful 'Lady' plods along
<b>Reel Life review: 'The Lady'</b>
The last thing you might expect from super comic-book-inspired action director Luc Besson would be an airless, ponderous, historical drama in which bloodshed and political upheaval yield all the emotional impact of a grade schooler's book report.
Yet, that's what Besson ("The Fifth Element") gives us in "The Lady," a gorgeously photographed, inert drama based on Burmese political juggernaut Aung San Suu Kyi.
Kyi, played by action star Michelle Yeoh ("Tomorrow Never Dies," "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon") spends most of her time under house arrest by Burma's dictator General Ne Win (Htun Lin), who has no intention of letting Kyi become president, despite having won an overwhelming vote of support from the Burmese people.
"The Lady" traces how Kyi comes to (almost) power years after her liberating military hero father was assassinated in 1947 Rangoon. Kyi grows up to marry a British Oxford professor Michael Aris (David Thewlis) and bear two sons (Jonathan Raggett and Jonathan Woodhouse).
When Kyi returns to Burma to help her ailing mother, activists and professors press her to run for office against the corrupt dictator. Once she agrees, she winds up unable to return to her British home and be with her family.
"The Lady" took screenwriter Rebecca Frayn three years to construct from people who knew the real Kyi, who probably had more depth than the graceful, platitude-spouting messiah figure Besson presents to us here. "Democracy will only work if we include everyone!" she announces.
At 145 minutes, "The Lady" makes us feel every month of the 15 years Kyi spends imprisoned in her Burmese house without telephones, TV sets or guests.
"The Lady" opens at the Renaissance Place in Highland Park. Rated R for violence. 145 minutes
★ ★
<b>Reading Dann's mind?</b>
Seldom does a loyal Daily Herald reader cut my skull open and pull out my innermost thoughts, but Bruce Steinberg of St. Charles did exactly that when he sent me this (slightly edited) email on the topic of white savior movies:
<b>Dear Dann: </b>Movies such as "Glory" and "Amistad" weren't bad, and I think you gave them above-average reviews.
But by telling each movie from the p.o.v. (perspective) of a white savior figure, they missed a huge cinematic opportunity that seems as plain as can be as demonstrated by this simple question about "Amistad."
If you're going to tell a story about Africans ripped from their cultures based solely on the color of their skin, transported in staggering, deplorable, murderous conditions, who engage in a mutiny to save themselves, only to be recaptured, sent to America for sale into slavery, and then face a trial that would determine their freedom forever, should the p.o.v. be from that of a captured African actually experiencing the horrors?
Or through the white savior only hearing about the horrors filtered through the grapevine long after the fact?
The right answer is obvious. Hollywood chose the wrong answer and made less-impactful movies.
A similar question and obvious answer can be made of "Glory."
In "Glory," and especially in "Amistad," the black roles were minimized even though their plights were the central themes. In addition to any other consideration, the white savior approach made for weaker movies.
If these movies were about a white man's transformation in his thinking, then presenting the story from the white character's p.o.v. would make sense.
In "Schindler's List," for example, the movie was about Schindler, one man's change from not caring about the fate of Jews in Nazi Germany to a man who risked his life to save as many Jews as he could. - Bruce
P.S.: Also, how do you manage, sitting through so many movies for your weekly Time out! reviews, especially when the movies become a parade of average to below-average efforts? Does it get to you after a while?
Even if they were good movies, a chocolate lover gets tired of chocolate if eaten for too long in a given time, or at least I think so.
Your photos show plenty of head hair, so you're not pulling that out. How do you manage?
<b>Dear Bruce: </b>First, never underestimate the power of Rogaine.
Second, never underestimate the power of a profoundly amazing motion picture to wipe out the blistering balance of quality-challenged movies.
One "Psycho," "The Right Stuff," "Pulp Fiction," "The King's Speech" or other work of sheer creativity and craftsmanship can be balm for the bombs and medicine for the mediocre.
I suppose you're correct that even a chocolate lover gets tired of chocolate, but only if he/she eats the same kind of chocolate. Movies are as different as milk, dark, white, mint, coconut and so forth. You get my metaphor.
Thanks for your comments on white savior movies. I always wonder what white audiences would think after watching movie after movie in which Asian or Middle Eastern protagonists save helpless white people unable to protect themselves, and therefore owe their safety and self-esteem to selfless and noble nonwhite heroes.
<b>- Dann</b>
<b>'Two Days' in April</b>
Palatine indie filmmaker (and Fremd High School grad) Michael Noens presents his newest feature "Two Days in February" at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Cutting Hall Performing Arts Center, 150 E. Wood St., Palatine. Tickets cost $9 plus order fee. (847) 202-5222. cuttinghall.org or twodaysinfeb.com.
The romance stars Nick Cardiff of Elgin, Katherine Cunningham of Elk Grove Village and Courtney Rioux of St. Charles in the story of a young man struggling with memories of past relationships.
<b>Latino film fest 'Grave'</b>
The Brazilian horror film "Beyond the Grave" will have its Chicago premiere at 9 p.m. Saturday, April 21, at the Century Centre, 2828 N. Clark St., as part of the 28th Chicago Latino Film Festival, which continues through Thursday, April 26. Go to chicagolatinofilmfestival.org for schedules and tickets.
Ÿ <i>Daily Herald Film Critic Dann Gire's column runs Fridays in Time out!</i>