The King And I.Yul Brynner is the king of Siam and he decides that his wives and children should learn English and be educated. So he gets Anna, an English woman, to come to Siam and teach them. She is pretty tough and isn’t scared of the king – he is glad to see that a thinking woman is not scared of him, and he respects her. That being said, he is still King and what he says goes…well unless she gets angry.
Their relationship is the key to the film and its handled very well. She still respects him as King, but isn’t willing to compromise her beliefs for him. My only real problem with the movie is that it’s a musical. I am not a big musical lover, but for this one, the songs came at the expense of story. It was a little over 2 hours and I wanted more of the relationship stuff and less music. Either make the movie longer, or not a musical. Well they remade this movie with Jodie Foster and Chow Yun Fat called Anna and the King. I will definitely rent it and see what it’s like.
That being said, fans of musicals or classic Hollywood films should definitely see this movie. Plus Yul Brynner is the just the best in it. Story, acting, and set design are just amazing in this movie. The songs are good too, I only wanted more of the plot!
3.5/5
J-Man
To sum things up, Anna and The King removes the musical parts from The King and I, and fills the gaps with politics. Now that the music is no longer around you to distract you, you're able to follow the plot without any major interruption.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if it has something to do with being a "guy who likes movies" or the story actually held itself up well, Anna and The King tells a better tale. Unlike its musical predecessor, Anna and The King isn't afraid to show the dark side of the king's rule, which adds a welcome element of realism to it.
If you had ANY interest in The King and I, Anna and The King might not disappoint you.