Beyond Rangoon (1995)
Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins
Synopsis: Director John Boorman's film, inspired by the crackdown of the Burmese military during the late 1980s, stars Patricia Arquette as Laura Bowman, an American doctor. After the violent death of her husband and child, Laura joins her sister, Andy (Frances McDormand), on a tour of Southeast... Director John Boorman's film, inspired by the crackdown of the Burmese military during the late 1980s, stars Patricia Arquette as Laura Bowman, an American doctor. After the violent death of her husband and child, Laura joins her sister, Andy (Frances McDormand), on a tour of Southeast Asia, hoping that a trip might be therapeutic. While the sisters are in Burma, the demonstrations of political dissidents become violent, and although her sister is able to depart, Laura must stay behind, having lost her passport. After seeking help at the American embassy, she encounters a former college professor, now a dissident supporter, who asks her to help him in eluding the police, an action that she knows will place her in jeopardy. In return, he offers to lead her out of the country across the Thai border. At a train station, he introduces her to a group of rebel students, one of whom is killed when government troops open fire on the crowd. Laura, whose aversion to blood has led her to contemplate leaving her profession, overcomes her problem when her teacher himself is shot and only she can save him. The well-acted film features impressive nature photography by John Seale. [More]
Genre: Action/Adventure
Starring: Patricia Arquette, Adele Lutz, Frances McDormand, Spalding Gray
Buy It On DVD
Reviews
Do artists, and those who style themselves as artists, have the right to lie to further their visions?
About an American doctor in Burma who discovers the wild woman inside as she squares off against incredible physical and mental challenges.
This is a perennial favorite because of the scenery (it's set in Burma, shot in Malaysia), because of the strong heroine, and because of the mix of politics and adventure.
In attempting to make its politics palatable as entertainment, the film has grafted them onto a boatload of Hollywood implausibilities whose excesses cripple believability.
Arquette seems out of place, but there's enough quality here to warrant a fair shot.
In place of the backstory on Laura Bowman we need to understand why this woman undertakes her dangerous odyssey, the script races forward with action sequences better suited to co-writer Alex Lasker's earlier Firefox.
As an exercise in art, or even polemics, Beyond Rangoon is beyond redemption, but still works its occasional magic with extraordinary flair.
Yet one more film -- that defines Third World political unrest through its effect on a white liberal.
It's as if a civil war had been concocted just to take Laura (Patricia Arquette) outside of her not-unjustified misery.
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by: edschmookler 7/18/03


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